9-1-A.

These Design Guidelines define and convey Roselle's vision for the character and quality of development in the Village. In applying such design standards, new buildings and renovations will contribute to Roselle's sense of place. These standards for defining physical form of development are additive to foundational land use and building bulk regulations in the Zoning Code. The Design Guidelines are a useful tool for: The Public: Members of the community who have an interest in its built environment and development decisions within the Village. Local Elected and Appointed Officials and Village Staff: Officials whose decisions influence the character and quality of the Village's built and natural environments. Business and Property Owners: Those who invest in Roselle and support its economic development and resilience. Design + Development Professionals: Persons who help bring life to the Village's vision by designing developments, redevelopments and property improvements.

9-1-B.

Applicability These Design Guidelines will be applicable to: 1. New development in the Town Center Design Guideline Overlay (see map in section below) 2. New development in other Business Districts (B-2, B-4, B-5) 3. New development in Industrial Districts (ORI and M-1) 4. Building permits that result in changes to exterior facades, parking lots, site improvements requiring said building permit, or landscaping within any of the areas noted in 1, 2, and 3 above.

1.

For the purposes of these Design Guidelines, "New Development" shall be defined as "ground up construction on a vacant site, or site on which an existing structure has been razed".

2.

In the instance of items 1, 2, and 3 above being applicable, a determination as to whether proposed development meets these Design Guidelines shall be made by the Planning and Zoning Commission. Should developments requiring review related to Design Guidelines also require a Special Use Permit, Planned Unit Development review, or other zoning entitlement, consideration of Design Guidelines may be conducted concurrently to those review processes. A determination by the Planning and Zoning Commission that a proposed development does not meet these Design Guidelines may be appealed to the Village Board. Such appeal may be considered concurrent to a Special Use or Planned Unit Development review. If no such zoning entitlement process is involved, an applicant appeal to a determination by the Planning and Zoning Commission shall be made within 35 days of receiving written confirmation of denial.

3.

In the instance of item 4 above being applicable, a determination as to whether proposed development meets these Design Guidelines shall be made by the Zoning Administrator. A determination by the Zoning Administrator that a proposed construction element does not meet these Design Guidelines may be appealed in keeping with procedures spelled out in Section 4 of this Chapter: Interpretations, Appeals, and Variations.

4.

Single Family Dwellings (attached or detached) shall not be subject to review related to these Design Guidelines, even if part of a Special Use or Planned Unit Development. In the case of a Planned Unit Development, these Design Guidelines shall be applicable to all common structures and landscape areas.

9-2-A.

Design Districts. Design Guidelines spelled out in this Section vary based on the Design District in which a property is located. The three districts are: 1) Town Center Design Guideline Overlay, 2) Business Districts (B-2, B-4, B-5) and 3) Industrial Districts (M-1 and ORI). The guidelines for each Design District will help property owners and designers understand Village expectations as they consider a site's location, relationship to the surrounding areas, and unique characteristics.

9-2-B.

Design Elements. The Design Elements below describe overarching themes applied to each of the Design Districts. These points relate to major components of any development and define the place being created. A Glossary of terms related to design and design elements can be found at the end of this document.

1.

Design Element: Site Planning. Site planning addresses the arrangement and design of buildings, accessory structures, parking and drive areas, bicycle and pedestrian mobility, and supporting facilities. Site Planning Design Guidelines help to establish a functional and pleasing environment through a mixture of urban design elements to ensure buildings, paths, roadways, and public spaces are beneficial for all users.

Objectives

a.

Combine and coordinate various site elements.

b.

Design multiple building developments logically and efficiently.

c.

Install screening between uses or activities that may be incompatible as needed to mitigate impacts between differing uses.

d.

Create interactive areas by including outdoor furniture, plazas, pocket parks, wayfinding signage, art, informational kiosks, landscaping, etc. when possible.

e.

Use lighting to assure safety and as an aesthetic design element.

