The purpose of this article is to encourage
and advance long-term economic vitality through commercial design
standards to achieve a premium aesthetic appeal while discouraging
less attractive layouts. Designs should contribute to an attractive
commercial center, creating a sound commercial community identity
and inviting pedestrian interest and activity. The following guidelines
should be used in conjunction with other applicable ordinances in
order to guide and facilitate the development of new and rehabilitated
buildings.
A. General objectives and goals:
(1)
New commercial developments should minimize
generic and corporate images, but instead express the architectural
elements and forms that best express the values and heritage of the
community.
(2)
Minimize the dominance of parking surfaces and
structures.
(3)
Use green space to soften parking lots.
(4)
Invite pedestrian access.
(5)
Encourage selection of appropriate vegetation
and landscaping materials.
(6)
Promote safe ingress and egress.
B. Key design elements of commercial project design:
(1)
Landscaped and screened parking.
(2)
Significant landscape and hardscape elements.
(3)
Building locations which provide pedestrian
courtyards and common gathering area with coordinated site furniture
and lighting.
(4)
Visual compatibility with development on adjacent
sites.
(5)
Visual connections between entrances and associated
pedestrian areas of individual buildings.
(6)
Building forms and massing with significant
wall articulation.
(7)
Preservation of natural site features.
C. Elements that should be avoided:
(1)
Poorly defined accesspoints.
(2)
Disjointed parking areas, or confusing or unsafe
circulation pattern.
(3)
Square, box-like structures with large, blank,
unarticulated wall surfaces.
(4)
Highly reflective surfaces or heavily-tinted
glass storefronts.
(5)
Metal siding on primary facades.
(7)
Strong theme-based architectural styles associated
with some chain commercial developments.
(8)
Visible outdoor storage, loading and equipment
areas.
(9)
Signage which is redundant or out of scale with
building architecture.
[Amended 2-12-2008 by Ord. No. 3737]
The commercial design standards contained herein
shall apply to all commercial development, including: retail goods
and services stores; eating and drinking establishments; professional,
medical and general offices; restaurants; child-care centers; banks;
hotels; and other such commercial uses, whether permitted as-of-right
or via use variance. The commercial design standards shall not apply
to warehouses; laboratories; manufacturing uses; and other such light
industrial uses. The commercial design standards shall also not apply
to development within the Renaissance Redevelopment Area or the Hamilton
Street Business District, which areas have their own design standards.
For the purposes of this article, the following
terms are defined:
FOCAL POINT
An architectural feature, which may be visible from the intersecting
thoroughfare streets. Examples include a distinctively designed building,
clock tower, spire, public art or sculpture, fountains or other water
feature, landscape feature, public plazas or landscaped open space.
MULTITENANT BUILDING
When there is only one building in a proposed commercial
development that will be occupied by multiple tenants.
PAD SITES
Smaller independent buildings within a larger development.
SINGLE-TENANT BUILDING
Only one building in a proposed commercial development that
will be occupied by a single tenant, such building must be oriented
toward the primary abutting street.
Building composition refers to the overall design
of a building, its relationship to neighboring buildings and to the
context of the overall development. Architectural design should promote
a human scale, create rhythms among neighboring buildings, and encourage
individual expression within the context of pedestrian-friendly architecture.
Important design considerations include building opening proportions,
height to width ratios, and rooflines. The design of new infill projects
or the renovation or redevelopment of existing buildings should conform
to the following guidelines and standards.
A. Building relationships and compatibility:
(1)
Create commercial developments with a contrast
in massing, ensure compatibility with surrounding developments to
emphasize important corners and designate points of entry.
(2)
Avoid the box-like, bulky appearance of commercial
buildings. Use varied materials, textures and/or colors, or provide
visual breaks. Standard franchise design elements or corporate architectural
design plans for buildings and signs should be modified where necessary
to conform to these guidelines to ensure that such elements are unobtrusive
and secondary to the overall architectural design.
