38.070 Design Standards

Development within a TOD should promote an attractive, unified architectural design. Development should be integrated and cohesive with a common architectural design theme that provides variety within a context of architectural compatibility, rather than an aggregation of individual, unrelated buildings located on separate lots. The TOD Design Standards are intended to create a pedestrian friendly environment by ensuring good building and overall site design, good architectural design and visual appearance, street layout, parking design, pedestrian design, lasting value, and other provisions of this Code relating to public health, safety, and general welfare of the overall community. All buildings and structures, including residential buildings and dwellings, shall conform to the Design Standards from Chapter 37 of the Development Code. Where the requirements of this Chapter conflict with other sections of the Development Code, the more restrictive provision shall prevail unless otherwise established through the approval process of the land use plan. A. Architecture. 1. Architectural Orientation. The front façade of all principal buildings shall face onto the street, and shall not be oriented towards a parking lot or parking structure (see Figure 2). Figure 2. The building is oriented with the entrance facing the street and the parking located to the side and rear of the building. 2. Roof Design. Multi-family apartment and mixed use residential/commercial buildings shall utilize flat roof designs (see Figure 3). A design including pitched roof features or an overall pitched roof may be approved at the discretion of the Planning Commission. Adopted 01/13/15 Figure 3. The apartment building includes a flat roof design with varying parapet heights and an architectural hierarchy to the street corner. 3. Entry Features. Porches, roof overhangs, awnings, hooded front doors, pop-outs and/or other architectural façade elements shall define the front entrance to all principal structures (see Figure 4). Figure 4. Building entrances include archways, pop-outs, and roof overhangs. 4. Non-residential Street Frontage. For non-residential, retail, and office buildings, a minimum of 50 percent of the front façade on the ground floor shall be transparent, consisting of true window or door openings allowing views into and out of the interior of the building (see Figure 5). Adopted 01/13/15 Figure 5. Retail building with clear windows on the ground floor exceeding 50% of the front façade. 5. Vertical Separation. Buildings should have a visually distinct base that creates a welcoming environment for pedestrians. The lowest level of the building should have more mass and bulk in order to be clearly delineated and scaled. The ground floor ceiling height must be greater than the upper floors (see Figure 6). Figure 6. The ground floor includes large windows and has greater mass and height than the upper floors of the building. 6. Building Façade Features. Adopted 01/13/15 a) Planters, trellis features, and window boxes for flowers and climbing vines are encouraged as building façade enhancement features. b) Building facades must be aesthetically interesting and pleasing and should avoid a uniform building style. c) Architectural style, colors, and materials shall be compatible throughout the TOD. A palate of colors and building materials shall be submitted with the concept plan. d) Roof access ladders and exterior scuppers with down spouts shall not be allowed on a façade facing the street. 7. Utility structures and boxes should be placed to the sides or rear of the building where possible, or equipment must be screened if placed in the front. When utility equipment is placed on the sides or rear of a building, unobstructed access must be provided to allow ease of maintenance. B. Minimum Floor to Area Ratio. All development parcels in a TOD shall meet a minimum floor to area ratio (see Figure 7) of 1.25 in the initial phase of a project. The ultimate floor to area ratio shall be addressed as part of the phasing plan and shall demonstrate that surface parking lot areas may be redeveloped in a future phase of the project to ensure a critical mass of population to support transit and a diverse mix of land use. Figure 7. Three examples of a floor to area ratio of 1.0. C. Street Patterns. Street patterns shall be oriented along a grid, as opposed to cul-de-sac and curvilinear street designs. Within the grid are sidewalks and streetscapes that encourage walking and biking, and narrow streets and other traffic calming features that favor pedestrian activities (see Figure 8). Traffic calming features include but Adopted 01/13/15 are not limited to curb extensions, center pedestrian refuges, raised bike and pedestrian crossings, continuous sidewalks, brick pavers or other textured street surface materials, chokers, or other feature as recommended by the Lehi City Traffic Engineer. TOD areas shall comply with the street connectivity requirements in Section 37.040 of the Development Code. Figure 8. Pedestrian scale street layouts include shorter blocks and a greater level of connectivity. D. Streetscapes. 1. Building Orientation. Buildings shall be oriented to the street with a minimum setback of 25 feet unless an alternative plan for power is created and agreed upon by the Lehi Power Department (see Figure 8). Parking lots shall not be located along street frontages, but at the rear of lots and screened from street view with berming, landscaping, buildings, or other screening features. A minimum of 60 percent of public and private street frontages shall include buildings at full buildout. Figure 8. Buildings are oriented to the street with a minimal setback and power connections located to the rear of the buildings. 