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Home My WebLink About1998-10-22 NAC Memorandum to OPH Re Design Guidelines • • A C NORTHWEST ASSOCIATED CONSULTANTS N COMMUNITY PLANNING - DESIGN - MARKET RESEARCH MEMORANDUM TO: Tom Melena FROM: Scott Richards DATE: 22 October 1998 RE: Oak Park Heights - Design Guidelines FILE NO: 798.04 - 98.01 Please find enclosed copies of the Design Guidelines as recommended by the Planning Commission at their 15 October 1998 meeting. The Planning Commission held a public hearing at the October meeting but no comment was received by those present. The Design Guidelines draft represents approximately six months of work by staff and the Planning Commission regarding design standards for the community. The guidelines address issues related to site design, architecture, parking lot design, pedestrian /bike routes, environment and utility placement. The issue of signage will be handled separately as a project for the Planning Commission in 1999, with involvement of business owners in the community. We would appreciate review by the City Council as well as comments and suggestions related to this draft. pc: Kris Danielson 5775 WAYZATA BOULEVARD, SUITE 555 ST. LOUIS PARK, MINNESOTA 554 1 6 PHONE 61 2- 595 -9636 FAX 612- 595 -9837 E -MAIL NAC @WINTERNET.COM ■ R' . • City of Oak Park Heights Design Guidelines i { 8S s'TC",V SUN P pplebe F; 1998 NORTHWEST ASSOCIATED CONSULTANTS INC. • • • Table of Contents Purpose 1 Scope 1 Process 2 Site Design 3 Architecture 4 Parking Lot Design 8 Pedestrian/Bike Routes 13 Environment 14 Utilities 15 Signage 16 Glossary 18 Oak Park Heights, Minnesota Design Guidelines 1998 • . Purpose The purpose of these guidelines is to coordinate design themes for site planning, architecture, streetscape and signage of all commercial and industrial properties in Oak Park Heights. The coordinated design of these areas will communicate an image of quality and stability. These standards are intended to prevent the use of materials and practices that are unsightly, rapidly deteriorate or contribute to depreciation of property values. It is not the intent of these guidelines to unduly restrict design freedom. Proposed developments which contradict any of the specific guidelines of this document will be reviewed to see if the desired outcome is accomplished. Scope \4)k- tS t\t\e. 0^ e-•0*‘ ‘- A.N The Design Guidelines be enforced in all areas designated for commercial or industrial use in the ak Park Heights Comprehensive Plan including the following zoning district : RB, Residential Business Transition District; B -1, Neighborhood Business District; B -2, General Business District; CBD, Central Business District; B -W, Business /Warehousing; I, Industrial District; and all commercial and industrial areas zoned PUD, Planned Unit Development.l- --r-equests—for I. - -S • -- ` n .,(,, e_ Q 34r.)., c9,4_ \ ,' 'to 1 co.3,4 C. ~e ms _... oc ctC , Oak Park Heights, Minnesota Design Guidelines 1998 1 • • Process Applicants must submit plans and drawings to the City in accordance with the processing requirements for amendments and conditional use permits (Section 401.03) of the Zoning Ordinance. All materials must be submitted to the City no fewer than twenty (20) days prior to the Planning Commission's regularly scheduled or special meeting in order to appear and make a presentation. Submission materials shall include a site plan, planting plan, architectural plans and elevations, signage plans, lighting plans and any other plans as requested by the City staff, Planning Commission, or City Council. Perspective sketches are desirable. Site and planting plans shall include all existing and proposed site elements. Architectural and sign plans shall include elevations of all exposed sides and identification of all materials and colors. Material samples will be required for Planning Commission review. The Planning Commission shall review the submitted materials and make recommendations on the site and building design elements subject to the guidelines stated herein. The City Council shall make any final decisions on site or building design. Oak Park Heights, Minnesota Design Guidelines 1998 2 • Site Design The intent of the site design guidelines is to create efficient, attractive, inviting spaces that complement public right -of -way as well as adjacent private uses. Spaces that draw the eye and the user deeper into the site are encouraged to avoid shallow "strip" development. Issue Guideline Unifying Design Concept All buildings and parking should be visibly organized by a clear design concept. Harmonious composition of numerous similar or complementary forms encouraged. I h h II Desirable Undesirable Building Placement When possible, buildings should be placed with long dimension perpendicular to highway or street frontage. The end of the building should be placed close to the highway or street with minimal parking between. A recommended maximum is fifty -five (55) feet. This allows for one row of parking, driveway, and landscaping between building and highway. Oak Park Heights, Minnesota Design Guidelines 1998 3 • • Parking Placement When possible, the long dimension of the primary parking area should be placed perpendicular to the highway or street. Highway Highway Frontage Road — — Frontage Road l )( 1 r 1 r 1 . . • • • Desirable Undesirable Architecture The intent of the architectural guidelines is to encourage thoughtful consideration of each individual building use as it relates to its unique site and surrounding sites to create a sense of identity that unique to Oak Park Heights. The Stillwater Area High School is considered a key component of this area and the continuation of that architectural style, colors and materials is desired. Issue Guideline Custom Architecture Buildings and accessory structures