A. Landscaping
Landscaping must be provided as part of site design. The landscape plan for the entire site must use landscape materials to integrate the various elements on site, preserve and enhance the particular identity of the site, and create a pleasing site character. The landscaping should define street edges, break up parking areas, soften the appearance of the development, and protect abutting properties. Landscaping may include plant materials such as trees, shrubs, groundcovers, perennials, and annuals, and other materials such as rocks, water, sculpture, art, walls, fences, paving materials, and street furniture.
B. Building Placement
1. The site design should avoid creating a building surrounded by a parking lot. In built-up areas and in villages, buildings should be placed close to the street, in conformance with existing, adjacent setbacks. Parking should be to the side or preferably in the back.
2. In rural, uncongested areas buildings should be set well back from the road so as to conform to the rural character of the area. If the parking is in front, a generous, landscaped buffer between road and parking lot is to be provided. Unused areas should be kept natural, as field, forest, wetland, etc.
3. Where two or more buildings are proposed, the buildings should be grouped and linked with sidewalks; tree planting should be used to provide shade and break up the scale of the site.
4. Parking areas should be separated from the building by a minimum of five (5) to ten (10) feet. Plantings should be provided along the building edge, particularly where building facades consist of long or unbroken walls.
C. Building Illumination
1. Building facades may be illuminated with soft lighting of low intensity that does not draw inordinate attention to the building. The light source for the building facade illumination must be concealed.
2. Building entrances may be illuminated using recessed lighting in overhangs and soffits, or by use of spotlighting focused on the building entrances with the light source concealed (e.g., in landscaped areas). Direct lighting of limited exterior building areas is permitted when necessary for security purposes.
D. Building Entrances
1. The main entrance to the building should be oriented to the street unless the parking layout or the grouping of the buildings justifies another approach, and should be clearly identified as such through building and site design, landscaping, and/or signage.
2. At building entrance areas and drop-off areas, site furnishings such as benches and sitting walls and, if appropriate, bicycle racks shall be encouraged. Additional plantings may be desirable at these points to identify the building entrance and to complement the pedestrian activity at this point.
E. Setback and Alignment of Buildings
Where there is a reasonably uniform relationship between the front walls of buildings and the street, new buildings must be placed on a lot in conformance with the established relationship. For buildings on corner lots, the setback relationship of both streets should be maintained. The creation of ‘empty corners’ should be avoided through the placement of the building and other site features.
F. Sidewalks
Where an existing or planned public sidewalk is interrupted by a proposed project driveway, the sidewalk material must continue to be maintained across the driveway, or the driveway must be painted to distinguish it as a sidewalk. Further, if street trees exist on an adjacent property, street trees must be planted, in a like manner, on the new site.
G. Location of Off-Street Parking
1. Within built-up areas, parking lots should be located to the side or rear of the building. Parking should not be located between the building and the street. The use of shared parking, shared driveways and the cross-connection of parking lots is encouraged.
2. In suburban and rural areas, smaller uses that may need public visibility from the street should be sited as close to the street as possible. In this case, not more than one row of parking shall be allowed between the building and the street, with the balance of the parking located at the side and/or rear of the building. Larger scale uses and uses which do not require visibility from the road may be located further from the road with a landscaped buffer between the building and the street.
H. Landscaped Roadside Buffers
Whenever the area between the street and the front of the building is used for parking or vehicle movement, a vegetated buffer strip must be established along the edge of the road right-of-way. This buffer strip must soften the appearance of the site from the road and must create defined points of access to and egress from the site. The width of the buffer strip must increase with the setback of the building as follows: see 402.10.13(H) for a table of off-street loading information.
I. Landscaping of Parking Lots
Landscaping around and within parking lots shades hot surfaces and visually "softens" the hard surface look of parking areas. Parking areas must be designed and landscaped to create a pedestrianfriendly environment. A landscaped border must be created around parking lots. Any parking lot containing twenty (20) or more parking spaces must include one or more landscaped islands within the interior of the lot. There must be at least one island for every forty (40) spaces. Landscaping must screen the parking area from adjacent residential uses and from the street.
J. Building Orientation
New buildings within a built-up area should be compatible with the neighborhood such that they reflect the overall building bulk, square footage, dimensions, placement of the building on the lot, and rhythm of buildings and spaces along the street edge and minimize the visual impact on the neighborhood. The visual impact of a building shall be measured by its relationship to other buildings on the lot, design of the front of the building, and the rhythm of buildings and open spaces
along the street.
K. Building Scale
When large new buildings or structures are proposed in built-up areas where their scale (size) and other features may be significantly different from that which already exists in the immediate neighborhood, care must be taken to design the new building or structure so that it is compatible with its neighbors. This may include making the building appear smaller, using additions and/or vertical and horizontal building extensions, traditional materials, styles and/or proportions.
L. Design of Drive-Through Facilities
Any use that provides drive-through service must be located and designed to minimize the impact on neighboring properties and traffic circulation. No drive-through facility shall be located in the area of the site adjacent to a residential use or residential zone. Communication systems must not be audible on adjacent properties in residential use. Vehicular access to the drive-through shall be through a separate lane that prevents vehicle queuing within normal parking areas. Adequate
queuing space must be provided to prevent any vehicles from having to wait on a public street, within the entry from the street, or within designated parking areas. The drive-through must not interfere with any sidewalk or bicycle path. Only one drive-through is permitted per building, although banks can have multiple lanes.
