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HomeMy WebLinkAboutCC Resolution 9570 (Montecito/Happy Valley Design Guidelines)RESOLUTION NO.9 5 7 0 RESOLUTION OF THE SAN RAFAEL CITY COUNCIL ADOPTING MONTECITO/HAPPY VALLEY DESIGN GUIDELINES WHEREAS, the San Rafael General Plan 2000 includes an implementing programs for the preparation of a Montecito Neighborhood Plan, and WHEREAS, in June, 1994, the City Council directed the Planning Department to begin work on the neighborhood plan; and WHEREAS, in early 1995, Planning Department staff met with a small group of neighborhood leaders and created a short-term, action -oriented and neighborhood -directed planning process which maximized community involvement; and WHEREAS, after an April 29 community workshop, from May through August, 1995, more than 200 neighborhood residents, property owners and business owners met to identify guiding principles and implementing actions, and elected a coordinating committee to compile the draft plan. In response to concerns about neighborhood design, the Plan contains discretionary design guidelines developed by staff in conjunction with local designers, for future infill projects; and WHEREAS, on October 25 and 29, 1995, the Montecito/Happy Valley Neighborhood Plan was presented to and endorsed by the neighborhood; and WHEREAS, on November 20, 1995, residents introduced the Montecito/Happy Valley Neighborhood Plan to the San Rafael City Council, and the Council referred the proposed changes to the Planning Commission for its recommendation; and WHEREAS, the Planning Commission has reviewed and recommended adoption of the Montecito/Happy Valley Residential Design Guidelines. NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED, that the City Council finds that the Montecito/Happy Valley Residential Design Guidelines will assist in implementing Plan policies calling for well designed new projects which fit in with the area's attractive older homes and provide a "pedestrian friendly" streetfront, and in addition respect historic resources. BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED the City Council does hereby adopt the Montecito/Happy Valley Residential Design Guidelines, included as Attachment A to this Resolution, to be used by property owners, design professionals, the Design Review Board, the Planning Commission and the City Council in reviewing and approving the design of proposed development in the Montecito/Happy Valley neighborhood. I, JEANNE M. LEONCM, the Clerk of the City of San Rafael, hereby certify that the foregoing resolution was duly and regularly introduced and adopted at a regular meeting of the City Council of said City held on Monday, the eighteenth day of March, 1996, by the following vote, to wit: AYES: COUNCILMEMBERS: Cohen, Heller, Phillips, Zappetini & Mayor Boro NOES: COUNCILMEMBERS. None ABSENT: COUNCILMEMBERS: None A, J anne M. Leoncini, City Clerk Montecito% -)r)v Vallev Neiahborhood Plan ATTACHMENT A MONTECITO/HAPPY VALLEY RESIDENTIAL DESIGN GUIDELINES The following discretionary Montecito / Happy Valley design guidelines are to how to help new development and major remodels be more compatible with our attractive older homes, and provide a more "pedestrian friendly" streetfront. In addition, they recognize and address the importance of our historic resources. Our intents are to encourage better designs which emphasize a smaller scale character more consistent with our older homes rather than the large "blocky" apartments which interspersed the neighborhood in the 60's and 70's, and to improve the relationship of new or remodelled buildings to the street. Our older buildings have front entries, often covered or with porches, facing the street, pitched roofs, and more detailing around windows and doors. By contrast, apartment styles we wish to avoid repeat- ing have flat roofs, entries facing a corridor or parking lot, large monotonous walls, and windows with minimal detail interest. The neighborhood is largely built out. Still, many of the following design techniques are applicable to remodels, and are encour- aged, recognizing they may not be possible in all cases. There Is a wide range of "streetscapes" In Montecito as noted In the examples below. Fifth and Mission west of Grand Avenue A pleasing appearance with well defined, similar setbacks, homes parallel to streets, similar building scale and spacing: one- to two -stories, single family in appearance with porches, entries to the street, recessed garages, and pitched roofs, and with sidewalks and street trees. Grand Avenue Also a pleasing appearance with mostly larger single family homes; pitched roofs, generous setbacks, street trees and side- walks. "Rhythm", that is, spacing and size of homes along the street is broken by two large, rectangular apartment buildings. Belle east of Union Street Many smaller bungalows, varied setbacks, and a few prominent buildings Union north of Belle Avenue No defineabie pattern: smaller homes, bulky apartments and varied roofs, Park - Ing and wide driveways in front of buildings detract from street appearance, Park north of Belle Avenue Street has many smaller one- and two-story buildings as well as rectangular apart- ments. Pavement in front of some buildings and high fences next to sidewalk detract from street appearance. Valencia Avenue Three-story apartments are a high wall on the uphill side; scale is generally low on the downhill side with some older homes close to the street and other larger apartments set further back, Street is narrow. No sidewalks or street trees. Page 51 Montecito/H000v Vallev Nela, )rh . MONTECITO/HAPPY VALLEY RESIDENTIAL DESIGN GUIDELINES 1. Scale. Architectural "scale" means the size of a Portions of new construction facing the street should provide similar building proportions to older homes along the street. 