A.   Purpose: The purpose of this overlay district is to establish access and design standards to ensure that new development, redevelopment, substantial reconstruction, or expansion of existing buildings enhances the overall quality and character of the county.

   B.   Traffic Safety And Access Management Intent: Traffic and access management safety issues associated with major arterials are also primary concerns in this overlay district. The provision of safe access to adjoining roads and interconnections between adjoining developments is important to a transportation system that works. Access to the state's roads is governed by the Illinois department of transportation, which is responsible for the review of the site plan for access to the adjoining road network. It is the purpose of this overlay district to encourage connectivity between adjoining uses along arterial and collector roads to reduce the need for traffic to go onto major roads to reach nearby uses. (Ord. 10-001, 1-12-2010)

   C.   Applicability: The extent of the overlay district is coterminous with the extent of the commercial land uses identified along U.S. 6, IL-47, and IL-113 in the Grundy County land use plan as indicated in the overlay district maps on file with the county. The requirements for the overlay districts shall be applicable for all parcels that from U.S. 6, IL-47, and IL-113 for a distance of one thousand five hundred feet (1,500') of depth from the front lot line into the parcel. The land use plan and the overlap maps are available from the Grundy County land use department. (Ord. 2012-014, 4-10-2012)

   A.   Parking And Loading:

      1.   Parking Location: Parking areas containing more than twenty (20) vehicle spaces shall have at least seventy five percent (75%) of the spaces located beside or behind the principal building unless there are site conditions that prohibit such parking lot design.

      2.   Loading Location And Screening: All loading areas are required to be located on the same lot as the building or lot served by the loading area. Semitrailer loading spaces and loading docks shall be located behind buildings and completely screened from view from adjacent properties and public rights of way by walls, enclosures, berms, or landscaping. Loading areas shall be located such that no part of a truck extends into right of way or interferes with parking access while it is loading or unloading.

   B.   Signage: Within the overlay district, the sign regulations identified in chapter 5, "Signs", of this title, are modified such that only monument signs with a height of not more than eight feet (8') are permitted in the overlay district. No other sign types, including pole mounted signs, are allowed in the overlay district.

   C.   Landscaping Requirements: All of the landscaping standards from chapter 9, "Landscaping And Tree Protection", of this title apply in the overlay district, except as follows:

      1.   The landscaping requirements apply within the overlay district regardless of the zoning of adjacent property;

      2.   The landscaping requirements apply to all nonresidential, two- family, and multi-family development; and

      3.   Front yard landscaping shall be calculated as one point for each foot in length of the front property line.

      4.   An additional twenty (20) points of landscaping is required in the area within five feet (5') of a monument sign. This signage landscape requirement may be applied towards the front yard landscaping requirement. See subsection B of this section for the overlay district signage requirements.

   D.   Trash Collection: All dumpsters and trash collection areas are subject to the following standards:

      1.   Dumpster and trash areas shall be located and designed for loading and trash collection to be done in an efficient manner that allows trucks easy movements for trash collection.

      2.   Trash areas shall be located and oriented so that they do not create a nuisance to adjoining owners or an unsightly view from public or private roads. (Ord. 10-001, 1-12-2010)

      3.   Trash container or collection areas shall be screened on three (3) sides at one hundred percent (100%) opacity with materials that are aesthetically similar as the architecture of the main structure and also durable for the use intended. Chainlink fencing is prohibited. (Ord. 2012-009, 4-10-2012)

      4.   Dumpster enclosures shall be architecturally compatible to the principal building in terms of materials and color.

      5.   Gates are required and shall be constructed of wood. (Ord. 10-001, 1-12-2010)

   A.   Generally: Nonresidential buildings shall conform to the design standards of this section.

   B.   Three Hundred Sixty Degree Architecture: The architectural features, materials, and articulation of the front facade shall be continued on all sides. The rear facade may be exempted if no section shall be visible from an existing or planned public street.

   C.   Prohibited Building Finish Materials: Building materials used for exterior walls of each elevation of all commercial or mixed use buildings shall not use prefabricated metal siding or corrugated metal.

   D.   Blank Walls: All exterior building elevations that face public streets, customer parking areas, or areas of residential use shall be designed so that there are no areas of blank wall that are more than forty feet (40') in horizontal or vertical direction. This requirement can be met by window openings, articulation of the building, porches or balconies, material and color variations, decorative cornices, murals, score lines, and graphics. Foundation plantings equal to a shrub every ten feet (10') or tree every forty feet (40') are also sufficient.

   E.   Corporate Logos And Signage: Corporate logos or signs that are used on building facades are regulated as signs, in accordance with chapter 5, "Signs", of this title.

   F.   Mechanical Equipment: Rooftop mechanical equipment (e.g., HVAC systems) mounted on a flat roof shall be screened with materials and colors that are consistent with the design of the building. In addition, mechanical equipment shall be screened from all ground level views from adjacent property and rights of way by:

      1.   Parapet walls; or

      2.   Hedges installed on a green roof system, provided that the mechanical equipment is set back at least twenty five feet (25') from all exterior building walls; or

      3.   Sloped roof systems or other architectural elements that conceal the flat roof area where the equipment is not visible from ground level views.

