19.16.03 Site Design Standards, General. The following standards are applicable to all new non-residential, two-family, three-family, and multi-family development

1. Pedestrian Connectivity. a. All buildings and sites shall be designed to be pedestrian friendly by the use of connecting walkways. b. Safe pedestrian connections shall be provided to link buildings with the public rights-of-way, as well as to link buildings within a development. Sidewalks shall also be provided to link the building to pedestrian facilities adjacent to the property, and when feasible between developments. c. All developments shall provide pedestrian connections that lead to the building entrances of adjacent non-residential and residential sites and shall stub to adjacent undeveloped property to allow for future connections. d. All pedestrian connections shall be shown on the related site plan or plat. 2. Parking areas. a. On-site parking shall be located primarily to the sides or rear of the building. Variations may be approved by the Land Use Authority, subject to the following criteria: i. The use is a big box with outparcels or smaller commercial buildings helping to screen parking, or ii. At least 50 percent of the parking is located to the side or rear of the building, or iii. A safety issue is created by locating parking to the side or rear as verified and documented by the Saratoga Springs Police Department. For example, the parking will be entirely concealed from view by existing walls or buildings. iv. That portion of development that lies within the Waterfront Buffer Overlay; or v. The development includes Warehouse/Flex space and when loading docks are not adjacent to a public right-of-way. Exception: When a lot with Warehouse/Flex space is adjacent to more than one public street, loading docks may face the lower classification of the streets. b. Parking lots shall be designed with a hierarchy of circulation: major access drives with no parking; major circulation drives with little or no parking; and then parking aisles for direct access to parking spaces. c. The use of shared parking with adjacent sites is encouraged as per the shared parking provision within Section 19.09 of the Land Development Code. d. Parking lots adjacent to, and visible from, public streets shall be screened from view through the use of earth berms, screen walls, landscape hedges or combinations thereof with a minimum height of three feet as measured from the parking surface. Within regional parks this requirement may be met through the use of intermittent planter beds rather than a berm, hedge, or screen wall; trees and shrubs may be clustered in the planter beds where necessary to avoid light spillage. 3. Acceleration and Deceleration Lanes. Acceleration and deceleration lanes shall be required on major arterials when deemed necessary by the City Engineer. 4. Parking structures. a. Parking structures shall be architecturally consistent with the project buildings, including the use of the same primary finish materials as the exterior of the adjacent or adjoining buildings. b. When placement of parking structures along site frontages is necessary, visual mitigation such as landscape buffers, upper-level setbacks, or additional architectural treatment shall be used. c. The view of a parking structure from a public street shall be minimized by placing its shortest dimension along the street edge. d. The top deck of parking structures shall include screen walls, periphery landscape islands, or similar features where visible from public view in order to soften the appearance of the top of the parking structure and screen the view of cars on the top deck of the structure. e. All top deck lighting shall be screened and directed downward to avoid light spill onto the street below and shall consist of only bollards or building lighting. Light poles are prohibited. 5. Trash Enclosures, Storage Areas, and External Structures. Landscaping, fencing, berms, or other devices integral to overall site and building design shall screen trash enclosures, storage areas, and other external structures. a. Service yards, refuse and waste-removal areas, loading docks, truck parking areas and other utility areas shall be screened from view by the use of a combination of walls, fences, and dense planting. Screening shall block views to these areas from on-site as well as from public rights of way and adjacent properties. This does not apply to Municipal Buildings. b. All trash dumpsters shall be provided with solid enclosures. i. Enclosures shall be composed of 6-foot-high solid masonry or decorative precast concrete walls, with opaque gates and self-latching mechanisms to keep gates closed when not in use. Bollards are required at the front of the masonry walls to protect the enclosure from trash collection vehicles. Gates shall be made of opaque metal for durability. Chain link gates with or without opaque slats are not acceptable. Colors and materials shall be consistent with the main building or use. c. Where trash enclosures, storage areas, or other external structures are adjacent to parking areas, a three-foot landscaped buffer shall be provided that does not impede access into and out of vehicles. d. These areas shall be well maintained and oriented away from public view. e. The consolidation of trash areas between buildings is encouraged. f. The use of modern disposal and recycling techniques is encouraged. g. This Section shall not apply to community or public recycling bins or drop boxes; however, the location shall be determined by City Staff in accordance with the standards herein. 6. Utility Boxes. Dense vegetative buffers which include an evergreen variety of plant materials shall be placed where appropriate to screen all utility boxes and pedestals in order to remain attractive during the winter months. 7. Interconnection. Interconnection shall occur via pedestrian and vehicular connections. All parking and other vehicular use areas shall be interconnected with, or stubbed to, all adjacent non-residential developed and undeveloped properties, as designated on the land use map or the zoning map, in order to allow maximum off-street vehicular circulation. Walkways and trails shall be connected to adjacent sites and stubbed for future development. All residential site plans shall meet 19.12 Connectivity Standards.