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HomeMy WebLinkAboutagenda.drac.19971120DESIGN REVIEW APPEAL BOARD NOVEMBER 20, 1997 Community Development Department Conference Room (Third Floor) 4:30 P.M. WORKSESSION: ORDINANCE 30 REVISIONS. Attached is a draft of revisions to Ordinance 30, which the Planning Staff propose to take forwazd for adoption, with illustrations. The document has been almost entirely rewritten. Most of the old standards have been retained, with improved language, and new standazds have been added. The materials standazds in particular are new and still need some finessing. We have tried to add standazds which get at some of the issues of neighborhood character and Aspen chazacter which many people have felt were missing from Ordinance 30, however the format of the review, an objective checklist, has not changed. t0 Chapter 26.58 RESIDENTIAL DESIGN STANDARDS Sections: 26.58.010 General. 26.58.020 Procedure. 26.58.030 Administrative checklist. 26.58.040 Residential design standards. 26.58.010 General. A. Purpose. The purpose of the following design standards is to preserve established neighborhood scale and character, and to ensure that Aspen's streets and neighborhoods are public places conducive to walking. The standards do not prescribe architectural style, but do require that each home, while serving the needs of its owner, contribute to the making of a neighborhood. Neighborhood character is largely established by the relationship between front facades of buildings and the streets they face. The area between a home's front door and the street creates a transition between the private life of a dwelling and the public realm. Consistency in front setback patterns help to define the space of the street. Certain elements of the front facade are pazticulazly important components of neighborhood character. Front porches provide outdoor living space and animation to the streetscape, and one story entryways provide an appropriate domestic scale for a private residence. Additionally, windows establish a hierazchy of spaces with larger, formal windows denoting public areas, smaller ones suggesting private space. To ensure that both the streets and alleys aze pedestrian in nature, parking areas aze to be concentrated to the rear or side of each residence, and secondary structures, located along the alleys and inspired by the tradition of outbuildings in Aspen, aze encouraged. B. Applicability. This section applies to all residential development in the City of Aspen requiring a building permit, except for residential development within the R-15B zone district. C. Application. An application for residential development shall consist of: an application for a Development Order as may be required by the Community Development Director, Historic Preservation Commission, Planning and Zoning Commission, or City Council, pursuant to Section 26.52.030, and an application for "Residential Design Standards" review, pursuant to Section 26.58.020. D. Exemptions. No application for a residential development order shall be exempt from the provisions of this section unless the Planning Director determines that the proposed development: 1. Is an addition or remodel of an existing structure that does not change the exterior of the building; or 2. Is an application for the erection of a fence or other similar accessory feature of a structure; or 3. Is a remodel of a structure where alterations proposed change the exterior of the building but are not addressed by any of the Residential Design Standazds. 26.58.020 Procedures for Review. A. Determination of Applicability. The Community Development Director at apre-application conference shall make a determination if the proposed project is exempt from the requirements of this chapter. If a determination is made that the design review Standazds shall apply to the proposed project, the applicant shall receive an application form for Residential Design Standards review, which shall include a copy of the administrative check list referenced at Section 26.58.030. B. Determination of Consistency. Upon receipt of an application for Residential Design Standards review, the Community Development Director shall - determine if the development plan is consistent with the Residential Design Standards set forth at Section 26.58.040. C. Appeal of Adverse Determination. If an application is found to be inconsistent with any item of the Residential Design Standazds, the applicant may either amend the application or seek a variance as set forth below. D. Variances. Variances from the Residential Design Standazds, Section 26.58.040, may be granted by the Design Review Appeal Committee as established in Chapter 26.22. An applicant who desires to consolidate other requisite land use reviews by the Historic Preservation Commission, the Board of Adjustment or the Planning and Zoning Commission may elect to have the variance application decided by the board or commission reviewing the other land use application. 26.58.030 Administrative checklist. The Director of Community Development shall create a checklist for use by applicants and community development staff in identifying the approvals and reviews necessary for issuance of a development order for an application that is consistent with the Residential Design Standards. 2 26.58.040 Residential design standards A. SITE DESIGN. The intent of these design standards is to encourage residential buildings that address the street in a manner which creates a consistent "facade line" and defines the public and semi-public realms. In addition, where fences exist, or are proposed, it is intended that they define the property boundary without eliminating the visibility of the house and front yard from the street. 1. Building orientation. The front facades of all principle structures shall be parallel to the street. On corner lots, both street facing facades must be parallel to the intersecting streets. On curvilineaz streets, the front facade of all structures shall be parallel to the tangent of the midpoint of the arc of the street. 2. Build-to lines. On pazcels or lots of less than 15,000 square feet, at least 60% of the front facade of the principle building shall be within 5 feet of the minimum front yard setback line. On corner sites, at least 60% of both street facades of the principle building shall be within 5 feet of the minimum front yard setback lines. (We propose to eliminate the combined front and rear yard setback requirement, fnding that a minimum front and rear yard is suj~cient.) 3. Fences. Fences or berms shall not be more than forty-two inches (42") -- high, measured from natural grade, in all areas forward of the front facade of the house. - B. BUILDING FORM. The intent of the following building form standards is to respect the scale of Aspen's historical homes by creating a transition between smaller and larger houses, by promoting the development of accessory units off of the City alleys, and by preserving solar access. 