2. Street Trees. Street trees shall be provided on all street frontages, at a minimum of one tree for every 30 feet of right-of-way. Street trees may be clustered and need not be evenly spaced. Trees should be placed within park strip areas. Any street tree shall have a minimum planter area of 7 feet by 14 feet in accordance with the Lehi City Design Standards and Public Improvement Specifications. 3. Street Side Treatments. a) General Treatments. i. All sidewalks shall be a minimum of five feet in width. Adopted 01/13/15 ii. Residential streets with an average density of 20 units per acre or more shall include sidewalks with a minimum of eight feet in width. This shall be applied on a block-by block basis to determine a minimum required width. To ensure consistency in the sidewalk width and ensure enough pedestrian capacity, lower density blocks between blocks of 20 units per acre or more shall match a minimum sidewalk width of eight feet. iii. Sidewalks shall be a minimum width of eight feet on streets within a quarter mile of a bus rapid transit or rail station. iv. Park strips and tree planter areas shall be placed along all public and private streets with a minimum width of seven feet. v. Park strips and sidewalks are not required on alleys. Alleys shall be a minimum of 20 feet in width and only provide access to garages or parking areas. b) Non-Residential Treatments. Streets that include non-residential and mixed uses shall include three elements within the side treatments (see Figure 9). These elements are as follows: i. Frontage Zone – A section of sidewalk located adjacent to the building that allows building entry, sidewalk cafes, sales displays, and raised planter beds. The minimum frontage zone width shall be five feet. Planter areas may be allowed between the frontage zone area and the building. It is encouraged that pervious materials be used for a frontage zone such as brick pavers. ii. Pedestrian Through Zone – This is a sidewalk area that serves as the primary pathway for pedestrians. The pedestrian through zone must not be impeded by street furniture, landscaped beds, signage, displays, or sidewalk cafes. The minimum pedestrian through zone width shall be eight feet. It is encouraged that pervious materials be used for a pedestrian through zone such as brick pavers. iii. Street Furniture/Curb Zone – This is the area located between the sidewalk and the street. Features may include street furniture, trees, planter areas, light poles, signage, and curb extensions at crosswalks. The minimum street furniture/curb zone width shall be seven feet which does not include the additional width required for curb extensions. Streets that include separated bike lanes or paths shall place the bike facility between the street furniture/curb zone and the pedestrian through zone. The minimum separated bike lane or path width shall be six feet for a oneway facility and 10 feet for a two-way facility. Adopted 01/13/15 Figure 9. Side treatment zones for non-residential areas of a TOD. 4. Alleys and Interior Block Spaces. Alleys and interior block spaces shall be allowed and encouraged in all TODs. Alleys serve as alternate routes to garages and loadings docks that are unseen by the public and therefore contribute to a pedestrian-friendly environment. The private, interior portions of the lots (toward the alley) allow commercial operators to utilize these spaces as efficient working environments unseen by the public and allow residents to have private and semi-private gardens and courtyards. Alleys are to be the primary access to parking areas and garages. E. Street Design. 1. Traffic Calming. Traffic calming is intended to slow or reduce motor-vehicle traffic in order to improve pedestrian safety. TODs shall provide traffic calming measures, including but not limited to bulb-outs, chokers, and pedestrian refuges (see Figure 10). Adopted 01/13/15 Figure 10. Bulb-out provides traffic calming, increases visibility to drivers, and shortens pedestrian street crossing distances. 2. Bicycle Parking. Outdoor short-term bicycle parking facilities shall be located in a secure and well-lit area within 50 feet of a building or common facility entrance. Long-term secure bicycle parking is required for office, institutional, and multi-family residential uses (see Figure 11). Figure 11. Secure bike parking provided within an apartment building. 3. Bike Facilities. Bike facilities shall be provided in all TODs to ensure safe and convenient local transportation options. Bike infrastructure shall interconnect all buildings within a TOD and provide connectivity to the regional bike and trails network. Bike infrastructure proposed within a TOD shall be developed and designed based on the design speed and volume of a street. The following types of bike facilities shall be provided with the given street criteria: a. shared lanes and bike boulevards (see Figure 12) may be used where the street’s posted and designed speed is 25 miles per hour or less and the existing or projected vehicular traffic volumes are 2,500 average annual daily trips or less. Adopted 01/13/15 Figure 12. Bike boulevards include shared lanes on a low-volume, low speed street with bike and pedestrian prioritization features. b. Protected bike lanes shall be provided along roadways with a posted and designed speed greater than 25 miles per hour or where the existing or projected vehicular traffic volumes are greater than 2,500 average annual daily trips. Streets with two or more travel lanes in a single direction shall provide two-way bike facilities on both sides of the street. Streets with one travel lane in each direction may design a two-way protected bike lane (see Figure 13) on one side of the street or include single direction protected bike lanes on both sides of the street. Figure 13. Two-way protected bike lanes encourage use of bikes as a safe and enjoyable form of mobility. c. Shared use paths may be used to provide bike connectivity in an independent right-of-way through the center of a block if it interconnects with the local and regional network of bike facilities. Separated bike and pedestrian facilities shall be provided in a TOD where there are non-residential uses and Adopted 01/13/15 where the residential density exceeds 20 units per acre. Shared use paths are appropriate in areas with lower amounts of foot traffic to limit bike and pedestrian user conflicts. 