§ 19.710.010 — Purpose

19.710.010 - Purpose.

The City Council finds, determines and declares that the application of the design review procedures are necessary to preserve and promote the health, safety and general welfare of the community by achieving the following purposes: A. To protect and preserve the value of properties and to encourage high quality development thereof in areas where adverse effects will result from excessive uniformity, dissimilarity, poor exterior quality and appearance of buildings and structures, and from inadequate and poorly planned landscaping, and from failure to preserve where feasible natural landscape features, open spaces and the like, and will result in the impairment of the benefits of occupancy and use of existing properties in such areas; B. To recognize the interdependence of land values and aesthetics and to provide a method to implement this interdependence in order to maintain the values of surrounding properties and improvements, and to encourage excellence of development of property, compatible with the general plan for, and character of, the City, with due regard to the public and private interests involved; C. To ensure that the public benefits derived from expenditures of public funds for improvement and beautification of streets and public facilities shall be protected by the exercise of reasonable controls over the character and design of private buildings, structures and open spaces; D. To ensure the maintenance of high design standards in the vicinity of public buildings and grounds for the preservation of the architecture and general appearance in the areas of the City containing the buildings and grounds and to preserve the property values in the areas; E. To promote the maintenance of high design standards adjoining thoroughfares of Citywide importance to ensure that the community benefits from the natural growth and vegetation as much as possible, and from the natural terrain, and to preserve and stabilize the architecture and general appearance of buildings and grounds adjoining the thoroughfares; and to preserve and protect the property values in the areas; and F. To ensure the design of landscaping and irrigation that shades paved areas, buffers or screens undesirable views, compliments building architecture and that implements the purposes of Chapter 19.570 (Water Efficient Landscaping and Irrigation).

(Ord. 7331 §107, 2016; Ord. 6966 §1, 2007)