A design review process of the city is established. The community development and sustainability department director shall have the authority to process site plan and architectural approval requests in conformance with this article.

The purpose of the design review process is comprehensive site plan and architectural review so as to determine compliance with this article and to promote the orderly and harmonious growth of the city and the stability of land values and investments and the general welfare; and to help prevent the impairment or depreciation of land values and the development by the erection of structures, additions or alterations thereto without proper attention to siting, or of unsightly, undesirable or obnoxious appearance; and to prepare for and help to prevent problems arising affecting the community due to the nature of existing and planned uses of land and structures, such as traffic, public, safety, public facilities, utilities and services, among others.

The city council finds that poor or inappropriate exterior design of improvements to real property adversely affects the health, safety and welfare of the residents of the city by creating one or more of the following conditions:

The function of the director shall be to review the following, with respect to all structures except artwork, single-family dwellings (except as otherwise directed in this section), and accessory buildings, unless specified otherwise elsewhere in this chapter:

In carrying out the purposes of this article with respect to the external design of buildings and site plans of all proposed new buildings, structures or uses for which site plans and architectural review is required, the following principles shall be applicable:

Three copies of accurately scaled drawings shall be submitted with three copies of the application form. The number of copies of such plans to be submitted shall be established by the director. The community development and sustainability department may require submission of amendments to an application before, during or after its review period to reflect more detailed information reasonably necessary for staff to make its determination.

If a new structure or an addition to an existing structure is proposed, where the addition or new structure will be located within the tree protection zone or tree canopy of a tree of significance or landmark tree as defined in Section 37.01.020, and Sections 37.03.010, 37.03.020 and 37.03.050, a site plan shall be submitted that accurately depicts the location of all mature trees on the site, including the type of tree and diameter of the tree at breast height (DBH), and the height and size of the tree canopy which may be within the building envelope. At the discretion of the community development and sustainability department in coordination with the community services director, an arborist's report may be required for any tree(s) on the site which may be affected by the proposal in order to determine whether the proposal will damage the existing tree(s).

The procedure for action on design review submittals shall be as established in Article 40.39 of this chapter, entitled Administrative Approvals, commencing with Section 40.39.010

The review procedure for all applications may consist of a preliminary plan and a final plan or just the latter. The community development and sustainability department encourages a preliminary and final plan in instances of large or complicated development projects.

Preliminary review by the community development and sustainability department has the following purposes:

A site plan and architectural (design review) application shall be approved, conditionally approved, or denied by the director, planning commission, or city council pursuant to the requirements of Article 40.39 of this chapter. Such application may be approved only if the following findings are made:

The procedure for appeal of a design review determination shall be as established in Section 40.39.050 of this Code.

The design review approval of a site plan and architecture subject to Article 40.31 of the Davis Municipal Code shall become null and void if substantial construction in good faith reliance on the approval has not commenced within a thirty-six-month period subsequent to such approval. Such expiration date may be extended by the director for one or more periods not exceeding a total of eighteen months upon a showing that circumstances and conditions upon which the site plan and architecture were approved have not changed. Any such extension by the director shall be processed in accordance with the requirements of Article 40.39 regarding administrative approvals.

Notwithstanding such extension, the holder of an approved site plan and architectural review may request tolling of the term for which the approved site plan and architectural review is valid due to litigation challenging the approval. The tolling request must be submitted in writing to the director prior to the expiration of the term of the approval. The request must establish to the satisfaction of the director that the subject litigation challenges the grant of the underlying permit, or the environmental determinations relating to its approval, and has been filed by a plaintiff or petitioner other than the permit holder. In response to this request, the director may grant a litigation tolling period. The tolling period shall be calculated from the date the action is filed with a court of competent jurisdiction until such time that the court of final jurisdiction enters its final disposition of the case and all appeal periods have expired or such time that the litigation has been dismissed.