Lot area (§ 270-171.4).

Area, mass, bulk, and siting of structures (§§ 270-171.4, 270-171.6).

Permitted uses (§ 270-171.5).

Physical design (§ 270-171.6), including:

These architectural design standards are style neutral. They establish a design language of appropriate forms and materials for the Inlet Valley Overlay District.

All building elevations must have a distinct base, middle, and top.

Scale, proportions, massing, articulation, and design features of street and public facing elevations should enhance the pedestrian and vehicular experience, and emphasize human scale.

An elevation > 100 feet long must have wall plane projections or recesses with a depth of > 5% of the facade length, extending > 20% of the facade length. Example: 100-foot long elevation, > 20 feet of its length must be set > five feet back or forward from the main facade plane.

An elevation must not have a blank, uninterrupted length of > 25 feet without having > two of these features on each story:

Side or rear walls may have false windows and door openings defined by frames, sills and lintels, or similarly proportioned modulations, only when actual doors and windows are not possible because of the building use.

Elevations on a building that are visible from or facing a street must have a similar style and quality of materials, windows, doors, trim, decorative moldings, and wall articulation.

A principal or accessory building fronting on Elmira Road (NY 13), Five Mile Drive (NY 13A), Seven Mile Drive, or Calkins Road, must not be a prefabricated or preengineered metal structure.

Buildings visible from the street should have a sloping roof.

Sloping primary rooflines (not including dormers, entry canopies, or similar accessory elements) must have a roof pitch between 5:12 and 12:12.

Sloping roofs must have eaves that overhang walls by > 1.5 feet (perpendicular distance).

Roof forms must correspond to building elements and functions such as entrances, arcades, and porches. Roof forms should relate to other buildings on the same lot. A building may have fake dormers, gables, or other roof projections only to hide mechanical or telecommunications equipment.

Continuous plane of any roof line must be < 100 feet long.

Roofline orientation should accommodate solar panels with southern exposure that are parallel to the roofline slope.

Architectural shingles: multitone.

Wood shakes or shingles.

Slate shingles: natural or synthetic.

Standing seam metal or copper roofing.

Copper or colored anodized metal roof flashing.

Solar shingles.

Primary cladding materials: One or more of these materials must cover 60% to 100% of cladding area on any outside wall. An asterisk (*) identifies materials that are most appropriate for the Inlet Valley corridor.

Secondary cladding materials: 0% to 40% of the cladding area on any outside wall may use one or a combination of these materials.

Cladding must have a matte or nonreflective finish.

Building colors should be from a palette of natural earth tones, desaturated colors, white, or shades of gray, that complement natural surroundings. Any colors with higher saturation or chroma should only be used on building trim and accents. Buildings must not have fluorescent colors.

If a building elevation has multiple facade materials or colors, one or two materials should set a dominant architectural theme, with others used more sparingly as accents. A building should not have a color scheme with random distribution, a chaotic arrangement of contrasting materials or colors (based on established concepts of color theory and visual harmony), or patterns of contrasting stripes or geometric shapes.

Cladding material or color on an outside wall may only change:

A sill, cap, or > five-inch-high trim border must define material changes on a horizontal plane.

Outside walls with siding must have the following trim.

Elevations of a principal building (not including garage doors or bays) must have the following window and door opening area (glazing):

Windows on a building must be relatively consistent in height and design, and consistent in design with doors on street facing facades, to create a cohesive and harmonious fenestration pattern.

Windows and doors should have a vertical orientation. Large display windows with a horizontal orientation should be divided into smaller vertical units or elements.

Window and door openings on a masonry clad wall should have a decorative or functional lintel above the opening, that looks like it carries the weight above.

A building must not have a storefront curtain wall system. A window curtain wall unit may only be on an interior side or rear elevation.

Windows and doors must be recessed into a wall. Buildings must not have flush or surface mounted windows. This does not apply to storm windows or doors.

A principal commercial or industrial building, and > 25% of the tenant spaces in a multitenant commercial or industrial building, must have a public entrance with > one of these features.

The main public entry of a principal building with street frontage must face that street. A building with one occupant or tenant sited at an intersection of two streets must face the busiest street.

A building or structure must not have standardized nonfunctional elements that:

Rooftop utility, HVAC, and mechanical equipment, ducts, or related elements must have screening of the same height or higher, to hide them from view. Screening must be 1) opaque, and 2) integral with the building form (examples: roof well, parapet wall, fake dormer, purpose-built screen or enclosure matching building colors and materials). A plumbing or exhaust vent, pipe, or flue that penetrates a roof must match the roof color.

Wall-mounted utility, HVAC, and mechanical equipment, ducts, or related elements may only be on an interior side or rear elevation, with siting or screening that hides those features from the street and neighboring lots as much as possible.

Unsurfaced areas (surfaces with no buildings, structures, or pavement) on a developed lot must have maintained groundcover, with one or more of these features.