2. Building design. The intent is to encourage designs which reinforce the smaller scale charac- ter of existing older homes. On front facades facing the street, building designs are encouraged to provide an appearance similar to our older homes— with additional units and parking tucked behind or recessed. All building facades should be varied and articulated; long monotonous walls should be avoided. building relative to the buildings around it. When the buildings in a neighborhood are about the same size and proportion, it is said they are - "in scale" When a much larger, bulky building is constructed in this setting, it will overpower the others. To achieve a more harmonious relationship between the existing mix of larger and smaller buildings in Montecito/Happy YES Valley and provide a more integrated char- acter, design techniques should be used to break the volume of large buildings into smaller units. For example, an imposing, rectangular building can be vertically divided through architectural features, setbacks and varying rooflines to appear to a be more of an aggregation of smaller buildings. Transitional elements, such as stepped facades, roof decks and architec- _ E-1 tural details will help merge larger 1 buildings into the existing neighborhood. NO During remodels of larger apartments, encourage use of vertical divisions to break up their mass, particularly on elevations facing the street. Portions of new construction facing the street should provide similar building proportions to older homes along the street. 2. Building design. The intent is to encourage designs which reinforce the smaller scale charac- ter of existing older homes. On front facades facing the street, building designs are encouraged to provide an appearance similar to our older homes— with additional units and parking tucked behind or recessed. All building facades should be varied and articulated; long monotonous walls should be avoided. 3. Building heights. Dramatic variations in bicilding heights appear chaotic. New construction should not vary sig- nificantly from the existing average height of nearby buildings. Adjacent buildings should be considered and transitional elements included to avoid overpowering them. 4. Roof Shapes. A roof is the most important part of any building. Where possible, relate new roof forms to those found in the area, except that additional flat roofs are to be avoided. There may be limited instances where a flat roof is appropriate given ad- jacent buildings. 5. Building Entrances. The pedestrian life of a building is at its entry. Entrances which are clearly identifiable and face the street en- courage contact between neighbors. Entrances of streetfront units should orient to the street rather than to parking lots. Entries should be well- defined and well lighted for users. Usable front porches, verandas, over- head trellis canopies and similar fea- tures are also encouraged. 6. Windows. Windows are the "eyes" of a building. Architectural detailing at all window jambs, sills, and heads is encouraged. Window proportions should be consis- tent with the proportions of the building and with each other. Windows should overlook the street to permit surveil- lance of the street. Window placement along rear and side elevations should consider privacy needs of owners and adjacent neighbors. �F -)Av Vallev Nelahborhood Plan "Dutch" Gable Gambrel Mansard Gable Hip Shed Examples of different roof shapes Montecito/H000y Valley Neir, orh�. NO YES Recessed garage example 7. Driveways, Parking Areas. Screening of parking through landscaping and less visible parking locations is important to reducing its visual impact on the street. Pedestrian safety and interest are other major concerns. Driveway cuts and widths should be mini- mized. In new projects or major reconstruc- tions, ground level parking areas should be recessed or placed to the rear of buildings. Where front parking is unavoidable, it should be well screened and landscaped. Where front yard parking exists, as in the il- lustration, consider realignment of parking spaces to be parallel with the street and screened with landscaping. 8. Gardens. Landscaping provides life for our neighborhood. Even small front yards can be enhanced with shrubs and flowers to contribute to the overall visual quality of the enighborhood. Encourage landscaped, irrigated front entry gardens! 9. Corner buildings. Corner houses are more important informing the character of streets than any others on the block as they are the most highly visible, and begin and end the block. Design all street facades of corner buildings with compatible materials, care and atten- tion to detail. 10. Additions to older homes. Ensure that additions are architecturally compatible with the original structure. Second story additions should respect the proportions, style and materials of the original house. Quality of materials and detailing shouldn't be crude compared to the original. Proportions of additions should maintain the directional emphasis of the original building. The quality of materi- als and detailing, and roof pitches and forms of additions should be consistent with the original building. 