(3)
Building elevations must consider the character
of the surrounding architecture and neighborhood, and incorporate
design elements to further enhance community character.
(4)
Linear strip development, where unavoidable,
must incorporate variation in building height, building mass, roof
forms and changes in wall planes in the architectural design to mitigate
the linear effect. In some instances, a physical separation of one
building into two or more buildings may be required. Particular attention
should be made to building design when the building is adjacent to
residential property or within direct public view of residential property.
(5)
Multiple buildings within a development must
maintain a consistent style/architectural theme.
(6)
Entrances into buildings should be easily identified
through the use of building design and detailing by incorporating
projected or recessed entryways, higher rooflines and changes in building
material or color.
B. Storefront and facade design. Excellent storefront
design enhances the pedestrian experience by creating a visually interesting
streetscape, showcasing merchandise, and identifying the mix of goods
and services. Such storefront design promotes individual businesses
in ways that signs alone do not.
C. Consistency of materials. Use materials that complement
existing buildings when freestanding walls are used to provide security,
screening and privacy. Color schemes must tie building elements together,
relate separate buildings within the same development to each other,
and must be used to enhance the architectural form of a building.
D. Energy-conserving design. Applicants are encouraged
to consider energy-conserving design concepts, including but not limited
to the following:
(1)
Proper orientation and clustering of buildings
to take advantage of the prevailing summer winds and to buffer against
adverse winter wind conditions.
(2)
Types of material and their insulation characteristics.
(3)
The arrangement and design of windows and doors.
(4)
Direct solar or photovoltaic energy.
(6)
Earth sheltering with creative land forming.
(7)
Natural ventilation of outdoor, indoor and attic
spaces.
A pedestrian network that offers clear circulation
paths from the parking areas to building entries creates a friendlier,
more inviting image. By creating a safe, continuous network of pedestrian/bicycle
pathways within and between developments, pedestrians will feel more
inclined to safely walk (rather than drive) between stores.
A. Internal vehicle circulation:
(1)
Internal vehicle circulation patterns must provide
a clear and direct path to the principal customer entrance of the
primary building, to outlying pad sites, and to each parking area.
(2)
In large commercial centers, a clear system
of main circulation drives containing few or no parking spaces that
directly access the main drives must be established to carry the highest
volumes of traffic within the site.
(3)
In small commercial centers where traffic volumes
are lower and pedestrian-vehicular and vehicular-vehicular conflicts
are less likely, more flexibility is available in the location and
design of internal drives.
B. Vehicle connections with adjacent properties:
(1)
Accesspoints should provide continuous connections
between adjacent nonresidential development parcels.
(2)
Common or shared service and delivery access
should be provided between adjacent parcels and/or buildings.
C. On-site truck traffic/loading and circulation. Loading
and delivery facilities separate from customer parking and pedestrian
areas.
D. Pedestrian/bicycle access and circulation:
(1)
Bicycle parking is required.
(2)
Bikeways and pedestrian walkways should be separated
and buffered from external and internal automobile circulation within
parking lots. Pedestrians should feel comfortable that they are in
a clearly defined pathway to the building.
(3)
To enhance pedestrian safety and attractiveness
of the walkway, internal pedestrian walkways within a parking lot
or drive area must be distinguished from the driving surface by use
of pavers, bricks, integrally colored, scored concrete, or other acceptable
methods as determined by the Township.
(4)
Bicycle and pedestrian circulation must be provided
from the perimeter of the site to all buildings and all sidewalk areas
designated to accommodate pedestrian activity.
(5)
Where applicable, planned bus stops must be
shown on the plans. Bus stops must be linked with pedestrian circulation
system of development.
