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HomeMy WebLinkAboutUrban Plaza Standard & Guidelines09/07/2006 11:15 3053720246 UCB PAGE 05/12 TII_ Urban Plaza design standards and guidelines. • SUBMITTED INTO THE PUBLIC RECOR,FORh ITEM P2( ON 9-2-060. •III 09/07/2006 11:15 3053720246 UCB PAGE 06/12 III. Urban plaza design standards and guidelines. Urban plazas shall be open and unobstructed to the sky and shall be accessible to the public at all times. Generally, urban plazas shall not exceed twenty-five (25) percent of the lineal frontage of the lot on any public street. The following design standards and guidelines shall apply to Urban Plazas where required by applicable zoning district regulations or where necessary to meet requirements for a floor area ratio bonus. A. Review and approval process. Design concept. Approval of the design concept shall be obtained from the Planning, Building and Zoning Department and, where applicable, by the Urban Development Review Board. The minimum information to be submitted for such approval shall include: 1. Site plan no less than 1 inch to 20 feet in scale, showing all proposed plaza improvements and including grade elevations and dimensions. 2. Elevation drawings of ground floor perimeter walls. 3. Elevation drawings of any proposed shelters, kiosks, fountains, or similar features. 4. List of proposed plant materials, keyed to site plan. 5. Tabulation of required and provided Urban Plaza standards including total area, area within 3.5 feet of adjacent sidewalk grade, area of unobstructed pedestrian movement (not obstructed by permanent structures, water, cafes, planting beds, etc.), number of shade trees, linear seating dimensions, etc. 6. Samples of major paving and finish materials. B: Dimensions; accessibility. I. Urban Plaza space shall be no more than 3.5 feet different in elevation from the adjoining public sidewalk for at least 70% of its total area. The remaining 30% of the total area may step up to meet minimum flood zone criteria for the ground floor elevation of buildings. 12 Submitted Into the public record in connection with item zfz.:5___on Priscilla A. Thompson City Clerk 09/07/2006 11:15 3053720246 UCB PAGE 07/12 2. Urban plaza space shall be open and unobstructed to the public sidewalk for at least 30 lineal feet or 50% of its total length of frontage, whichever is greater. Steps shall not be considered as obstructions provided that a ratio of tread to riser no less than 2:1 is maintained. Along the remaining length of frontage, in order to allow maximum visibility from the street to the urban plaza, no wall may be constructed averaging higher than 36 inches above nor at any point higher than 5 feet above sidewalk level of the nearest adjoining street. 3. Urban Plaza space shall have a minimum dimension of 20 feet. 4. Urban Plaza space shall be accessible to the handicapped. C. Activity. 1: Urban, Plaza space shall contain at least one activity generating feature, including but not limited to a large fountain with seating .along the edges; outdoor cafe; amphitheater or stage for outdoor performances; ground floor retail shops with direct access to the plaza; open pavilions for vendors; kinetic sculpture. 13 Submitted i ,7: Lhe public record in con--;n--1 C. .' t: i VV item Pz.5 on 9, -0c. Priscilla A. Thompson City Clerk 09/07/2006 11:15 3053720246 UCB PAGE 08/12 2. Urban Plaza space may contain unenclosed roofed shelters, fabric roofs or windbreaks, trellises, exhibit and display stands and cases, community bulletin boards, kiosks, open air cafes, and vending pavilions. Such items shall be exempted from limitations on occupancy of yard areas, parking requirements, and floor area ratio calculations. Such shelters, structures, and facilities may not exceed 40% of the Urban Plaza area. 3. Urban .Plaza space shall have at least 60% of its total surface area designed for pedestrian access. This may include pavement, grass, or general seating space, but not including open air cafes, planting beds or other obstructions. 4. Where an open air cafe is provided it shall be a permanently unenclosed eating or drinking place, permitted by applicable district regulations, which may have waiter or table service, and is open to the sky except that it may have a trellis or temporary fabric roof. An open air cafe must be accessible from all sides where there is a boundary with the remainder of the Urban Plaza. An open air cafe may ,occupy an aggregate area not more than 20 percent of ail total area of the Urban Plaza. No kitchen equipment shall be installed within an open air cafe. Kitchen equipment may be contained in a pavilion adjoining the open air cafe. 5. Where a vending pavilion is provided, it shall be a one story structure, predominantly of light materials, such as metal, glass, plastic, or fabric, which including roofed areas, does not exceed 150 square feet in area. D. Trees and plantings. 