11. His torictarchitecturally significant buildings. Buildings on the San Rafael Historical/Architectural Survey" as most recently adopted and shown on Figure 26 are important resources to protect. Where there are substantial changes to the facade, the Cultural Affairs Commis- sion reviews and recommends on the appropriateness of the proposal. Encourage protection and renovation of historic and architecturally significant buildings to retain significant building characteristics. New buildings and major remodels in the vicinity of architecturally significant buildings should respect their scale and design. M ALDERSLY HEAD START ''o/r . _cov Vallev Nelahborhood Plan 12. Fourth Street Pedestrian Guidelines. Downtown Design Guidelines for "Pedes- trian -friendly design for Active Pedestrian Commercial Streets" should be used for buildings along Fourth Street in Montecito. (see pages 56 - 58.) Historical/Architectural Buildings in Montecito/Happy Valley Note: Survey area did not include Union, Park or Belie east of Ridge, and Jewell Address Status 901-11 Irwin Good (French Quarter: August 1978 Historic District) 1232 Irwin Exceptional 1240 Irwin Excellent 1018 Grand Good 1210-12 Grand Good 1222 Grand Excellent 1228 Grand Excellent 1235 Grand Good 525-7 Belle Excellent 536 and 558 Belle Good (across street from neighborhood boundary) 185 Mlsslon Good (High School Administration Building) Source: San Rafael Historical/Architectural Survey. City of San Rafael, CA. September 1986. • 1" T% Figure 26. Buildings on City's Historical/Architectural Survey 1� + w.od, Montecito/Haopv Vollev NPigl ,.,orl� _ . Downtown Design Guidelines (excerpt) Pedestrian -friendly design for the Active Pedestrian Commercial Streets as shown on Map A below. Fourth Street, and portions of cross streets close to Fourth are active, pedestrian friendly shopping and mixed use areas. The intents here are to enliven these commercial and mixed use areas by encouraging window shopping; by orienting buildings to the street to increase street activity, by including usable, active public plazas, and by minimiz- ing parking lots and driveways which interrupt the pedestrian flow, and by encouraging appropriate signage. 3. Building Entrances. The pedestrian life of a building is at its entry. a. The primary ground floor entrances of non- residential and any residential uses should be oriented to the street—or in some cases public plazas or courtyards—rather than to parking lots. b. Ground floor entries should be frequent. c. Entries should be well-defined, and well - 1. Setback pattern. Buildings should be located to lighted for pedestrian safety. reinforce the street edge. This means much of the front or street side facades of the ground floors 4. Windows. Large storefront windows provide views should extend close to the property line. into the building and a unifying design element. Exceptions to this pattern are encouraged for Large storefront window display areas should public plazas or courtyards. be provided at the street level on nonresidential buildings (i.e., approximately 75% dear glass on 2. Driveways, Parking Areas. Pedestrian safety, the primary street level frontage). interest and activity are the primary concerns on these streets. Driveway cuts and widths should be minimized, and ground level parking areas should be placed behind buildings. i. L Fifth/Mission and Environs _ — — 6 Second/Third and Environs %,I..4, MAP A F DOWNTOWN PEDESTRIAN AREAS Gly or ning Deportment Son goraal Plan ( /(ye Pedestrian Commercial Streets See Downtown Design Guidelines Sec. A) Fifth/Mission and Environs See Downtown Design Guidelines Sec. B) :' � Second/Third and Environs See Downtown Design Guidelines Sec. C) Figure 27. Map A of Downtown Design Guidelines 5. Building Design. Building design should provide interest and variety at the street level, through, for example, awnings, or in limited instances mar- quees; as well as entries and window displays as noted above. Long, monotonous, uninterrupted walls should be avoided. Differences in facade treatment between ground level and upper levels also add visual interest to a building and are encouraged. 6. Public plazas and courtyards. Where included in a development, exterior public and semi-public spaces, such as courtyards or plazas, should enhance the surrounding buildings and provide amenities for users. Public spaces should be designed to be used, not just looked at. a. Public spaces are an integral part of the pedestrian system, and should not be sepa- rated from the sidewalk with walls or stairs. b. Other sides of the public space should provide a sense of enclosure, for example, by defining with buildings, landscaping, street furniture, railings. c. The public space should be adequately land- scaped and include street furniture. d. The public space should be located to take advantage of sun, and shield wind exposure. e. Shopping or eating opportunities are encouraged within or adjacent to the public space. 7. Landscaping. Landscaping adds interest. Color- ful, small scale plants, including hanging plants are encouraged in small areas along the streetfront for variety and interest. Artificial plants are discouraged. 8. Sun. Sunny areas are important on Fourth Street for pedestrian comfort and activity. Multi story building design on the south side of Fourth Street should consider step backs or other design techniques to retain sunny sidewalk areas on the north side of the street. 