These areas do not need maintained groundcover.

Mature native and adapted trees should be kept and incorporated into the site where possible.

A new building or addition to an existing building must have foundation planting beds parallel to the full length of the front, street fronting side, and interior side elevations (not including building entrances and doors, and perpendicular walkways and garage door entries).

Foundation planting area width must be:

A foundation planting area must include > one shrub with a potential > three-inch mature height for every 25 square feet of planting area. A tree with a potential > eight-inch mature height may substitute for a required shrub. Shrubs may have regular spacing, or be clustered in more naturalistic groups.

As an alternative to foundation planting, the area next to a building may be in the form of a functional pedestrian plaza, with landscape planters or beds, modular pavers, art, fountains or water features, benches and tables, pergolas or arbors, life-sized games, small performance spaces, or other amenities, that meet the intent of these standards according to the Planning Board.

Requirements for parking lot internal and perimeter landscaping are in the next Subsection F, Parking and vehicle circulation.

Parking lots and driveways may only be as large as needed to meet 1) reasonable everyday demand for number of parking spaces, considering allowed uses and the building; and 2) dimensional requirements for parking spaces, driveways and drive aisles, and internal landscaping.

Any off-street parking areas of buildings fronting on Elmira Road (NY 13), Five Mile Drive (NY 13A), Seven Mile Drive, or Calkins Road, must be in the rear or side yard.

A parking lot may only be in front of a principal street-fronting building and the street if 1) the building is preexisting, and 2) the Planning Board finds that existing site conditions make siting a parking area to the side or rear impractical or impossible. If this is this case, any parking in front of the principal building must:

Parking lot and driveway surfaces should be context sensitive. The Planning Board may stipulate materiality.

Any aggregate parking surface must be built in a way that prevents ponding, aggregate loss or spillage, or track-out onto public streets.

A parking lot surface must have a visually distinct edge.

Parking lot layout must allow a vehicle to enter from and exit to the street driving forward.

A parking row with only one way in and out must have a turnaround area or space at the end.

Parking lot layout must allow service vehicles to access loading, service, or trash enclosure areas, with as little disruption to circulation and parking space access as >possible.

Off-street parking may have one vehicle access point on a street frontage. A lot or building site may have an additional access point only if the Uniform Code requires it for fire apparatus access.

For a corner lot, vehicle access to off-street parking may only be from the secondary street, not the principal street.

An access point must be as far from a street intersection and other curb cuts as possible.

A one-way access driveway and approach must be 12 feet to 14 feet wide. A two-way access driveway and approach must be 16 feet to 20 feet wide. Access driveway corner radius where it meets a roadway must be < 15 feet.

Continuous curb cuts or driveways, and parking lots that use a fronting street as a drive aisle to access parking spaces, are prohibited.

If these requirements conflict with New York State DOT access management requirements, the more restrictive requirement applies.

Parking lots for nonresidential uses on neighboring lots should have cross-access driveways connecting them, or provisions for future connection. Property owners must not block cross-access connections or provisions.

The following applies to parking lots constructed of solid pavement.

A row of parking spaces must have a landscape island, > nine inches wide and extending the full depth of the row, 1) at each end; and 2) at an interval of < 10 spaces or < 90 inches in a row.

A landscape island must have 1) maintained groundcover [see Subsection E(1)]; and > one deciduous tree (> 2.5 inches diameter at breast height (DBH) at planting, > 30 feet height at maturity) for each row it is next to. Two deciduous trees with a DBH of > 2 inches at planting, and a potential mature height of 20 feet to 30 feet may substitute for one taller required tree.

A new or expanded parking lot, or an existing parking area that is improved with solid or segmental paving, open cell or grid paving, or a similar hard pervious or impervious surface, must have a > ten-foot-wide landscape buffer between the parking lot surface and the side or rear lot lines.

An opaque fence, wall, berm, or hedgerow, four feet to six feet tall (three feet tall in the minimum principal building front setback area), must screen a parking lot for a hotel/motel, or commercial or industrial building or use, from any neighboring residential lot or use. Street facing sides of a parking lot that front on a street must have plantings with an average of > one shrub, with a potential > three-foot mature height, for every five feet of parking lot frontage.

Parking lots, driveways, and drive aisles must be built or graded in a way that prevents surface ponding, or sediment or aggregate collection.

Parking lot landscape islands and perimeter areas must allow decentralized stormwater runoff capture and infiltration where possible.

In the IV-C overlay zone, a principal building must have a paved > five-foot-wide walkway connecting its main entrance to the public sidewalk along the fronting street, or public right of way line if there is no sidewalk.

A parking lot must have a > five-foot-wide walkway connecting it to the main entrance of the principal building.

Parking lot spaces, driveways, and drive aisles are not walkways.

A use must have > one dedicated bicycle parking space (bike rack space, bike locker, etc.) for every five required vehicle parking spaces.

A permanent fence or wall may only use these materials, in a way that is customary for fence or wall construction.