Placing large amounts of parking between the
front door of buildings and the adjacent street contributes to an
unenthusiastic arrival experience for patrons and creates a detached
relationship between the primary building and the street. The scale
of parking areas should be reduced by locating a portion of the parking
lot out of view, providing clear pedestrian circulation paths and
amenity areas within parking areas, and using increased landscaping
within parking lots to screen spaces and reduce the overall visual
impact of large parking areas. Minimizing the visual and physical
dominance of the automobile is paramount for these design standards.
A. Surface parking lots:
(1)
To reduce the scale of parking areas, the total
amount of parking provided should be broken up into parking blocks,
separated from each other by landscaping, access drives, public streets,
pedestrian walkways, or buildings.
(2)
Dead-end aisles are discouraged.
(3)
Separate parking areas from buildings by either
a raised concrete walkway, pedestrian plaza or landscaped strip.
(4)
Avoid head-in parking off of major drive aisles,
which causes hazardous backing movements. Handicap parking is exempt.
(5)
Avoid aligning all travel lanes in parking lots
in long straight configurations
B. Parking structures and parking beneath buildings.
The appearance of parking structures, whether freestanding or attached,
should relate to the buildings they serve, and contribute to the character
of the development. The incorporation of parking structures in a commercial
development is encouraged in order to minimize site coverage.
(1)
Provide convenient pedestrian connections between
parking structures and main buildings.
(2)
Separate vehicular access to parking structures
from access to general surface parking lots and clearly identify the
access with signs.
Site amenities and pedestrian-scale features,
such as outdoor plazas, street furniture, playgrounds, statuary and
sidewalk cafes in commercial developments, offer attractive spaces
for customer and visitor interaction and create an inviting image
for both customers and employees. Such amenities can vary widely in
size, in type, and in degree. Buildings, trees, walls, topography,
and other site features within a commercial development should be
oriented and arranged to surround the gathering places and lend a
human scale. The use of site amenities can also provide pedestrian
spaces at the entry to buildings, which can break up the expanses
of parking, improve the overall development quality, and contribute
to the character of an area. Site amenities may also qualify as a
green/open space transition area.
A. Minimum area devoted to site amenities.
(1)
New commercial developments with a parking ratio
of less than five spaces per 1,000 square feet of gross floor areas
must provide a minimum of 10 square feet of site amenities, open areas,
and public gathering places for each 10 parking spaces.
(2)
New commercial developments with a parking ratio
of five per 1,000 square feet of gross floor area or greater must
provide a minimum of 15 square feet of site amenities, open areas,
and public gathering places for each 10 parking spaces.
(3)
Site amenities should be located close to and
provide convenient access to the building on site in order to encourage
frequent use.
B. Allowed site amenities.
(1)
Site amenities may consist of any of the following:
(a)
Patio or plaza with seating area;
(b)
Mini-parks, squares, or greens;
(c)
Well-designed bus stops, if applicable;
(d)
Customer walkways or pass-through containing
window displays;
(h)
Any other similar, deliberately shaped area
and/or focal feature that, in the municipality's judgment, adequately
enhances such development and serves as a gathering place.
(2)
Furnish spaces with pedestrian amenities such
as benches, landscaping, and/or recreational areas. These outdoor
spaces must be functional and must not appear as left-over spaces
(a)
Provide seating that is useable year-round.
Position seating such that it is buffered from exposed areas and takes
advantage of sunny locations.
(b)
All common amenities within industrial developments
must be owned and maintained by the developer or by an organization
established for such purposes.
(c)
Where feasible, create a sense of enclosure
for outdoor seating areas.
C. Aggregation allowed.
(1)
In commercial developments containing more than
one building, the required area may be aggregated into one larger
space, provided such space is within easy walking distance of the
major tenant(s) in the development and any transit stops.
(2)
Any such amenity/area must have direct access
to the public sidewalk network.
(3)
The amenity/area must be constructed of materials
that are similar in quality to the principal materials of the primary
buildings and landscape.
