Lima Town City Zoning Code
ARTICLE XVI
Commercial Site Design
[Amended 4-3-2014 by L.L. No. 2-2014]
§ 250-118 Purpose.
These sections are intended to set threshold standards for quality design in new commercial development. Good design results in buildings that are visually compatible with one another and adjacent neighborhoods and contribute to a commercial district that is attractive, active and safe. These qualities in turn contribute to the creation of commercial districts that facilitate easy pedestrian movement and a rich mixture of land uses. These standards apply to the design of new commercial development and to the expansion of existing commercial development in any district and shall be applied in addition to the access management provision in § 250-117.
§ 250-119 Site organization.
A.
Building orientation. Building orientation and maximum setback standards are established to help create an attractive streetscape and pleasant pedestrian environment.
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(1)
New commercial buildings shall be oriented to existing or new public streets. Building orientation is demonstrated by placing buildings and their public entrances close to streets so that pedestrians have a direct and convenient route from the street sidewalk to building entrances.
(a)
On sites smaller than three acres, commercial buildings shall be oriented to the public street/sidewalk, and off-street parking shall be located to the side or rear of the building(s), except where it is not feasible due to limited or no street frontage or where there are access restrictions.
(b)
Buildings on larger sites may be set back from the public street and oriented to traffic aisles on private property if the on-site circulation system is developed like a public street with pedestrian access, landscape strips and street trees.
(2)
At least one major public entrance shall be visible from the abutting public street. Corner entrances may be used to provide orientation to two streets. Customer entrances should be clearly defined, highly visible, using features such as canopies, porticos, arcades, arches, wing walls, and planters.
B.
Street connectivity and internal circulation. The following standards emphasize the importance of connections and circulation between uses and properties. The standards apply to both public and private streets. (See also Access management, § 250-117.)
(1)
New commercial buildings may be required to provide street or driveway stubs and reciprocal access easements to promote efficient circulation between uses and properties and to promote connectivity and dispersal of traffic.
(2)
Internal roadways shall be designed to slow traffic speeds. This can be achieved by keeping road widths to a minimum, allowing parallel parking, and planting street trees to visually narrow the road.
C.
Large parking areas. The amount of parking needed for larger commercial development can result in a large expanse of pavement. Landscaping within a parking area shall be incorporated in a manner that is both attractive and easy to maintain, minimizes the visual impact of surface parking, and improves environmental and climatic impacts. In addition to the provisions of § 250-77 (pertaining to parking), the following standards apply to commercial development where more than 75 parking spaces are proposed.
(1)
Walkways are necessary for persons who will access the site by walking, biking or transit. A continuous pedestrian walkway at least five feet wide shall be provided from the primary frontage sidewalk to the customer entrance for each building. This internal walkway shall incorporate a mix of landscaping, benches, dropoff bays and bicycle facilities for at least 50% of the length of the walkway. The walkways must be designed for access by disabled persons. If the walkway crosses a parking area or vehicle aisle, the standards in Subsection C(2) below apply.
(2)
For the safety of pedestrians, parking lots shall be designed to separate pedestrians from vehicles and include protected pedestrian walkways from parking areas to building entrances. Walkways shall be protected by landscaping or parking bumpers. Walkways shall have a minimum width of five feet. Walkways may cross a vehicle aisle if distinguished by a color, texture or elevation different from the parking and driving areas. Walkways shall not share a vehicle aisle.
(3)
The parking area shall be divided into pods of no more than 50 spaces each, with landscape strips, peninsulas, or grade separations to reduce the visual impact of large expanses of paving, to direct vehicular traffic through the parking lot, and to provide a location for pedestrian walkways.
(4)
Pods may have access at one or both ends. A pod may be U-shaped with double access at one end.
(5)
Pods shall be separated with physical breaks by providing one or more of the following:
(a)
Landscape strips between parallel parking rows that are a minimum five feet in width with no car overhang and 10 feet in width with a car overhang. When incorporating pedestrian walkways, such strips shall be a minimum of 20 feet in width to accommodate vehicular overhangs, walkways, lights, posts and other appurtenances.
(b)
Building pads, landscaped pedestrian walkways, interior streets or other site features.
(6)
Landscaping for large parking areas shall consist of a minimum of 7% of the total parking area plus a ratio of one tree per eight parking spaces to create a canopy effect. The total parking area includes parking spaces, travel aisles, sidewalks and abutting landscaped areas.
§ 250-120 Site design.
Site design details. Attention to detail can significantly increase the compatibility of commercial development with adjacent uses. Commercial development shall be designed to comply with the following applicable details and any other details warranted by the local conditions.
A.
Screening and buffers.
(1)
Landscape screening and buffers shall be designed to separate commercial/mixed-use projects and residential land uses and may be required to screen views of dissimilar land uses.
