This chapter establishes objective residential design standards
that are sourced from the City's Design Guidelines. Typically, new
residential development is required to go through the City's discretionary
Design Review process, which includes review for compliance with the
City's Design Guidelines. The Design Guidelines are subjective in
nature and demonstrate preferences while allowing discretion and flexibility,
and as such, cannot be enforced through a streamlined ministerial
process. The proposed Objective Design Standards for Streamlined and
Ministerial Residential Developments aim to incorporate the intent
of the Santa Rosa Design Guidelines to the greatest extent possible,
while complying with the intent of State legislation to facilitate
and expedite the construction of housing in Santa Rosa.
(Ord. 2019-018 § 2)
The provisions of this chapter apply to all residential projects
which upon applicant request and demonstration of eligibility, qualify
for streamlined and ministerial processing.
(Ord. 2019-018 § 2)
Consistent with existing State law, objective standards are
those that involve no personal or subjective judgment by a public
official and are uniformly verifiable by reference to an external
and uniform benchmark.
Residential developments that are subject to this chapter must
be consistent with each of the standards below:
A.
Neighborhood
compatibility.
1.
Residential
projects located across the street from single-family neighborhoods
shall orient the buildings to the street with individual entries,
patio areas and landscaping facing the single-family homes. Parking
lot areas and carports shall not be located along single-family neighborhood
street frontages.
2.
Duplexes,
triplexes, and fourplexes abutting single-family neighborhoods shall
include individual front doors and interior stairs (when stairs are
needed).
3.
When
determined necessary by a noise assessment, sound walls shall include
an earth berm and landscaping. Walls between buildings shall be extended
to create pockets of protected common space avoiding long continuous
walls for the entire length of a project site.
B.
Building
design.
1.
Buildings
shall carry the same theme on all elevations. For the purposes of
this standard, a theme includes primary (non-accent) materials and
colors.
2.
Affordable
units and market rate units in the same development shall be constructed
of the same or similar exterior materials and details such that the
units are not distinguishable.
3.
Blank
walls (façades without doors, windows, landscaping treatments)
shall be less than 30 feet in length along sidewalks, pedestrian walks,
or publicly accessible outdoor space areas.
4.
Buildings
over three stories must provide a ground floor elevation that is distinctive
from the upper stories by providing a material change between the
first floor and upper floors along at least 75% of the building façade
with frontage upon a street, adjacent public park or public open space.
5.
Trim
surrounds shall be provided at all exterior window and door openings.
In lieu of exterior window trim, windows can be recessed from wall
plane by a minimum of three inches.
6.
At
least two materials shall be used on any building frontage, in addition
to glazing and railings. Any one material must comprise at least 20%
of the building frontage.
7.
A
minimum of 5/8 inch thickness is required for panel siding. Battens
are required to be incorporated into the design for a board and batt
appearance.
C.
Massing/articulation.
1.
A
minimum of two features such as balconies, cantilevers, dormers, bay
windows, patios, individualized entries, and accent materials shall
be incorporated into each project building.
2.
A
minimum one-foot offset is required for any wall plane that exceeds
30 feet in length.
3.
Buildings
over three stories tall shall have major massing breaks at least every
100 feet along any street frontage, adjacent public park, publicly
accessible outdoor space, or designated open space, through the use
of varying setbacks and/or building entries. Major breaks shall be
a minimum of 30 inches deep and four feet wide and extend the full
height of the building.
4.
Buildings
shall have minor massing breaks at least every 50 feet along the street
frontage, through the use of varying setbacks, building entries and
recesses, or structural bays. Minor breaks shall be a minimum of 12
inches deep and four feet wide and extend the full height of the building.
5.
Rooflines
shall be vertically articulated at least every 50 feet along the street
frontage, through the use of architectural elements such as parapets,
varying cornices, reveals, clerestory windows, and varying roof height
and/or form.
D.
Outdoor/common
space.
1.
Each
multifamily unit outside the Downtown Station Area Specific Plan boundary
shall have a minimum of 40 square feet of private outdoor space directly
adjacent to the unit. For the purposes of this standard, private outdoor
space is defined as outdoor space that is usable and accessible only
to the building residents and their visitors, but not to the general
public.
2.
Common
useable open space is required for all multifamily projects with more
than 10 units outside the Downtown Station Area Specific Plan boundary.
