Vice Chair Reed introduced Peter Stempel and Nicole McDermott with Form Tomorrow.
Peter Stempel distributed suggested changes to Chapter 19 of the Zoning Ordinance and Development Standards for Neighborhood Commercial and Community Commercial (copies available at Ivins City office). He indicated that Chapter 19 reflects Ivins’ desire to achieve pedestrian scale walkable areas within the community that reflect Ivins unique style and desert setting, and that City connectivity is as important as density. The following is a list of Key Concepts to consider:
1. "Pull" buildings to the street by making a distance requirement for primary entrance: this directly addresses pedestrian scale.
2. "Push" mass back and preserve views by stepping the zoning envelope, and limiting the position of large buildings.
3. "Encourage" incorporation of landscaped trail easements and interconnectivity by allowing qualifying trails to meet the entry distance requirement; break the block.
4. "Require" a measurable portion of the site be landscape, a requirement that can be met by preserving existing landscape.
Mr. Stempel illustrated and encouraged setting building heights for lot envelopes, stepping the heights for buildings, using trails to create public access, preserving views using natural landscapes and landscaped areas.
Commercial - Neighborhood:
If commercial zones allow for increase residential development density, some developers will want to take that increased density as all residential and that could cause a higher defacto density residential zone which he didn’t get the impression the City wanted. There are different standards for residential paired with commercial. Develop residential and commerical to achieve maximum density. It’s more of an incentive for a developer to do a combination.
The maximum building heights from the front setback were illustrated using 15’, 24’ to 35’. This would allow a step zoning section and pulling the entries closer to the street. It would encourage a one story building or stepping the buildings but it would make it difficult to create a tall two-story building on the street which creates the hard walls of a building. A height of thirty-five feet (35’) is not unreasonable in the The Village zone but it allows for a three-story structure. If the City wants to keep the scale down, consider 26’-28’ building heights which allows a two-story building with a dynamic roof.
Kevin Rudd mentioned that neighborhood commercial should be close to residential height which is twenty-five (25’).
Vice Chair Reed’s felt neighborhood commercial would have the the same look and feel as the rest of the residential area. The buildings size and structure would not be that different than a normal home.
Peter Stempel stated that being the case the height should be stepped from 15’ to 25’. Location of parking, lot requirements, and front setback/build to line (BTL) were discussed. BTL draws the commercial businesses toward the front of the property. Four (4) diagrams of neighborhood commercial were submitted that showed a small lot, zero lot line, shared access, and frontage as percentage (copy available at Ivins City). Zero lot line and shared access options were explained. It was mentioned there should be no unbroken surface greater than 42’ without a 4’ reentrant, and landscaping requirements with lots less than one (1) acre would required 30% landscaping and greater than one (1) acre 40% landscaping allowing 10% of the percentage to be patios, plazas, and pathways.
Several cities write ordinances to prevent certain types of businesses but he felt that the current ordinance did not prevent any type of business.
Vice Chair Reed explained that the Table of Uses doesn’t allow some uses. His goal is to free it up so there could be a requirement in design to allow more commercial uses but to retain the flavor of Ivins. If we focus on a design to accommodate pedestrian, it would accommodate auto businesses, etc. as well.
Peter Stempel stated that the current ordinance refers to stepping the buildings and follow the contour of the landscape. He suggested calculating Maximum Building Height from the lowest to highest point of natural grade and elevate the height with the uniform line between the two contact points (see diagram attached). It gives a zoning envelope that follows the contour of the ground rather than raw elevations. This concept was illustrated in detail. When asking for Site Plan requirements and submittals, ask the developer to furnish documents of the existing conditions. That requires the developer to document the site and look at the existing conditions of the land.
At the next meeting, the next step might be to illustrate the existing commercial zones.
Kevin Rudd suggested having a 3-D model to be able to see the impact from Center Street so the Planning Commission and City Council can visualize the design and building heights.
Peter Stempel felt they could take some existing commercial lot sizes and give some 3-D examples.
Commissioner Scott commented that he liked the idea of taking an incentive approach instead of a regulatory approach.
Commissioner Murphy likes the concept of stating what a developer can do and not what they cannot do.
The consensus was that the Commissioners liked the direction Mr. Stempel was going.
Peter Stempel mentioned that Chapter 19 would apply to all developers, all sites and structures, and each zone should be clearly numerated. The developers should be able to get the basic zoning envelope and building standards out of Chapter 19. The sign requirements in this chapter are minimal; therefore, leave sign requirements in the Sign Chapter so developers do not have to go from chapter to chapter. The ordinance should be clear about what the City is asking for and predicatable. There will be areas of discretion but be clear in other areas.
Kevin Rudd asked how he felt about the minimum setbacks on residential property that abuts commercial property and about ways to handle residential zones that back up to a commercial building wall.
Peter Stempel felt the minimum setbacks are reasonable where it is abutting a different zone but a different use within neighborhood commercial would not be afforded the same protection as in a regular residential zone. Clarify in Chapter 19 that the commercial building has an architectural uniform treatment on the entire building and that loading docks are screened. Also, consider residential components being built behind the commercial building.
Vice Chair Reed suggested using the Build to Line (BTL) method to draw a commercial building from the property line, and with a minimum landscaping requirement the landscaping could be at the rear of the building.
Peter Stempel explained that Chapter 19 currently requires uniform treatment on all sides of the building, etc. but another way to say it is that any portion of the building shall be architecturally finished that’s facing a public right-of-way, access or neighboring zone. Or there could be an option to put the loading dock internal. Language for loading docks could say, "Any semi trailer parked in a loading dock shall be screened from view from public streets or adjacent zones/property."
The Commissioners discussed the commercial zones on 200 East, how to screen commercial and residential, the affects of requiring minimum landscaping, and parking layouts. Minimum landscaping requirements would limit the building size and parking.
Peter Stempel explained that if there isn’t some kind of landscaping requirement, the City will end up with a building, parking lot and detention pond. There is a question of what the burden is of surface water infrastructure in the City. Landscaping gives an aesthetic/natural impact and helps with water runoff. As a parcel gets smaller, the landscape requirement can be reduced or with a larger piece of property there could be some discretion.
Other discussions focused on existing commercial zones, uses, overlays, and incentivize to connect with the trail systems.
The Commissioners will review the changes made in Chapter 19 and come back with their comments on June 1, 2010, and Form Tomorrow will continue working on Chapter 19, the 3-D model and illustrating the existing zones and new zones.