§ 16-18A.011. Relationship of building to street.

Regulations contained in this section apply to all buildings and structures, including parking structures, except structures for parking lot attendants less than 50 square feet. See section 16-18A.012 for additional requirements on storefront streets.

1.

Active uses at sidewalk-level:

a.

All buildings shall have a defined sidewalk-level for purposes of the active-use requirement. Active uses shall be required within buildings and parking structures at sidewalk-level for the entire length of said building façade except at ingress and egress points into parking structures or loading areas. When two or more floors meeting the definition of sidewalk-level exist within the same structure, this requirement shall only apply to the frontage of the sidewalk-level adjacent to the required sidewalk or provided supplemental zone.

b.

For the purposes of this chapter active uses shall be serviced by plumbing, heating, and electricity and are limited to the following use categories in the SPI-1 Downtown: Use Table: Commercial/Retail, Education/Child Care, Institutional, Medical/Health, Office, Recreation/Entertainment, Residential Dwellings/Lodgings, and shall not include parking, non-residential storage areas, driveways, or queuing lanes parallel to the adjacent street.

c.

Minimum active use depths shall be provided as follows:

i.

Single-family or multi-family residential buildings with no residential units located above or below a unit: Minimum depth of ten feet.

ii.

All other uses on non-storefront streets (as specified above): Minimum depth of 20 feet. See Section 16-18A.020 Diagrams 3 and 6.

iii.

All other uses on Storefront Streets (as specified above): See section 16-18A.012.

2.

Minimum sidewalk-level floor to ceiling height shall be 14 feet. See section 16-18A.020 Diagram 3.

3.

Building floors shall be delineated to the third story above the sidewalk-level and shall be executed through windows, belt courses, cornice lines or similar architectural detailing.

4.

Arcades: Arcades parallel and adjacent to the sidewalk or supplemental zone shall be prohibited. Arcades are only permitted through a building to connect one street to another street, or to a plaza or park adjacent to a street.

5.

The primary pedestrian entrance to all sidewalk-level uses identified above:

a.

Shall be architecturally articulated, face, be visible from, and be directly accessible from said required sidewalk along such street. The use of fire-escape, entrance-only and exit-only doors as primary entrances is explicitly prohibited. Said entrances may be recessed from the building façade as follows:

i.

Lobby doors and similar entrances may be recessed a maximum depth of ten feet and may have a maximum width of 20 feet.

ii.

Other doors may be recessed a maximum depth of five feet.

b.

For residential uses:

i.

All such buildings, except assisted living, with more than four residential units shall have individual entrances to such units directly accessible from the sidewalk and shall open directly onto the adjacent sidewalk, supplemental zone, terrace, porch, plaza, or park adjacent to the sidewalk.

ii.

Said buildings shall have porches, stoops or wheelchair access at each sidewalk-level entrance.

c.

For non-residential uses:

i.

Shall remain unlocked during business hours.

ii.

Shall be at-grade with the closest portion of the adjacent required sidewalk.

6.

All residential uses not located at sidewalk-level shall have pedestrian access to the required public sidewalk via a lobby fronting and accessible from said sidewalk.

7.

Fenestration requirements (See section 16-18A.020 Diagram 4): Buildings shall provide either a storefront façade treatment or a residential façade treatment along all street-fronting sidewalk-level façades which shall apply to all uses including parking decks, except churches, fire stations and as otherwise stated in Subareas 6 and 7; and shall have the following requirements:

a.

Windows and door glass shall utilize clear glass or tinted glass. Tinted glass shall have a transmittance factor of 50 percent or greater and shall have a visible light reflectance factor of ten or less. Painted glass, reflective glass or other similarly treated or opaque windows are not permitted.

b.

Fenestration, including entryways, shall be provided for a minimum horizontal linear percentage for each façade specified herein and in the SPI-1 Fenestration Table.

c.

The length of façade without intervening fenestration or entryways shall not exceed 20 feet.

d.

Residential façade treatment:

i.

Fenestration shall be provided for sidewalk-level residential uses for a minimum of 25 percent of the horizontal length of each sidewalk-level façade; and

ii.

Windows on each street-fronting façade shall be a minimum of four feet in height and substantially similar in size on all sidewalk-level façades.

e.

Storefront façade treatment: Fenestration and entrances shall be provided for a minimum of 65 percent of the horizontal length of each street-fronting sidewalk-level façade along storefront streets and 50 percent of the sidewalk-level street-facing façade for non-residential uses along all other streets as measured:

i.

Beginning at a point not more than 18 inches above the required sidewalk to a height at least ten feet above said sidewalk unless:

ii.

When the finished floor elevation is 18 or more inches above the sidewalk: Beginning at the finished floor elevation to a height at least ten feet above the finished floor elevation or;

iii.

When the finished floor elevation is below said sidewalk: Beginning at a point not higher than the adjacent sidewalk to a height at least ten feet above the finished floor elevation.

f.

Fenestration, including display windows or cases, shall allow visibility into the building for a minimum depth of ten feet along Storefront Streets and five feet along all other streets, measured from the interior windowpane and shall be internally illuminated and serviced by electricity.

g.

Interior retail establishments and eating and drinking establishments, not directly accessible from a required sidewalk are permitted outside the minimum active-use depth requirement only when more than 50 percent of the total length of the sidewalk-level façade is used for retail or eating and drinking establishments at sidewalk-level. See section 16-18A.020 Diagram 5.

h.

A street address number shall be located directly above or beside the primary building and business establishment entrances, shall be clearly visible from the sidewalk, and shall have a minimum height of six inches.

i.

All up-lighting shall be located a minimum height of eight feet above the required sidewalk, driveway or supplemental zone.

j.

External storefront security grilles, gates and security doors: Shall be fully retractable during business hours and shall permit visibility into the interior of protected space when in use; opaque systems are prohibited. External housing and shields for such systems shall be painted the same color as the frames of the storefront system they protect. Vehicular gates and doors may be recessed a maximum depth of 20 feet.

SPI-1 Downtown: Fenestration Table (Minimum Requirements)

Sidewalk-Level Use	Storefront Streets	Other Streets
Residential	65% (Storefront Façade Treatment)	25% (Residential Façade Treatment)
Non-residential	65% (Storefront Façade Treatment)	50% (Storefront Façade Treatment)
* No minimum fenestration requirement for churches and fire stations

 

(Ord. No. 2007-71(07-O-2221), § 1(Att. A), 11-27-07)