1. Shade trees shall be provided as follows: One per 500 square feet for plazas for up to 2,000 square feet of required plaza area; one per 800 square feet for plazas up to 6,000 square feet in required area; and one per 1,000 square feet for plazas exceeding 6,000 square feet in required area. 2. Required trees shall be no less than 14 feet in overall height, 10 feet in spread and 3 inches in caliper at the time of planting. Each tree shall be planted in a minimum of 200 cubic feet of prepared planting soil with a depth of at least 5 feet. Irrigation shall be provided in a pop-up unit or subterranean leaky pipe. Perforated aluminum root guards, 48-60 inches in diameter are recommended. S !_�r:,. public j 5 record in .eels ii, _. a ' lth itemI so Priscilla A. Thom City Cleric 14 09/07/2006 11:15 3053720246 UCB PAGE 09/12 3. Required trees shall be of a native species or acceptable hardwood varieties. 4. Trees planted in pedestrian access areas shall be maintained with a minimum of 6 feet 5 inches of clear trunk, and where possible shall have tree grates or permeable pavement to allow flow of air and water to the root system. 5. The above shall be construed as minimum standards for shade trees. In addition, Urban Plazas shall include an appropriate selection of palms, flowering trees, shrubs, and ground covers. E. Seating. There shall be a minimum of one linear foot of seating for each 30 square feet of Urban Plaza area. Not more than 50 percent of the credited linear seating capacity may be in movable seats which may be stored between the hours of 7 PM and 7 AM. Qualifications of seating shall be in accordance with the following standards:' 1. Seating shall have a minimum depth of 16 inches. Seating with backs at least 12 inches high shall have a minimum depth of 14 inches. Seating 30 inches or more in depth shall count double provided there is access to both sides. 2. Seating higher than 36 inches and lower than 12 inches above the level of the adjacent walking surface shall not count toward meeting the seating requirements. 3. The tops of walls including but not limited to those which bound planting beds, fountains and pools may be counted as seating when they conform to the dimensional standards in subparagraphs (1) and (2) above. 4. Movable seating or chairs, excluding seating for the exclusive use of open air cafes may be credited as 30 inches of linear seating per chair. 5. Steps, seats in outdoor amphitheaters and seating of open air cafes do not count toward the seating requirements. 6. Shade shall be provided for at least 50% of the required seating. Submitted Into the public record in c:onn,ton with item ?l . s on q . r - o (, Priscilla A. Thompson City Clerk 15 09/07/2006 11:15 3053720246 UCB PAGE 10/12 7. For the benefit of handicapped persons, a minimum of 5 percent of the required seating shall have backs. 8. For the benefit of non-smokers, a minimum of 50% of the seating shall be reserved for non-smokers. F. Lighting and electrical power. I. Urban Plazas shall be illuminated throughout with an overall minimum average level of illumination of not less than two horizontal foot candles (lumens per foot). 2. Electrical power shall be supplied by one or more outlets furnishing a total of 1,200 watts of power for every 4,000 square feet, or fraction thereof, of an Urban Plaza. G. Prohibition of driveways, parking spaces, loading berths, exhaust vents and building trash storage facilities. I. No parking spaces, passenger dropoffs, driveways or loading berths are permitted as part . of an Urban Plaza, and except in exceptional circumstances. No such vehicular facility shall bisect an Urban Plaza. 2. No building trash storage facilities are permitted on any Urban Plaza. 3. No exhaust vents are permitted on any Urban Plaza or on the building wall of the development fronting upon the Urban Plaza except where such vents on the building wall are more than 20 feet above the level of the Urban Plaza. 16 Submi►ted Into the public record in connection with item FZ• 5 on o q o �• Priscilla A. Thompson City Clerk 09/07/2006 11:15 3053720246 UCB PAGE 11/12 St.A.I.rnittecl tnto the public recordF;Cf with "tam Pt. 5 on Q 1-0" °'a A. Thompson City Clerk 09/07/2006 11:1E 3053720246 UCE PAGE 12/12 �x�j �'Ifr IJ►, lr►rr? „ate .J o/i` 411 '�,,�n�. OUTDOOR CAFE Submitted Into the public record in connection with item r 5 ..�.---o i' 1- - Priscilla A. 'Thompson City Clerk