Sec. 656.399.29. - General Standards.

The following general site design standards apply to all development within the boundary of the Riverside/Avondale Zoning Overlay. (1) Form. Buildings shall form a consistent, distinct edge, spatially delineating the public street through maximum building setbacks that vary by no more than five feet from those of the adjacent building. (2) Open Storage. There shall be no open storage in any character area except the industrial area. (3) Sidewalks. There shall be sidewalks along the street edge(s) of the property. Sidewalks shall be placed to align with existing sidewalks. Existing historic pavers shall be maintained and preserved. When sidewalks must be replaced due to poor condition, material shall be consistent with the adjacent properties or the materials found on a majority of the block. If not replacing an existing sidewalk, new sidewalks shall be a minimum of five feet in width and shall be constructed with traditional pavers. Sidewalk connections from the principal building to the public sidewalk must be provided and be aligned to minimize walking distance. Landscaping adjacent to existing and proposed street sidewalks must be compatible with the City's existing streetscape standard. (4) Utilities. In new development, all utilities shall be located underground. (5) Screening. Trash, dumpsters, recycling receptacles, loading docks, service areas, and other similar areas must be located in parking areas or in a location that is not visible from corridor or urban transition frontages, and must be screened to minimize sound to and visibility from residences and to preclude visibility from adjacent streets. (6) Mechanical equipment at ground level shall be placed on the parking lot side of the building away from view from adjacent Street frontage and shall be screened from view of any street by fencing, vegetations, or by being incorporated into a building. Loading docks, truck parking, outdoor storage, utility meters, HVAC equipment, trash dumpsters, trash compaction, and other service functions should be incorporated into the overall design of the building by walls of a material compatible with the material, style, color, texture, pattern, trim, and details of the main building and landscaping. The wall shall be one foot higher than the largest object being screened, but not more than ten feet high, on all sides where access is not needed. (7) Rooftop Mechanical Equipment shall be integrated into the overall mass of a building by screening it behind Parapets or by recessing it into roof structure. (8) Building Frontage. Except for Historic Residential Character areas, the building frontage shall occupy no less than 80 percent of a street facing entrance. If site constraints exist, a knee wall may be constructed with the following provisions. (a) Only 25 percent of the required frontage may be credited as part of a knee wall. (b) Minimum two feet in height to a maximum of three feet. (c) The knee wall must be an opaque material which complements the primary building's architecture by utilizing the same architectural style. (9) Unless the primary use of the property is for a stand alone parking lot, off-street surface parking lots must be located behind any frontage buildings. For those through lots fronting onto a navigable waterway, the parking lot must be screened from the waterway and the street by the building or by a knee wall with a ten-foot landscaped buffer or a landscaped open space with a minimum depth of 30 feet. The parking lot may be located on the side of a primary building frontage if: (a) the parking lot includes a knee wall. The knee wall shall be constructed as described above, in Section 656.399.29 (8). (b) A maximum of two vehicular access/curb cuts to parking lots are allowed along the block face, subject to Access Management regulations. Vehicular access/curb cuts are not allowed on any block face less than 350 feet. Vehicular access drives shall connect each parking lot with at least two separate streets. (10) Parking garages shall comply with the following requirements: (a) Direct pedestrian access from and to each adjacent street shall be provided. (b) Except in Historic Residential Character Areas, the ground floor, except for vehicle entrances, shall be developed with enclosed commercial or civic floor space to a minimum building depth of 30 feet along the entire length of the structure on each facing street. The parking garage does not need commercial or civic floor space in the event the parking garage is separated from the street by another building and/or landscaped open space with a minimum depth of 30 feet, provided it is consistent with the established historic setback on the block. (c) Mass and scale of the parking garage shall be required to meet the building mass and scale requirements found in Section 656.399.33 (3). (d) For those through lots fronting onto a navigable waterway, the parking garage must be screened by the building from either the waterway or the street. If the parking garage fronts the street, a facade compatible with the adjacent contributing structures shall be provided along the street frontage. (Ord. 2008-192-E, § 3)