9. Awnings. Awnings help add color, interest and continuity to a building and provide weather protection. If awnings are used, they are encour- aged to: a. Provide colors compatible with the colors of the building and of adjacent buildings. .]'ol, apv Vallev Nelahborhood Plan b. i ovide uniform treatment for multi -tenant buildings. c. Provide varied awning designs on a block. d. Avoid internally illuminated awnings. In addition, the following building code standards are included for reference and must be met: e. Minimum Height Above Grade: 8 feet; 14 feet at alleys, parking lots or other areas with vehicular traffic f. Horizontal Projection: 7 feet, or 66% of the distance between the(from the face of the building)buildng and curb, whichever is less g. Distance to the curb: 2 feet clearance between the awning and curb 10. Signs. Appropriate signage enhances the pedestrian atmosphere and promotes Downtown's image of an active, interesting high quality shopping district and business location. Sign standards are included in the sign ordinance for wall signs, freestanding signs, etc. These additional guidelines promote pedestrian oriented signs not specifically de- scribed in the ordinance. a. Signs should be designed to be viewed primarily by pedestrians and persons in vehicles nearby at the street level, not from long distances. b. They should be designed as an integral part of the building's architectural design. c. Message simplification, including the use of graphic symbols, is encouraged. Lettering should be legible, simple, and appropriate to the image of the building. d. Surface brightness or lighting intensity beyond that necessary to attract nearby persons is discouraged. e. Projecting signs are encouraged to provide signage oriented to the pedestrian passing on the sidewalk in front of the building. - They may project up to 48" from the face of the building, and provide a minimum clearance of 12" between the building face and sign (The sign ordinance Monteclto/Haoov Vallev Nelai . -)ncc requires that no sign project within 2 feet of the street curb). - The projecting sign face should gener- ally be no more than 3 square feet in size. - They should be mounted with at least 8 feet vertical clearance from the side- walk, and at or below the sill of the second floor window in a multi -story building, or the eave line of a single story building. - They should provide attractive mount- ing brackets. - To avoid visual clutter, they should gen- erally be at least 15' apart. - Only one face of the sign shall be counted. f. Awning signs are often more visible from passing atttomibiles and from pedestrians from the opposite side of the street and are also en- cottraged as interesting alternatives to wall signs considering the following criteria: - Allowed wall signage may be trans- ferred to ground floor awning faces and sides. - As with wall signs, lettering must be set in 10% from the edges of the awning. - Letter height should be limited (gener- ally between 6-12"). - Signage/graphics should not over- whelm the awning: suggested coverage limits: up to 50% of the face area and 50% of awning side areas. - Signage on the sides of an awning count as one sign only. - To avoid visual clutter, signs on sides of awnings should generally be provided where there is 15' or more distance between awnings. g. Neon signs add liveliness to the retail commer- cial environment and are allowed subject to a design review permit. h. Addresses assist shoppers. Street numbers up to 2 sq. ft. in size are (proposed to be) exempt from the sign ordinance. CITY ACTIONS AND PROGRAMS M/HV-a Zoning changes Implement our residential land use and zoning to keep the neighborhood much as it is, minimizing additional development in the neighborhood. M/HV-b Home ownership Encourage home ownership through proposed rezoning, and through condominium conversions of existing apartments, to the extent permitted by other City policy. M/HV-c Support commercial areas Retain existing mixed use land use categories and zoning districts in the commercial areas. Consistent with these districts, encourage active ground floor and retail uses on Fourth Street, and waterfront storefronts and restaurants in the Marine Commercial Zone. M1HV-d Redevelop the School District's bus/maintenance yard Redevelop the San Rafael City School's bus/maintenance yard with a City Redevelopment Agency -sponsored attractive senior apartment project as generally described in the Agency's letter of July 24, 1995 with a maximum of 40 units and adequate parking. The proposal also includes a community room which can be used jointly by neighborhood and project residents, and an outdoor area located and designed to be used jointly by Head Start, the neighborhood and project residents. Consistent with City requirements, the project is subject to design review. It is the neighborhood's desire to have a meeting room which would accommodate a meeting of 20 people, and an outdoor area large enough to accommodate appropriate shared outdoor amenities. MIHV-e Other High School Recreation policies Support City recreation policies R-21 and R-23 which state that if San Rafael High School is ever closed or sold, the City would attempt to secure the continued public use of existing high school recreation facilities, and provide neighborhood park facilities there as part of any community recreation facilities development. LI 0 7 2 Land Use Map , or the Montecito/ Happy Valley Neighborhood GENERAL PLAN AMENDMENTS