   G.   Building Design Features Menu: Each building over fifty thousand (50,000) square feet shall incorporate five (5) of the following ten (10) building design options:

      1.   Building Materials:

         a.   In order to vary texture, every elevation of the building shall be composed of not less than two (2) materials.

         b.   Use of masonry or brick for fifteen percent (15%) of the building front facade.

         c.   The front facade shall have a rhythm created by vertical elements with a twenty (20) to twenty five foot (25') on center spacing. This vertical element shall be wrapped around the side of the building for the first fifty feet (50').

         d.   The buildings should articulate the floor levels with horizontal bands of different materials, offsets and shadow lines, changes in window treatments, or changes in material or color, balconies, or railings.

         e.   Minor setback offsets to make it appear as if it were a separate building. The minimum offset is one foot (1') with a maximum of six feet (6').

         f.   A change in the number of floors.

         g.   Obvious variations in roof or parapet height or design.

      2.   Transparency:

         a.   Not less than thirty percent (30%) of the ground level front facade shall be transparent, including window or door openings that allow views into and out of the interior of the building.

      3.   Entrances:

         a.   Entrances to ground level uses shall be recessed between three (3) and eight feet (8').

         b.   Covered by awnings that project between four (4) and six feet (6') from the building face. (Ord. 10-001, 1-12-2010)

The following governs the review of access and interconnection:

   A.   General: Developments shall have restricted access to collector or arterial roads in the overlay district and conform to the Grundy County highway access regulation ordinance. Every effort shall be made to ensure developments along these roads share common access points to maintain the capacity of the road by restricting turning movements.

   B.   Highway Access Management: Strip development with each use having its own access to state roads is undesirable.

      1.   Access To Arterials: All access points to arterials shall comply with the Grundy County highway access regulation ordinance.

      2.   Corner Parcels And Access To IL-47: A corner parcel that has street frontage on IL-47 and another thoroughfare shall take access from the other thoroughfare unless such access poses a safety challenge or requires the destruction of a high value resource.

      3.   Additional Highway Access Review: The Illinois department of transportation (IDOT) shall review all subdivision and land development applications and indicate whether it approves of the proposed access in terms of location and sight distances, acceleration and deceleration lanes, turn lanes, traffic signs and/or signals, and the capacity of the road to handle the proposed traffic.

      4.   Temporary Curb Cuts: Should the first parcel to develop not be at the best location for access to an area, the county and IDOT may issue a temporary curb cut permit. This temporary curb cut allows the entrance to be located there, provided that there are connections to the adjoining properties and the landowner signs an agreement giving IDOT permission to close the curb cut, at the landowner's expense, once the property has access to a better curb cut location.

      5.   Curb Cut Width: Wherever consistent with safe access and traffic circulation, limit curb cuts to the least width necessary.

   C.   Internal Circulation: The internal circulation shall be such that it provides for automobile and pedestrian access across the site and adjoining sites for interconnecting traffic. The land use department, or its designee, shall review the plans to ensure that, where interconnections can be made or where adjoining properties have provided for interconnections, the plan makes the connections.

      1.   Internal Pedestrian Access: In parking areas containing over twenty (20) vehicles, pedestrian walkways between the main entrance and the parking area should include a sidewalk or be clearly identified with a crosswalk.

      2.   Connectivity: To ensure safe and convenient access and circulation, the county may require connections between abutting parcels, including connected parking areas, frontage roads, or reverse frontage roads. The development committee shall review the layout and engineering of such linkages to ensure that they are feasible and safe. The plan shall be changed if the circulation pattern does not meet these criteria:

         a.   Sufficient width to accommodate a two-way access between properties, designed to accommodate automobiles and service and loading vehicles.

         b.   Stub-outs and other design features to allow abutting properties to be tied in to provide future cross access.

         c.   Linkage to other cross access drives in the area.

      3.   Planned Cross Access (Stub Streets): Land development plans may be required to be modified to make the connections or to ensure that the interconnections between a number of properties are planned in a manner that facilitates movements between sites. In the event that a neighboring site has not yet been developed, the plans shall illustrate the space reserved for stub street location. Any planned connections may defer construction until the adjacent property is developed.

      4.   Existing Stubs: If the neighboring property has provided a stub to the subject property, the connection shall be made unless there is a high quality resource that would have to be destroyed to make the connection.

      5.   Intersection Alignment: Either the centerline of opposing nonresidential access points shall be directly aligned or they shall be offset no less than seventy five feet (75').

   D.   Easements: Access that is shared by adjacent properties, whether under single or separate ownership, requires that an access easement and agreement between property owners be approved by the county and recorded. The recorded book and page number shall be denoted on any subsequent subdivision plats of the property. Access shall conform to the Grundy County highway access regulation ordinance. (Ord. 10-001, 1-12-2010)

   A.   Landscaping: In addition to any applicable landscaping requirements set out in chapter 9, "Landscaping And Tree Protection", of this title, two (2) trees shall be planted in the front yard of new single-family detached residential units. This landscaping requirement applies whether located as a single lot split or as part of a larger subdivision.

   B.   Prohibited Building Finish Materials: Building materials used for exterior walls of each elevation of all attached residential, multi-family buildings shall not use prefabricated metal siding or corrugated metal.

   C.   Driveway Access: The driveway should be configured to allow for cars to not have to back out onto an arterial or collector street. A turnaround or similarly functional driveway feature should be identified on the site plans.

   D.   Subdivision Access: Subdivisions should take access from local streets and not allow individual lots to access arterials directly (see subsection 8-6-3-1C, "Residential Development Design", of this title). (Ord. 10-001, 1-12-2010)