1. Secondary Mass. All new structures shall locate at least 10% of their total square footage in a mass which is completely detached from the majority of the living space, or linked to it by a connecting element. Gazages, sheds, and Accessory Dwelling Units are examples of appropriate uses for the secondary mass. 2. In i If a one (1) story building exists directly adjacent to the subject site, then the new construction must step down to one story in height along their common lot line. If there are one story buildings on both sides of the subject site, the applicant may choose which side to inflect towazds. For the purposes of this definition, a one story building shall be defined as follows: A one story building shall mean a structure, or portion of a structure, where there is only one floor of fully usable living space, at least 12 feet wide across the street frontage. This standard shall be met by providing a one story element which is also at least twelve (12) feet wide across the street frontage and as deep into the lot as the adjacent building is one story in height. 3 C. PARHING, GARAGES AND CARPORTS. The intent of the following parking, garages, and carport standards is to minimize the potential for conflicts between pedestrian and automobile traffic by placing parking, gazages, and carports on alleys or secondary access roads, and to eliminate or minimize the presence of gazages and carports as a lifeless part of the streetscape. 1. For all residential uses, parking, garages, and carports shall be accessed from an alley or secondary road if one exists. 2. For all residential uses that do not have alley or secondary access, the following standards shall be met: a. On the street facing facade(s), the width of the living azea on the first floor shall be at least five (5) feet greater than the width of the gazage or carport. b. The frontmost wall of the gazage or the frontmost supporting column of a carport shall be set back at least ten (10) feet further from the street than the frontmost wall of the house. On lots of at least 15,000 square feet in size, the garage or carport may be forward of the frontmost wall of the house only if the garage doors or carport entry aze perpendicular to the street (side-loaded). c. When the floor of a gazage or carport is below the street level, the driveway cut within the front yard setback shall not exceed two (2) feet in depth, measured from natural grade. d. The vehicular entrance width of a garage or carport shall not be greater than twenty-four feet (24'). D. BUILDING ELEMENTS. The intent of the following building elements standards is to ensure that each residential building has street-facing azchitectural details and elements which provide human scale to the facade, enhance the walking experience, and reinforce local building traditions. 1. Street oriented entrance and rn incinal window All single-family homes, townhouses, and duplexes shall have astreet-oriented entrance and a street facing principal window. In the case of townhouses and accessory units facing courtyards or gazdens, entries and principal windows should face those features. On corner lots, entries and principal windows should face whichever street has a greater block length. Multiple unit residential buildings shall have at least one street-oriented entrance for every four (4) units, and front units must have astreet-facing principal window. This standard shall be satisfied if all of the following conditions are met: 4 a. The entry door shall be on the front facade, no more than ten feet (10') back from the portion of that facade which is closest to the street. Entry doors shall not be taller than eight feet (8'0"). b. A covered entry porch of fifty (50) or more square feet, with a minimum depth of six feet (6'), shall be part of the front facade. Entry porches and canopies shall not be more than one story in height. c. Astreet-facing principal window requires that a significant window or group of windows of a public room, such as a living room, dining room, or family room, face the street. Bedroom and bathroom windows which face the street shall not satisfy this standard. 2. One story element All residential buildings shall have aone-story street facing element the width of which comprises at least twenty (20) percent of the building's overall width. For example, a one story element may be a porch roof, azchitectural projection, or living space. 3. i d w Street facing windows shall not span through the azea where a second floor level would typically exist, which is between nine (9) and twelve feet (12) above the finished first floor. For interior staircases, this measurement will be made from the first landing if one exists: No more than one non-orthogonal window shall be allowed on each facade of the building. _, 4. Lightwells All areaways, lightwells and/or stairwells on the street facing side(s) of a building shall be entirely recessed behind the vertical plane established by the portion of the building facade which is closest to the street. E. MATERIALS. The intent of the following materials standards is to reinforce the unique character of Aspen and the region by drawing upon Aspen's vernacular azchitecture in selecting appropriate exterior materials for new construction within the azeas specified below. 1. For sites within the historic City and Townsite of Aspen, including the Aspen Townsite, East Aspen Addition, Riverside Addition, Corner's Addition, Dean's Addition, Eame's Addition, Hallam's Addition, Lake View, William's and Hugh's Addition, the following standazds shall be met:. a. The quality of the exterior materials and details and their application shall be consistent on all sides of the building. b. Materials shall be used in ways that are true to their chazacteristics. For instance stucco, which is a light or non-beazing material, shall not be used as below a heavy material, such as stone. a Materials which have an obvious veneer quality, such as log elements which aze not structural, shall not be permitted. 5 d. Adobe, terra cotta tile, aluminum or vinyl siding shall not be used as exterior materials. e. Stone that is not native to the Roaring Fork Valley shall not be used as a primary exterior material. 6 Q City of Aspen City Clerk's Office 130 S. Galena Aspen, CO 81611 Fax Cover Sheet DATE: November 18, 1997 TIME: 11:27 AM TO: MARY HIRSCH PHONE: 925-8541 FAX: 920-1129 FROM: Jackie Lothian PHONE: (970) 920-5063 FAX: 920-5197 RE: DRAC Number of pages including cover sheet: 7 Message Hi Mary: ** MEETING (WORKSESSION) ON THURSDAY 11/20/97 ON THE 3rd FLOOR OF CITY HALL IN THE COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT DEPARTMENT CONFERENCE ROOM ** Let me or Amy know if you can make this meeting. Thankx