(2)
Any undesirable impacts produced on the site, such as noise, glare, odors, dust or vibrations, shall be adequately screened from adjacent properties.
(3)
The amount and scale of on-site landscaping should be appropriate to the proposed land use and be reflected in the landscape plan as provided for in the submission requirements set forth in Article XV (Site Plan Review).
B.
Landscape.
(1)
Landscaping which is compatible with the context, use or architecture of the site shall be provided along all building facades facing a parking lot or street .
(2)
Appropriate landscaping shall be installed and maintained within all required side and rear setbacks. For side property lines, landscaping shall commence at the front building line. For the rear property line, landscaping shall run from side property line to side property line.
(3)
New development fronting on public streets shall provide street tree plantings at forty-foot maximum spacing with minimum two-and-one-half-inch- to three-inch-caliper trees. If trees are to be planted under powerlines, specific varieties should be selected which do not exceed the height of the lowest line when fully grown.
(4)
Landscaping shall extend to the road edge along all frontages.
(5)
New plantings and landscape plans that have been included in the design and development proposals for permitted projects or that are part of the conditions set forth in a conditional use permit shall be managed and maintained over the life of the project unless circumstances warrant revisions to these plans. Owners and developers shall be responsible for maintaining the landscaping and associated elements in good condition, with healthy plants and plant replacements as necessary in order to retain the plant numbers and types that have been included in the permitted plans or as referenced in the permit conditions.
C.
Lighting.
(1)
All lighting shall be glare-free and shielded from the sky, adjoining properties and streets. (See also § 250-94, Outdoor lighting.)
D.
Pedestrian connections.
(1)
Required between residential and commercial areas. Sidewalks shall be a minimum five feet in width with a five-foot planted buffer between sidewalk and curb.
(2)
Walkways shall be provided connecting building entrances and streets adjoining the site.
(3)
Pedestrian connections to adjoining properties shall be provided except where such a connection is impractical. Pedestrian connections shall connect the on-site circulation system to existing or proposed streets, walkways and driveways that abut the property. Where adjacent properties are undeveloped or have potential of redevelopment, streets, accessways and walkways on site shall be laid out or stubbed to allow for extension to the adjoining property.
E.
Pedestrian amenities. Amenities such as awnings, seating, special paving and planters can have a dramatic effect on the pedestrian environment. Commercial developers should give as much thought to the pedestrian environment as they give to vehicle access, circulation and parking. The standards for pedestrian amenities are related to the scale of the development and also provide the flexibility for the developer to select the most appropriate amenities for the particular site and use.
F.
Loading facilities.
(1)
Where needed, loading facilities shall be provided on site of sufficient size and number to adequately handle the delivery or shipping of goods. Where possible, loading areas should be designed so that vehicles enter and exit the site in a forward motion.
(2)
Once assigned, off-street loading areas shall not be diminished, assigned or used for other purposes without a permit approving such action.
§ 250-121 Architectural design.
A.
General building design. New commercial buildings shall provide architectural relief and interest, with emphasis at building entrances and along sidewalks, to promote and enhance a comfortable pedestrian scale and orientation. Blank walls shall be avoided except when not feasible.
(1)
Ground-floor windows shall be provided along frontages adjacent to sidewalks. The main front elevation(s) of buildings shall provide windows or transparency at the pedestrian level of at least 50%. The minimum window and door requirements are measured between two feet and eight feet from the ground. Only the glass portion of doors may be used in the calculation. If there are upper-floor windows, they shall continue the vertical and horizontal character of the ground-level windows.
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(2)
Walls that are visible from a public street shall include a combination of architectural elements and features, such as offsets, windows, entry treatments, wood siding, brick stucco, synthetic stucco, textured concrete block, textured concrete, and landscaping.
(3)
New retail, office and institutional buildings shall provide for convenient pedestrian access to transit. For the purposes of this section, "impractical" means where one or more of the following conditions exist:
(a)
Physical or topographic conditions make a connection impracticable. Such conditions include but are not limited to roads, railroads, steep slopes, wetlands or other bodies of water where a connection could not reasonably be provided;
(b)
Buildings or other existing development on adjacent lands physically preclude a connection now or in the future considering the potential for redevelopment; or
(c)
Where streets or accessways would violate provisions of leases, easements, covenants, restrictions or other agreements existing as of January 1, 2009, which preclude a required street or accessway connection.
B.
Specialty equipment.
(1)
Rooftop mechanical equipment, satellite dishes, antennas, etc., shall be screened from public view with the use of architecturally compatible materials, parapet or wall.
(2)
Storage areas, trash collection facilities and noise-generating equipment shall be located away from public streets and abutting residential uses unless sight-obscuring fencing has been provided.