Chain link fencing may only be at 1) an ancillary use (examples: athletic/ball field, backyard chicken area), or 2) a construction or short term event site. Chain link fencing for an ancillary use must have a supporting top rail, and knuckle selvage ends.

A fence or wall must not have:

A deer fence may not be used as a permanent yard or boundary fence or wall.

Fences should have a "good neighbor" design, where both sides look the same.

A fence or wall with finished and unfinished sides must have its finished or "good" side facing outward, towards bordering lots or thoroughfares [see Town Code § 270-223A(9): Zoning - fences and wall].

Maximum fence height is:

Outside of a clear sight triangle (an area within 30 feet of the intersection of front and street fronting side property lines at a street intersection, or 20 feet of where a driveway meets the street), these fence or wall elements may be taller than the maximum fence or wall height.

A loading, service, dumpster/waste collection, or outdoor storage area may only be in a rear yard.

Dumpsters or outdoor storage may only be in a dumpster/waste collection or outdoor storage area.

A dumpster/waste collection or outdoor storage area may only be 1) integral to a principal or accessory building, or 2) in a separate accessory structure.

Ground-mounted mechanical or utility equipment ancillary to a principal structure may only be in a 1) rear yard, or 2) interior side yard, behind the front elevation.

A 1) loading, service, dumpster/waste collection, or outdoor storage area; or 2) ground-mounted mechanical or utility equipment area, must have siting and screening that hides it from the street and any neighboring residential uses as much as possible.

Service, dumpster/waste collection, and outdoor storage area screening height must be six feet to eight feet. Screening materials should match or complement cladding on the principal building, but must be:

Gate materials must be:

Screening and gates > 0.5 foot above the ground must be 100% opaque.

All new utility lines must be underground.

Outdoor lighting must meet outdoor lighting performance standards in the Town outdoor lighting law (Town Code Chapter 173), along with the following requirements.

These requirements do not apply to temporary use of decorative lights for holidays or special events.

Freestanding lighting height (ground to luminaire) must be:

A light pole must not block a walkway, sidewalk, or curb ramp.

Building mounted lighting may only direct light downward.

Light fixtures on the underside of canopies, porches, or similar exterior roof areas must be fully recessed or flush with the underside surface.

Security lighting must be motion activated, to limit nighttime light pollution and glare.

Light poles and fixture style should be consistent with style and period of architecture on the site.

Sconces or gooseneck lighting fixtures may be used to illuminate areas near building walls, directing light downward against the building wall and areas next to the wall.

Wall packs may only be used as security lighting on the rear wall of a building. Wall packs must not provide general building or site lighting.

Light poles must have a distinctive base, middle and top. Cobra head lights and bare metal light poles are not allowed.

Exposed concrete from concrete form (sonotube) bases may only be < one foot above grade.

Outdoor lighting color temperature must be < 3000K (warm white).

This does not apply to:

Zoning Code regulations for signs in the base zone apply in the Inlet Valley Overlay District. (See Chapter 270 Article XXIX: Signs.) in an overlay zone, special requirements for attached and freestanding signs in this subsection also apply.

Height. Where Zoning Code regulations for signs allow a freestanding sign height of > five feet, the maximum freestanding sign height in an overlay zone is six feet for a sign for a single tenant, and eight feet for a multitenant sign. (See Chapter 270 Article XXIX Signs.)

Setback. Freestanding sign setback must be > five feet from the public right-of-way edge.

Any freestanding sign must be outside of a clear sight triangle area formed by:

Face area.

Sign structure.

Building mounted signs include wall signs, canopy signs, awning signs, projecting signs, and window signs.

Sign area. Maximum building mounted sign area is 50% of the default maximum sign area for the base zone.

Coordinated design for multitenant buildings. A multitenant building must have a coordinated sign plan, with standards that ensure a consistent theme and visual harmony for all attached signs. Planning staff will determine if a sign plan meets this requirement.

Sign faces should be simple, uncluttered, and easily readable.

Sign lighting may only use 1) internally illuminated or backlit letters or logos; or 2) exterior fixtures mounted above the sign.

Sign lighting fixtures must be fully shielded, with the bulb not visible from a street or sidewalk.

Sign lighting must meet outdoor lighting performance standards in the Town outdoor lighting law (Town Code Chapter 173). Sign lighting color temperature must be < 3000K (warm white).

A group of property or business owners who want to start a wayfinding program in the Inlet Valley Overlay District may request a wayfinding plan and signage program, in coordination with the Town Board. Wayfinding signs and structures must follow a Town Board-approved design scheme, template, or pattern book that meets the spirit and intent of the Inlet Valley Overlay District design standards.

These types of signs are prohibited in the Inlet Valley Overlay District, in addition to prohibited signs in Chapter 270 Article XXIX.

Preexisiting commercial signs that do not comply with this section must be removed, or renovated or replaced to comply, by December 31, 2030.