Landscaping for commercial areas will enhance
the aesthetics and create a pedestrian-friendly environment. Landscaping
also performs the task of breaking up the mass of commercial buildings,
softening architectural materials and providing screening of service
structures and loading areas. Besides defining building and parking
area entrances, sound landscape design serves functional purposes
as well by providing shade, screening and climate control. Landscaping
the corridors along perimeter streets and internal driveways should
provide a visually cohesive design.
A. Parking lot landscaping.
(1)
Interior parking lot landscaping:
(a)
Use parking lot landscaping to minimize the
expansive appearance of parking lots, provide shaded parking areas,
and mitigate any negative acoustic impacts of motor vehicles.
(b)
Provide trees and other landscape screening
to shield large parking areas from adjacent lots.
(c)
Large parking lots are encouraged to provide
landscaped islands and walkways, which help to break up the visual
expanse of blacktop and encourage safe pedestrian travel areas. The
interior of all uncovered parking block spaces must be landscaped.
(2)
Perimeter parking area landscaping:
(a)
Provide an attractive, shaded environment along
street edges that gives visual relief from continuous hard street
edges, provides a visual cohesion along streets, helps buffer automobile
traffic, focuses views for both pedestrians and motorists, and increases
the sense of neighborhood scale and character;
(b)
A low continuous landscaped hedge;
(c)
A low decorative masonry wall in combination
with landscaping.
(3)
Entryway landscaping announces and highlights
entries into the development for the visiting public.
(a)
Building setback areas along thoroughfare, collector,
or residential streets, or along private drives, must be landscaped;
(b)
Articulate building facades with landscaped
seating areas to provide visual interest and pedestrian-friendly places;
(c)
Landscaping at street intersections and driveway
corners must "pull back" to open view lines into the site and to create
corner features and should not interfere with required sight triangles.
(4)
Special attention should be paid to preserving
use of natural features and vegetation which are significant because
of unique character, history, size, variety and/or growth habits.
(5)
Site furnishings include benches, waste receptacles,
planters, railings and bollards. Visual consistency of these elements
is desired throughout each development. All components of outdoor
site furniture should be low maintenance, highly durable and resistant
to vandalism, graffiti and theft.
(a)
Use outdoor seating that is comfortable, attractive,
durable and easy to maintain
(b)
Locate benches at major building entryways,
drop-off areas, transit stops, pedestrian courtyards and plazas;
(c)
Locate benches in areas that receive direct
sunlight in the winter, are sheltered from winds and shaded in the
summer;
(d)
Where seating is fixed, provide a variety of
arrangements (both linear and grouped) which accommodate two to six
persons.
B. Crime prevention. Integrate site-planning principles,
such as easy surveillance of common areas and walkways, into the design
of new commercial developments to lessen the likelihood of crime within
the development. Commercial development site planning should integrate
the principles of "Crime Prevention through Environmental Design,"
(CPTED). These principles include:
(1)
Territoriality. Space within the development
and along the edges should be well defined and delineated to create
a sense of ownership, such that intruders stand out. This may be accomplished
through the use of pavement treatments, landscaping, art, signage,
screening, fencing, and similar techniques.
(2)
Natural surveillance. Create an environment
where it is possible for people engaged in their normal behavior to
observe the spaces around them. Maximize a space's visibility through
thoughtful design of building orientation, window placement, entrances
and exits, landscaping of trees and shrubs, and other physical obstructions.
Utilize nighttime illumination of parking lots, walkways, entrances,
stairwells, and related areas that promote an environment in which
natural surveillance is possible.
(3)
Access control. Access control may include,
but is not limited to, use of fences, walls, landscaping, and lighting
to prevent or discourage public access to or from dark or unmonitored
areas. In addition, sidewalks, pavement, lighting, and landscaping
areas should be used to guide the public to and from primary development
entrances and exits.
(4)
Activity support. Create activity support by
placing new or existing activities in an area so that individuals
engaged in a particular activity become part of the natural surveillance
of other areas.