2.

Design Element: Landscaping. Plant material enhances a property by creating visual interest, highlighting architecture and site features, offering shade, promoting environmental benefits, screening unattractive functions from public view and providing buffers between properties.

Objectives:

a.

Use landscape features to create visual interest, break up appearance of blank walls, and enliven unexciting building views.

b.

Apply vegetation to soften views of and within parking lots and other vehicle areas.

c.

Complement landscaped areas with streetscape amenities (awnings, bike racks, furniture, art, lighting, signs).

d.

Employ an environmentally sustainable landscape palette in support of stormwater management practices, as well as more efficient ongoing maintenance.

e.

Complement and be additive to landscape purpose, applicability, and requirements defined in the Village Code.

3. Design Element: Building Design + Form

Architectural elements define the scale, context, texture, materials, and color of developments. These characteristics articulate the quality and spirit of a space by enhancing its appearance, relationship to the street and sidewalk, and respect for surrounding structures and activities.

Objectives

a. Develop attractive new buildings that present a diversity of architectural styles and respect existing character within the Design District.

b. Enhance property by highlighting primary site and building features.

c. Create a cohesive and pleasant character by mitigating potentially adverse impacts between different uses and establishing logical transitions between buildings.

d. Improve developments by considering and prioritizing pedestrian use and mitigating potential impact of vehicles and impervious surfaces.

The guidelines for the Expanded Town Center District are drawn from the Village of Roselle's Comprehensive Plan. This Design District contains guidelines for the following categories of development: 1. multifamily, 2. row house and rear loaded townhomes, 3. mixed-use, and 4. commercial. New development located in the Expanded Town Center Area, defined in the map below, will be considered as to whether they are in keeping with the guidelines for that development type.

9-3-A. Design Standards Applicable to All Developments in the Expanded Town Center.

• Place building along the street with parking to the rear to create a comfortable pedestrian environment.

;bull; Maximize street level transparency to highlight activity level of the district.

;bull; Face front doors towards the streets, connecting directly from the sidewalk, to be inviting to pedestrians.

;bull; Incorporate articulated facade elements such as corner features, varied roof forms, well defined base, upper level setbacks, and interesting cornice lines to present interesting designs.

;bull; Ensure awnings and canopies add shade for pedestrians and add color to the street level facade.

;bull; Use high quality materials, including brick and stone to convey longevity of the district.

;bull; Avoid fake architectural treatments, including fake upper stories, windows and other elements.

;bull; Maintain visual interest of the district by not having blank walls facing the streets.

;bull; Provide landscape buffers when adjacent to existing single family homes to mitigate adverse views or noise.

;bull; Incorporate special corner treatments, including corner entrances, architectural corner elements, or small corner plazas and landscaping to present interesting designs.

;bull; Install streetscape elements consistent with the Village's streetscape palette of landscaping, decorative lighting, paving, seating, etc.

;bull; Facilitate places for outdoor seating with widened sidewalks and small pocket plazas.

9-3-B. Multifamily Residential Development.

New multifamily residential developments can add more population to the Town Center, especially near the train station. These can include high quality apartments, condominiums, and senior housing products.

9-3-C. Row Houses and Rear Loaded Townhomes.

Rowhouses and rear-loaded townhomes lining a street can create distinctive street walls with great pedestrian appeal. These low-rise multifamily developments are also appropriate for shallow lots and next to existing single-family homes.

9-3-D. Mixed-Use Development.

Mixed-use developments, with retail at the street level and housing or offices on the upper floors, add great vibrancy to a pedestrian oriented area. The Comprehensive Plan promotes more mixed-use projects along Irving Park Road and Main Street, extending the pedestrian oriented character to the Station Area to the east.

9-3-E. Commercial Buildings.

