23.48.845

The following standards apply to structures in which any portion of the structure exceeds a height of 85 feet, not including stair or elevator penthouses and enclosed mechanical equipment. A. Podiums. The height limit for podiums is 45 feet as measured from the elevation at the street lot line. B. Towers. A tower is any portion of the structure that exceeds the podium height limit and extends vertically to exceed a height of 85 feet not including stair or elevator penthouses and enclosed mechanical equipment. Portions of the structure that exceed the podium height limit and are not attached to a portion of the structure that extends vertically above a height of 85 feet are not towers. More than one tower may be located on a single podium in the same structure provided separation requirements and tower floor area limits are met. C. Tower floor area limits. In SM-NG zones towers are subject to the floor area limits shown in Table A for 23.48.845. The floor area limit applies to contiguous floors within each tower above the podium height limit, excluding stair and elevator penthouses and enclosed mechanical equipment. Table A for 23.48.845 Tower floor area limits in SM-NG zones Height of tower 1 (in feet) Average gross floor area for stories within a tower above the podium 2 (in square feet) Maximum gross floor area of any single story within a tower above the podium 2 (in square feet) 160 or less 20,000 for stories in non-residential use; or 12,000 for stories in residential use 2 24,000 for stories in non-residential use; or 13,000 for stories in residential use 2 Greater than 160 10,500 11,500 Footnotes to Table A for 23.48.845 1 Height of the tower does not include stair or elevator penthouses and enclosed mechanical equipment. 2 For stories that include a mix of non-residential and residential uses, the applicable floor area limit shall be the limit that applies to the use that accounts for more than 50 percent of the total floor area of the story, or the greater of the two floor area limits if the story includes equal amounts of residential and non-residential uses. D. Upper-level setbacks. The following upper-level setbacks are required. 1. An upper-level setback of 15 feet is required for towers above the podium height limit from all street lot lines and a required mid-block corridor. 2. An average upper-level setback of 10 feet is required from all street lot lines for any portion of a structure that exceeds 65 feet in height. The maximum depth of a setback that can be used for calculating the average is 15 feet. 3. An average upper-level setback of 10 feet is required from a required mid-block corridor for any portion of a structure that exceeds 45 feet in height. The maximum depth of a setback that can be used for calculating the average is 20 feet. E. Separation. Separation between structures or portions of the same structure is required as follows: 1. A minimum horizontal separation of 75 feet is required between proposed towers or between proposed and existing towers, regardless of whether they are on the same lot or on separate lots, as shown on Exhibit A for 23.48.845 . For these purposes, a proposed tower is any tower in a development proposal for which an Early Design Guidance (EDG) meeting has been completed, and an existing tower is any tower in any development for which a certificate of occupancy has been issued; and 2. Within a lot. A minimum horizontal separation of 75 feet is required between towers and all other portions of the same structure or portions of other structures on the same lot that exceed 45 feet in height, as shown on Exhibit A for 23.48.845. Exhibit A for 23.48.845 Required separation between tower structures F. Projections. The first 4 feet of horizontal projection of decks, balconies with open railings, eaves, cornices, gutters, and similar architectural features are permitted in the upper-level setbacks required in subsection 23.48.845.D and in the separation area required in subsection 23.48.845.E. (Ord. 125792 , § 7, 2019)