City of Garland, TX BUILDING DESIGN

The requirements contained within this Article 6 are minimum standards and apply to all new residential and nonresidential buildings and structures, as specified, within the City of Garland.

Existing buildings and sites that are being expanded or redeveloped may be eligible to request exterior construction alternatives through the alternative compliance process as set forth in Section 4.85 of this Article 6, and in Article 1, Division 2 of this Chapter 4.

(C)

Allowable materials.

Buildings may be constructed of any material approved for a given usage in a Relevant Model Code.

(Ordinance 6773 adopted 5/19/15; Ordinance 7079, sec. 39, adopted 8/20/19)

§ 4.83 Nonresidential and Multifamily Building Materials and Design.

(A)

Architectural Elements.

All nonresidential and multifamily buildings must incorporate design elements that create character or reflect regional architecture by including at least six of the following elements (for which photos and examples are provided below the list):

Awnings or canopies;

Display windows;

(c)

Divided light windows;

Transoms;

Shutters;

Alcoves/porticos;

Recessed entries;

Ornamental window headers/lintels;

(i)

Quoins;

(j)

Distinctive lighting features;

(k)

Planters or fountains;

(l)

Benches for outdoor seating;

(m)

Dormers;

(n)

Varied roof heights;

(o)

Ornamental facade trims;

Bay windows; and

Gable windows.

Facade Articulation.

Horizontal building articulation (facade depth) and vertical building articulation (facade height) is required on all street-facing facades of all nonresidential and multifamily buildings in the manner and in conformity with the standards provided in Illustration 4-7.

(2)

Facade offsets must be shown, along with calculations verifying that the building elevations meet the above requirements, on a building Facade (elevation) Plan. The building Facade Plan must be submitted for review at the time of the initial development application along with the building elevations.

Canopies, arches, and covered colonnades count toward applicable facade depth or height articulation requirements.

(4)

Visual examples of acceptable facade articulation are provided in the photos which are provided below.

(C)

Parking Structures.

All above-grade parking structures must be designed to blend in with the architectural style of the main building(s), and must incorporate at least two of the following design elements:

Distinctive architectural elements such as cornices, piers, columns, friezes, quoins, mullions, fenestration, pilasters, rustication, or accentuating belt courses. Examples of such distinctive architectural elements may be found in Illustration 2-8 in Chapter 2 of this GDC;

Variation in wall planes such as wall openings, canopies, articulations, wall convexities, wall concavities, balconies, or awnings. Examples of such variation in wall planes may be found in Illustration 2-8 in Chapter 2 of this GDC; and

(c)

Change in materials. Such a change must involve a minimum of two separate, compatible materials, excluding glazing. Each area covered by the separate material must cover at least twenty percent of each facade’s surface area, excluding glazing.

(d)

Change in colors. Such a change must involve a minimum of two, compatible color changes, excluding glazing. Each area covered by the color change must cover at least twenty percent of each facade’s surface area, excluding glazing.

(2)

All above-grade parking structures must be designed with a distinguishable first floor, upper facades, and roofs. Parking garage first floors must be designed at human scale with pedestrian-scale elements such as awnings, canopies, window breaks, and door openings.

Above-grade parking garages may be designed using decorative metal elements such as ornate meshes, screens, and the like, but must not be allowed to have non-decorative steel guard cables that are visible to the public or to adjacent properties.

(D)

Windows.

Highly reflective mirror glass may not be installed as an exterior building material on any building or structure unless the installation is done in such a manner as to ensure that the material will not reflect light upon any other real property (whether public or privately owned), building, or structure. However, in order to encourage energy efficiency, the use of tinted or inward facing mirrored glass is allowed and encouraged.

Illustration 4-7 Horizontal and Vertical Building Articulation

Illustration 4-7 cont’d. Horizontal and Vertical Building Articulation (how to measure 30' increments)

Examples of Acceptable Facade Articulation

(E)

Canopies.

All canopies that are intended to shelter vehicles or vehicular traffic such as a building’s porte cochere, a bank’s drive-through canopy, or a fuel station canopy, must have support columns constructed with the same type of masonry construction material used on the main building(s) facades, if any, or otherwise are in a manner architecturally compatible with the main building’s facade.

(Ordinance 6773 adopted 5/19/15; Ordinance 7079, sec. 40, adopted 8/20/19; Ordinance 7107, sec. 78, adopted 12/3/19; Ordinance 7404 adopted 2/21/2023)

§ 4.84 Residential Design.

(A)

Design Standards.

Required Standards.

All single-family, two-family, and townhouse residential structures must be designed in accordance with the following design standards, unless otherwise approved as Planned Development (PD) zoning or pursuant to Subsection 4.85 of this Article 6.

(2)

Garages.

The face of a garage door must be at least twenty feet from the street or alley right-of-way line that the garage door faces (twenty-four feet if facing an interior lot/property line), and must have at least one of the following designs, as depicted in Illustrations 4-9 through 4-13:

Rear entry;

ii.

“J” drives, for front entry properties;

iii.

“Swing” drives, for side entry properties; or

iv.

Offset front entry with the garage door set back at least five feet behind the front building face.

Architectural Requirements.

Each dwelling unit must be designed and built in accordance with the following minimum criteria:

Architectural Relief.

No facade of a dwelling unit facing a public street or any portion of an interior side or rear facade above the first story of a dwelling unit may contain a flat, unarticulated or uninterrupted wall length of greater than twenty percent of the horizontal length of the facade. Any such facade section must contain an offset of at least two or more feet. Illustrations 4-14 and 4-15 below are examples of dwelling units which do not meet this standard and which would be unacceptable.

Minimum Number of Elevations.

The front building elevation of a dwelling must not be duplicated on the three adjacent houses on both sides, or on the four houses directly across the street. This requirement may be waived by the Building Official if the building materials and the architectural elements, such as windows, dormers, facade offsets, or overhangs, of a home are significant enough to make the front facade of the home look substantially different from its neighboring structures.

(c)

Minimum Number of Design Elements.

A minimum of three of the following elements, as depicted in Illustrations 4-16 and 4-17, must be incorporated into the design of each dwelling unit:

Multiple pane windows featuring either divided light or simulated divided light;

ii.

A front porch area enclosed by a railing at least thirty inches in height, and containing decorative columns at least six inches in diameter;

iii.

Gable(s) with window(s);

iv.

Dormer(s);

Bay windows with a minimum projection of twenty-four inches;

vi.

Minimum 8:12 roof pitch;

vii.

Split garage doors with a separate door for each vehicle bay; or

viii.

Front covered porch with at least forty square feet of usable space, and a minimum depth of five feet.

(d)

Walls & Windows.

Windows and doors must comprise at least twenty-five percent of the wall area of the front building face of a dwelling.

(e)

Roof Design.

A roof pitch of at least 6:12 is required for each dwelling unit.

ii.

Each dwelling unit must be constructed with a roof overhang of not less than eighteen inches, as measured from the finished exterior building facade to the soffit.

(4)

Carports.

Carports must meet the building materials and design requirements contained in Section 2.59 in Chapter 2 of this GDC.

(5)

Exemptions.

The following are exempt from the architectural requirements of this Section:

Residential Accessory Buildings, as may be provided in Article 5, Division 4 of Chapter 2 of this GDC; and