Small single-use commercial developments (below 6,000 SF), including restaurants, shops, and recreational uses, and offices of all sizes, are welcome additions to the Town Center area provided they comply with the design guidelines set forth in this section. Given the limited supply of large parcels available for redevelopment in the Town Center Area, it is challenging to accommodate larger commercial developments (over 6,000 SF) that require significant parking. Proposals for such developments can be allowed in areas designated Mixed-Use at the discretion of Village Staff.

9-3-F. Street Level Retail.

9-3-G. Awnings and Canopies.

9-3-H. Entrances.

9-3-I. Articulated Base and Corner.

9-3-J. Architectural Style.

• The appeal of a vibrant Town Center is not in one predominant architectural style, but rather in the richness of diverse architectural vocabularies, with an emphasis on quality materials and careful attention to detail. Architects and developers are encouraged to choose from established historic styles, and/or to create contemporary interpretations of these styles.

• Where a specific style is selected, the overall design of facade, roofs, architectural details, and materials selected must be consistent with the vocabulary of that style

• Random mixing of eclectic styles in one building is strongly discouraged

9-3-K. Exterior Finish Materials.

Commercial corridors in Roselle provide a range of retail, dining, and service business that serve community residents and surrounding communities. The Design Guidelines below define a development standard that enhances the day-to-day function and experience for employees and visitors along the corridors. These design guidelines are applicable in the B2, B-4, and B-5 zoning districts.

9-4-A. District Design Objectives.

1. Inviting commercial corridors and business areas where retail, service and office developments are attractive, distinctive and easy to access for pedestrians, cyclists, and motorists.

2. Enhanced commercial vitality, economic growth, and support for businesses, through thoughtfully developed physical surroundings.

3. Safe and efficient auto access, as well as bicycle and pedestrian movement within and between developments.

9-4-B. Design Guidelines: Site Planning.

1. Size and orient buildings to create a positive visitor experience in terms of safety, views, and access within and beyond the site, and walkability.

Size and orient buildings to create a positive visitor experience.

2. Provide seating, waste receptacles, resting spaces, walking areas, bike paths and parking, and other amenities that create a comfortable and familiar environment.

3. Design walls, fences and accessory structures to be compatible with the design, character, and style of the overall development.

4. Minimize visibility and impact of loading docks and storage areas by locating them away from the primary building access and out of view from roadways and main drives.

5. Install lighting to minimize glare by using recessed or cut off fixtures.

6. Design signage in accordance with sign code and to provide information clearly and legibly to pedestrians and motorists without dominating the site, architecture or character of the building, block, or corridor.

Design parking lots with clearly identifiable paths for pedestrians.

7. Design parking lots with a logical layout configuration, easily identifiable traffic circulation, and clearly identifiable paths for pedestrians to the front door of stores.

8. Minimize large open parking areas by incorporating enhanced landscaping or architectural design elements (like garden walls) to parking lot interiors and perimeters when parking is provided between buildings and adjacent roadways.

9-4-C. Design Guidelines: Landscaping.

Use perimeter landscaping to screen parking lots.

1. Install a variety of weather resistant and environmentally appropriate landscaping to create visual interest, highlight pedestrian paths, and accent buildings.

2. Use landscaping to highlight a building entry, walkway or other feature.

3. Apply foundation landscaping to enhance building appearance.

4. Install perimeter landscaping to screen parking lots from view of passing traffic.

5. Install landscape areas of refuge for pedestrians in parking lots; these areas can also be used to minimize water runoff and provide additional outdoor amenity areas.

Disperse plantings throughout the parking lot.

6. Include at least one ornamental tree and living weather resistant and environmentally appropriate ground cover in landscape islands - mulch or stone are discouraged but may be acceptable in areas where ground cover planting survival is unlikely.

7. Install landscaping strips between parking rows, where feasible.

8. Break up view of large building surfaces facing the public right-of-way or main drive aisles using landscaping features.

9. Select landscape treatments to provide seasonal plantings and color variety throughout at least 3 seasons.

Use a variety of landscaping to create visual interest, highlight pedestrian paths, and accent buildings.