4. Medians. Street medians are encouraged for all major collector and arterial rights-of-way. Medians serve to improve the aesthetic quality of the area, provide traffic calming, and create pedestrian refuges for street crossings. as well as a mid-block resting place for street crossings. Medians should be a minimum of six feet wide at intersections and crosswalks and a minimum of three feet wide at other portions of the road. Where medians are not included in the design of a street, bike and pedestrian crossings shall include refuge islands at intersections and mid-block crossings (see Figure 14). Center medians and crossing islands shall be designed with plowable end sections to ensure ease of winter maintenance. Figure 14. Pedestrian refuge within a central median. F. Sidewalks and Pedestrian Circulation. 1. Pedestrian Circulation. Convenient and safe pedestrian circulation systems shall be provided to minimize pedestrian-auto conflict and shall be provided continuously throughout each TOD. All streets, except for alleys, shall be bordered by sidewalks and park strips on both sides of the right-of-way, in accordance with the Lehi City Design Standards and Specifications. 2. Walkway Connections. Pedestrian walkways shall interconnect all building entrances, sidewalks, parking areas, open spaces, public and private streets, and transit stations. 3. Primary Pedestrian Corridor. A primary pedestrian corridor shall be developed through a TOD to collect pedestrians and direct them to the transit station and shall meet the following requirements: a) the corridor shall include a minimum 10-foot wide walkway constructed of concrete or brick pavers. b) the corridor must be visible from adjacent buildings, parking areas, and the transit station. c) wayfinding signs shall be placed to direct pedestrians to the transit station and to other nearby destinations. d) landscaping shall be placed along both sides of the walkway with a minimum width of 10 feet with trees spaced every 30 feet in planter areas. e) benches and trash receptacles shall be placed along the walkway. Adopted 01/13/15 f) the walkway shall be well lit with pedestrian scale lighting. g) crime prevention through environmental design (CPTED) standards shall be utilized to increase natural surveillance and deter crime. The following shall be incorporated in the design of the walkway: i. the walkway shall not be obstructed with opaque fencing, ii. entrapment zones (areas with low visibility and no alternative exits) shall not be created with the placement of fencing, buildings, or other features; and iii. windows on building facades facing the walkway shall have clear glass. h) the walkway shall connect directly to the transit station and interconnect adjacent buildings, streets, open spaces, and parking areas. i) sidewalks from adjacent buildings and streets shall stub into the walkway. 4. Raised Walkways. Where practical, pedestrian walkways shall be raised above grade of streets, drives, parking lots, and other paved areas. Where pedestrian walkways cannot be raised, they shall be constructed of a material differing in texture, material, or color. 5. Continuous Sidewalks and Bike Facilities. Flared drive approaches that ramp up to the sidewalk and bike path level or other raised crossing (see Figure 15) shall be used where local private streets, alleys, driveways, commercial accesses, and any other private access crosses a sidewalk, trail, protected bike lane, or other bike path. Private streets may ramp down after crossing sidewalks and bike facilities. Figure 15. The trail and sidewalk run continuously and built with consistent materials whereas vehicular traffic must ramp up to cross the bike path and sidewalk. This slows traffic at a bike and pedestrian conflict point and indicates to drivers that they are entering a bike and pedestrian space. G. Signage. 1. General Signage Concepts. Proper design and placement of signs and their lighting shall be compatible with structures and uses. Signs shall meet the requirements of Chapter 23 of the Development Code where not specifically regulated in this section. Adopted 01/13/15 2. Number of Signs. The number of signs on a structure shall be limited and placed in areas that contribute to the architecture of the building. Signs shall not overpower a storefront nor obscure display windows or significant building features. 3. Encouraged Signs. Wall signs, awning signs, canopy signs, projecting signs (see Figure 16), and suspended signs shall be encouraged. Figure 16. Projecting sign is pedestrian oriented and contributes to the character of the building. 4. Discouraged Signs. Monument signs and directional signs are discouraged. If approved, the maximum height of a monument sign shall be four feet in height and shall be used to advertise by multiple tenants and/or users. 5. Electronic Display Sign. Signs with Electronic Display Sign, as defined by Chapter 23 of the Development Code, shall not be permitted in the TOD Zone. 6. Pylon Signs. Pylon signs, as defined by Chapter 23 of the Development Code, shall not be permitted in the TOD Zone.