3.
A
minimum of 60% of the common usable open space shall be provided as
a landscaped green area or garden, with the remaining area in hardscape.
4.
Outdoor
seating shall be provided at common usable open space areas and outside
of laundry facilities.
5.
Multifamily
developments (except Senior restricted multifamily developments) outside
the Downtown Station Area Specific Plan boundary exceeding 22 bedroom
units shall have two outdoor areas, one for adults and one for a child
play area. For the purpose of this standard, adult open space does
not include play equipment, but does include tables with seating.
6.
Multifamily
developments (except Senior restricted multifamily developments) outside
the Downtown Station Area Specific Plan boundary exceeding 100 units
shall have three open space areas, one for adults, one for teenagers,
and one for younger children. For the purpose of this standard, adult
open space does not include play equipment, but does include tables
with seating, and teenage outdoor areas include sports fields, age-appropriate
park equipment, or other recreational equipment.
7.
Play
equipment for children under the age of five shall be included in
child play areas. The play area must be visible to as many units as
possible to provide casual surveillance and be separated from traffic.
Benches or picnic tables for adults that are accompanying younger
children shall be provided.
E.
Site
design.
1.
When
dwelling units are abutting open space areas, a minimum of one window
from each dwelling shall be located to overlook common area.
2.
Garages
and carports shall be designed to include a minimum of two of the
following from the main building(s): materials, detailing, roof materials,
and colors.
3.
Controlled
entrances to parking facilities (gates, doors, etc.) shall be located
a minimum of 18 feet from the back of sidewalk, in order to accommodate
one vehicle entering the facility.
4.
Where
bicycle parking is not visible from the street, directional signage
shall be included at the main building entrance.
5.
Screen
all parking areas, covered and uncovered, from public street frontages.
Screening may be accomplished through building placement, landscaping,
a planted earth berm, planted fencing, topography, or some combination
of the above. Landscaping used for screening purposes must shall be
no less than 15 feet wide (from the back of sidewalk or street curb
to the parking lot paving, whichever is greater) and no less than
four feet tall.
F.
Accessory
elements.
1.
Perimeter
fencing utilized along public street shall be constructed of decorative
iron, pre-painted welded steel, or wood picket material.
2.
The
height of solid fencing between private yards and common open spaces
shall be limited to four and one-half feet in height. If a six-foot
fence is desired, the top 18 inches should allow for vision in and
out of the yard.
3.
Screen
roof top equipment from visibility. The point of view for determining
visibility shall be five feet above grade at a distance of 200 feet.
If the roof structure does not provide this screening, include an
equipment screen in the design.
4.
Screen
all exterior trash, recycling, and storage utility boxes, wood service
poles, electric and gas meters, fire sprinkler valves and backflow
preventers and transformers.
5.
Refuse
containers.
a.
Four units or less may be served by individual garbage containers.
When individual garbage cans are used, they must either fit in the
garage or into a special enclosure.
b.
When there are five units or more, provide dumpsters for garbage
collection within a special enclosure.
c.
When dumpsters are to be used, designers shall coordinate with the
refuse pickup provider to determine the size and number of dumpsters
required. A rule of thumb is to allow for between 30 and 90 gallons
per unit per week, depending on size of the unit.
d.
Shield all dumpsters within an enclosure a minimum of six feet tall.
Allow adequate size to accommodate the needed dumpsters and recycling
containers. All enclosures and gates should be detailed to withstand
heavy use. Provide wheel stops or curbs to prevent dumpsters from
banging into walls of enclosure.
e.
Make allowances within the enclosure for stacking recycling crates
(in small projects) and recycling dumpsters (in large projects)
f.
Provide an opening so that pedestrians can access the dumpsters without
opening the large gates.
g.
Provide lighting at trash enclosures for night time security and
use.
h.
Locate dumpster enclosures so that no dwelling is closer than 20
feet (including those on abutting properties), or more than 100 feet
from a residential unit. No minimum distance from dwellings is required
if dumpsters are located within a fully enclosed room.
G.
Additional
objective standards within Zoning Code. Projects subject to this chapter
must comply with all other applicable objective standards within this
Zoning Code including, but not limited to:
(Ord. 2019-018 § 2; Ord. 2021-012 § 43)