10. Disperse trees and plantings throughout the parking lot to maximize shade and visual relief.

11. Use native vegetation for perimeter landscaping, foundation landscaping, and parking islands to reduce maintenance costs and contribute to environmental sustainability.

12. Minimize large open parking areas by incorporating enhanced landscaping or architectural design elements (like garden walls) to parking lot interiors and perimeters when parking is provided between buildings and adjacent roadways.

9-4-D. Design Guidelines: Building Design.

1. Minimize unattractive views of large balance walls with changes in color or building materials, placement of windows, placement of building detailed.

2. Use moldings, awnings, roof lines, cornices, windowsills, lintels or vertical-horizontal expression lines to create more visual interest in buildings.

3. Use durable primary materials such as stone, steel, masonry, and textured concrete on visible facades.

Avoid clashing building materials.

4. Use different building materials that do not clash in color or finish; a logical and attractive family (palate) of colors should be applied. Material that provides highlight colors may be appropriate.

5. Apply setbacks of building facades that are varied and add dimension and depth to site.

6. Renovate facades on older centers with durable materials that present a modern character and attractive appearance.

7. Design masonry buildings with brick sizes in keeping with the building scale. Larger utility bricks or concrete masonry units (CMUs) are not appropriate on smaller square footage buildings, but can be appropriate on "big box" or other larger structures if applied with banding and texturing that breaks up the appearance of large facades.

Use lighting that highlights architecture and prevents glare.

8. Design rear elevations of buildings visible from public rights of way or residential areas to reflect the design character of the building's front elevation.

9. Design awnings and signs to be consistent in character, size, and profile along a building facade.

10. Screen views of ground/roof mounted mechanical equipment from adjoining properties and the public right-of-way with landscaping or building elements.

Larger bricks or concrete masonry units (CMUs) with color and texture can be appropriate for "big box" or larger buildings.

11. Use lighting to highlight architectural elements and increase overall pedestrian and vehicular safety. Lighting should not produce glare or areas of excessive brightness out of character with the overall site nor project light into the sky.

12. Avoid using plain (flat grey and untextured) CMU blocks which are not acceptable under these Design Guidelines. CMU blocks with a color or split face finish, or both, are acceptable.

Roselle's industrial and business park uses support a variety of manufacturing, warehousing, distribution, logistics, and office uses. While this Design District includes a range of buildings with varying functions, these guidelines define an attractive and cohesive business environment that unifies and enhances the area. These design guidelines are applicable in the M-1 and ORI zoning districts.

9-5-A. Design District Objectives.

1. A safe, functional, and cohesive business park environment that promotes economic expansion in Roselle.

Enhance building entry areas to be easily identifiable.

2. Attractive building and landscaping design to create inviting and aesthetically pleasing industrial parks.

3. Site design to minimize unattractive often monotonous common with larger scale buildings.

9-5-B. Design Guidelines: Site Planning.

Orient buildings to minimize views of loading, mechanical and storage areas from rights of ways.

1. Orient buildings to minimize views of loading, mechanical and storage areas from rights of way.

2. Design building access, visibility, connections, and circulation to create safe and efficient travel through and beyond the site for trucks, passenger vehicles, bicyclists and pedestrians.

3. Encourage shared parking facilities.

4. Incorporate signage to label visitor and vehicular movement between buildings and parking areas of multiple building developments.

9-5-C. Design Guidelines: Landscaping.

1. Incorporate landscaping to mitigate views of large blank walls common with large industrial buildings.

2. Locate landscaping to highlight main entrances to industrial buildings.

3. Install landscaping to soften views of parking lots from rights of way and to highlight pedestrian paths to and from main and employee entrances of buildings.

4. Utilize native vegetation for perimeter landscaping, site foundation, and parking islands to reduce maintenance costs and contribute to environmental sustainability.

9-5-D. Design Guidelines: Building Design.