C. Service, delivery and storage areas.
(1)
Locate loading docks, outside storage, and service
areas in areas of low visibility such as at the side, rear (non-street
side of buildings).
(2)
No areas for outdoor storage, trash collection
or compaction, loading, or other such uses must be located within
20 feet of any public street, public sidewalk, or internal pedestrian
walkway.
(3)
Loading docks, truck parking, outdoor storage,
trash collection, trash compaction, and other service functions must
be incorporated into the overall design of the building and landscaping
so that the visual and acoustic impacts of these functions are fully
contained and out of view from adjacent properties and public streets.
Screening materials must be the same as, or of equal quality to, the
materials used for the primary building and landscaping.
D. Mechanical equipment screening. All mechanical equipment,
whether on the roof, sides of the building, or mounted on the ground,
should be screened from public view. Screening should be architecturally
integrated with the building through materials, color, texture, shape,
size, and with design features, such as facade parapets. Mechanical/utility
screening must be an integral part of the building structure and architecture
and not give the appearance of being "tacked on" to the exterior surfaces.
The building parapet must be the primary means of screening roof top
equipment.
Prominent lighting fixtures and layout patterns
contribute to unified exterior lighting design of commercial developments
in addition to promoting safe vehicular and pedestrian access to and
within a development.
A. Pedestrian walkway lighting.
(1)
Pedestrian-level, bollard lighting, ground-mounted
lighting, or other low, glare-controlled fixtures mounted on building
or landscape walls must be used to light pedestrian walkways.
(2)
Accent lighting on buildings is encouraged as
a security feature.
(3)
Every attempt should be made to consider the
impacts the additional lighting will have on the surrounding environment.
Off-site glare onto adjacent properties or right-of-way is not permitted
and over-lighting areas and high contrast between properties should
be avoided. Concealment of the light source should be a design consideration.
B. Storefront lighting. Building facades should be highlighted
through "up" lights or accent lights placed on the facade, or through
gooseneck lights mounted on the building facade to highlight facade
features and signs. Accent lighting of buildings and landscape to
highlight features and elements is encouraged, such as the use of
indirect lighting, cove lighting, "wall washing," rim or eaves lighting,
and overhead down lighting.
(1)
Direct storefront lighting onto the facade or
the sidewalk immediately in front of the store.
(2)
Lighting should be shielded to prevent glare
on adjacent properties.
(3)
Display windows should be accented by using
lights placed inside the building.
(4)
All lighting fixtures should be compatible with
the architectural design of the building.
C. Exterior site lighting. Exterior light fixtures should
be compatible and relate to the architectural character of the buildings
on a site. Site lighting should be provided at the minimum level to
accommodate safe pedestrian and vehicle movements, without causing
any off-site glare.
(1)
Poles and fixtures should be designed to be
architecturally compatible with structures and lighting on adjacent
properties.
(2)
Illuminate all intersections with perimeter
public roads with similar poles and fixtures used internal to the
development.
(3)
Parking lot lighting should be unobtrusive and
provide safe light for orderly functions.
(4)
Landscape lighting should enhance and complement,
not overpower, the landscape materials.
Signage in retail commercial centers is generally
intended to identify to the user the location of a specific business
or retail center. If signs are visible from a public street, they
must not compromise public safety by attracting undue attention. Signage
must be subservient to the overall design and impression of the architecture.
Signs should be consistent with overall project design but should
be subordinate to architectural and landscape elements. All signage
must conform to § 112-9G of this Development Ordinance.
A. Tenant signage may be prohibited on the back/rear
elevation of buildings that are visible from other non-retail commercial
properties or public streets, with the exception of signage necessary
for delivery or door identification that will not exceed two square
feet and be nonilluminated.
B. Monument signs must not be placed within the sight
triangle of any intersection or access drive with a public street.
Monument signs must incorporate design and materials that match the
architecture of the development.