A. Specific to Facades Outside the Neighborhood Edge. Massing increments within the Downtown General Zone outside of the Neighborhood Edge shall be differentiated in the following ways:
1. The primary facade (see Section 6.3.E) height of each Massing Increment—as measured from the adjacent sidewalk level to the eave, cornice, or parapet— shall differ from the primary facade height of its neighboring Massing Increment(s) by 10% of the lesser facade height (per Table 7-1). Upper floors which are set back from the primary facade of the lower floors by a minimum of 15' (per Table 7-1) are not considered part of the primary facade height. The resulting setback area may be covered by an open structure—such as a trellis or upper floor arcade—with a front facade that is no more than 10% solid, excluding any parapet wall height. Figure 7-1 displays a simple difference in primary facade height, while Figure 7-2 shows two other strategies.
a. Forecourts and upper floor forecourts—subject to §9.3.B—that are a minimum of 15' deep satisfy this standard as the portion of facade set back does not count as part of the primary facade height.
2. The height of the building base (see Section 6.3.H for more on building bases) shall differ from the neighboring building base by a minimum of 3'. For a greater impact, the height of the base can change by an entire floor (see Figure 7-3).
3. Facade elements—such as openings and Architectural Projections (see Chapter 10) that are typically organized into bays—shall not overlap the division between Massing Increments. The entire facade composition shall be contained within its Massing Increment.
4. A Massing Increment design may be repeated up to a maximum of 3 times on the same project elevation. Repeated Massing Increments may not be immediately adjacent to each other.
a. A forecourt—subject to §9.3.B—may provide separation between repeated Massing Increment designs.
5. See Section 7.3.C regarding when Massing Increments shall and shall not appear as distinct buildings.
FIGURE 7-2 | STRATEGIES FOR VARYING PRIMARY FACADE HEIGHT UPPER FLOORS SET BACK—The upper level of the right portion of the building is set back at least 15' in order to create an adequate difference in facade height (B) between the two Massing Increments (A).
| | A | B A | | A | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
UPPER-LEVEL FORECOURT—All upper floors above the building base are set back to create an upper-level forecourt which is one strategy to create an adequate differentiation between Massing Increments (B).
FIGURE 7-2 | STRATEGIES FOR VARYING BUILDING BASE HEIGHT CHANGE OF 3.5 FEET—The building base height simply changes from the level of the level of the 2nd floor up to the level of the sill of the 2nd floor.
CHANGE OF 1 FLOOR—The left building base height is one floor taller. This is especially useful to bring contrast where the building material does not change. Note: a 2-story building base is required for buildings of 5 stories or more, per Standard 6.3.H.
B. Specific to Facades in the Neighborhood Edge Overlay. Massing Increments within the Neighborhood Edge Overlay shall be differentiated in the following ways:
1. Massing Increments shall be separated by a gap (G in Figure 7-4) of no less than 16’ wide by 20’ deep, per Table 7-1.
2. No massing increment facade design may be repeated on the same project elevation. A massing increment facade design may be repeated up to three times on a project, provided they are on different sides of the block.
3. Architectural style variation between massing increments is encouraged to reinforce a pattern of individual, neighborhood-scale buildings, to better fit in with existing buildings in this zone.
4. The use of pitched roofs are encouraged to further relate the buildings to the residential neighborhood scale.
5. Any other differentiation that meets the intent of the standard is encouraged.
6. Gaps between massing increments may—but are not required to—serve as entries to paseos, courts, side yards, or any other on-site open space. Gaps may also serve as small courts or yards and be surrounded on all sides by building.
7. See Section 7.3.C regarding when Massing Increments shall and shall not appear as distinct buildings.
GAP EXAMPLE—This Gap between Massing Increments serves as a small forecourt, surrounded on all sides by building.
FIGURE 7-4 | MASSING INCREMENTS IN THE
GAP EXAMPLE—These Gaps between Massing Increments provide vehicular and pedestrian access into the block.
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C. Massing Increments as Distinct Buildings. Depending on the situation, Massing Increments shall appear to be either distinct buildings or distinct parts of a single building, per the standards of this section. The intent of these standards is to implement the historic rhythm and character of a historic downtown as envisioned by the community without creating a superficial imitation.
1. The following standards regulate when Massing Increments are to appear as distinct buildings or simply as distinct parts of a single building:
a. When a single project occupies more than 200 linear feet of street frontage, it shall appear as at least 3 distinct buildings.
b. Maximum number of distinct buildings on any single block face.
i. No single project shall appear as more than 4 distinct buildings on any single block face, except for facades in the Neighborhood Edge Overlay, which shall have no maximum number of distinct buildings.
ii. For any project outside the Neighborhood Edge which occupies less than 100 linear feet of street frontage, it shall be designed to appear as a single building.
iii. Exception to the above stated maximum number of distinct buildings: when Massing Increments are located on different properties, are built by different developers or builders, contain distinct programs, and/ or are built at different times, they may appear as distinct buildings, regardless of the resultant number of distinct buildings on the block face.
Massing Increments which appear as DISTINCT BUILDINGS
Massing Increments which appear as DISTINCT PARTS OF A SINGLE BUILDING OR PROJECT
2. How to make Massing Increments appear as distinct buildings. In addition to meeting the standards in Sections 7.3.A&B, Massing Increments which are required to appear as distinct buildings (per Section 7.3.C.1) shall be distinguished according to the following:
a. There shall be a clearly noticeable difference in facade materials and color between distinct buildings.
b. There shall be a clearly noticeable difference in the type and composition of facade openings and architectural elements between distinct buildings.
c. The building base heights of adjacent distinct buildings shall differ by an entire floor.
ONE PROJECT COMPRISING MULTIPLE DISTINCT BUILDINGS—While these examples are each just one development project, their adjacent Massing Increments appear as two distinct buildings in order to relate to the historic context and because they host distinct portions of the project's program. They are distinguished using techniques §7.3.C.2.a & b (difference in material and color and difference in the type and composition of facade openings and architectural elements) in addition to those listed in §7.3.A. The example above would be appropriate for the Neighborhood Edge as it has a gap between Increments.