1. Avoid large expanses of undifferentiated blank surfaces and focus on facade diversity, pattern, texture, color and detail that contributes to visual interest:

a. Use architectural elements or creative color variation for vertical and horizontal relief over large areas as an effective way to break up a building facade.

b. Use functional elements - such as windows and vents - to break up building facades.

c. Use color banding to break up long stretches of building facades.

2. Light pathways, entryways/exits, service areas, and other frequent visitor access points to increase safety and use cut off light fixtures to minimize glare.

3. Enhance building entry areas to be easily identifiable.

4. Minimize visibility of loading docks from adjacent roadways. Where docks must face roadways, landscaping or other intermittent screening can be used to limit such views.

Use architectural elements or creative color variation to break up a building facade.

Avoid large expanses of undifferentiated blank surfaces

Accessory Structure: Structure supportive of and secondary to the primary building or activity (as defined by the Village Zoning Ordinance).

Architectural Elements: Various aspects of a structure that are functional and/or aesthetic in nature (such as windows, doors, and roof lines moldings, awnings, roof lines, cornices, windowsills, fenestrations or lintels.)

Business Park: An industrial / office area developed to reflect a consistent design character for common areas and rights-of-way.

Character: The unique sense of place created by the various elements of a particular business district or neighborhood.

Cut Off Fixtures: Light fixtures designed to limit the direction that created illumination shines and to reduce glare.

Foundation Landscaping

Environmental Sustainability (as relates to these Design Guidelines): Practices related to design, construction, and maintenance of development that seeks to avoid harmful impacts to the environment in order to preserve natural resources and quality of the natural environment into the future.

Facade: The visible portion of a building.

Foundation Landscaping: Plantings located along the base of a building that are designed to enhance building appearance.

Glare minimized

Glare (Light Pollution): A visual characteristic resulting from too much brightness from a light source or not controlling (focusing) the light source; considered a form of light pollution.

Ground Cover: Living plants designed to grow low to the ground, intended to create an attractive appearance and protect against soil erosion.

Landscape Island

Hardscape: Elements of landscape and site design that are solid, not plants, and long term in nature; includes items such as walkways, retaining walls, pavers, patios and decks.

Landscape Islands: Small medians set into parking and drive areas used to provide aesthetic enhancement, additional green areas, pedestrian safely, and to define driving and pedestrian paths.

Landscaping Strip

Landscaping Strip: A continuous landscaped area located between two facing rows of parking.

Native Vegetation: Plant species found naturally in a local habitat that are typically well-suited to the environment of the area, making them resilient and in some cases useful for stormwater management.
Open Space: A landscaped or hardscaped area often used for active or passive recreation, providing visual relief and areas of respite within a city, neighborhood, or development.

Ornamental Trees: Trees with a highly aesthetic appearance based on their flowers, aromas, shape, color or combination of such features.

Perimeter Landscaping: A form of screening that combines lawn, shrubs and trees located around the edge of development or part of a development (such as a parking lot) designed to provide aesthetic benefit and lessen the view of less attractive elements such as parked cars or utilities.

Public Right-of-Way: That part of the built environment commonly owned and maintained by the community (roads, parkways, sidewalks, and alleys).

Scale: The perception created by a building's mass and height in relation to its surroundings. In regard to an area intended for pedestrian use, the notion of "pedestrian scale" relates to the pedestrian's perceived comfort and interactions with a building (or buildings).

Screening

Screen (or Screening): A barrier (either landscaping or structural) designed to limit visibility of areas, activities or structures that may diminish the appearance or character of an area.

Setbacks. The distance between a property line and principal building, accessory structure, or defined activity. Setbacks may be defined by zoning regulation or applied for specific purposes.

Wayfinding

Wayfinding: The series of signs used to help visitors know their location in and find other areas of a development, business district or city.

Photo Credits: All photos by Teska Associates unless otherwise noted.