shall be designed specifically for the site and to relate to the existing buildings around them and in the area (style, color, materials, etc.). Franchise architecture (building design that is trademarked or identified with a particular chain or corporation, is generic in nature, or the building design, through its architecture or materials, functions as a sign) is prohibited. Also prohibited are building color wraps, neon and internally illuminated awnings. Oak Park Heights, Minnesota Design Guidelines 1998 4 • 1 Facade and Roof Articulation Articulation of the facade and roof line shall be encouraged. L r 1 Desirable Undesirable Architectural Materials For the purposes of the subsection, materials shall be divided into four grades as follows: Grade I - a) brick b) glass c) natural stone d) masonry stucco e) copper panels f) ceramic or terra cotta Grade II - a) concrete block with specialty texture b) architecturally designed precast textured concrete panels Grade III - a) exterior finish installation system b) opaque panels c) ornamental metal Grade IV - a) smooth or scored concrete block b) smooth concrete tip up panels c) glass block d) wood Oak Park Heights, Minnesota Design Guidelines 1998 5 1 Buildings shall incorporate grades of materials in all exterior walls in the following manner: a) Office and commercial buildings must use at least three Grade I materials and must be composed of at least sixty -five (65) percent Grade I or Grade II materials. Glass must make up thirty (30) percent of this sixty - five (65) percent, (twenty (20) percent of building facade must be glass). Not more than thirty -five (35) percent of the building shall be Grade II or Grade III material and not more than ten (10) percent of the building shall be Grade IV materials. b) Industrial and warehouse buildings must use at least two different Grade I or II materials and be composed of at least 65 percent Grade I or Grade II materials; not more than thirty-five (35) percent Grade III or Grade IV materials shall be used on a building. Not more than ten (10) percent of the building shall be Grade IV materials. c) Multi -tenant office /warehouse or show - room/warehouse or other combinations shall be sixty -five (65) percent Grade I or II materials on primary exterior facades. Exterior walls with limited public exposure may use combinations of Grade II or III materials. d) Any expansions or additions to buildings must use the same or superior materials as the existing structure. e) Any variations to these guidelines must be approved by the City Council. Composition & Detailing Buildings shall use a combination of at least three (3) of the high quality (Grades I or II) materials. Oak Park Heights, Minnesota Design Guidelines 1998 6 411 1 No building shall have large areas of blank wall surface, i.e., without articulation of surface or materials, visible from the street. A building more than thirty (30) feet in width should be divided into increments of no more than thirty (30) feet through articulation of the facade. This can be achieved through combinations of the following techniques: a) Divisions or breaks in materials (although materials should be drawn from a common palette); b) Window Bays; c) Separate entrances and entry treatments, porticoes; d) Variation in roof lines; e) Awnings; f) Building setbacks. Desirable Undesirable Color The exterior building color must blend with the architecture in the area (primary reference - Stillwater Area High School). The primary exterior building color shall be soft, warm earth tones - salmon, rose, tan, terra cotta, ochre. Less than thirty (30) percent may be soft, cool tones - gray, green, blue. Less than five (5) percent of the building or any Oak Park Heights, Minnesota Design Guidelines 1998 7 • • accessory structure shall be primary or vivid colors. Screening All roof, wall, and ground mounted mechani- cal equipment and trash collection areas shall be screened with material comparable and compatible with the exterior building materials. Parking Lot Design The intent of the parking lot design guidelines is to create a unifying theme of the functional elements common to all uses. Issue Guideline Lighting Site lighting shall be in accordance with Section 401.15.B.7 of the Zoning Ordinance and uniformly spaced, "shoebox" style, dark bronze, metal halide on dark bronze poles not to exceed twenty -five (25) feet in height. Parking Lot Islands Curbed islands of no less than six hundred (600) square feet shall be allowed in parking lots in lieu of several smaller islands. _ n T'- 5&111 1 U I HO _1111 11 _III Ifs[} --t1d11111111111177111111111114111— 111111 11 ____6115lili11111151— J11111111iiiiH9 Desirable Undesirable Oak Park Heights, Minnesota Design Guidelines 1998 8 • Parking Lot Setback A landscaped buffer strip at least ten (10) feet wide shall be provided between all parking areas, the public sidewalk or street, and property lines. The buffer strip shall consist of shade trees at a minimum but also may include, shrubs, decorative fence or masonry wall. A solid or opaque wall, fence or hedge shall not exceed three (3) feet in height. Parking Lot Plantings Shrubs, ornamental trees, and high- branching deciduous trees are required throughout parking lots according to an approved parking lot plan. Low shrub masses of no less than eighteen (18) shrubs per mass are encouraged in parking lot islands. • a out uo 8 1 Desirable Undesirable Plant Material Variety A mixture of plant material types is encour- aged. Desirable species are (but not limited to): Deciduous trees - White Ash/Fraxinus americana Ginkgo /Ginkgo biloba Hackberry/Celtis occidentalis Oak Park Heights, Minnesota Design Guidelines 1998 9 • • Honeylocust/Gleditisa triacanthos and cultivars Kentucky Coffeetree /Gymnocladus dioicus Linden/Tilia sp. and cultivars Norway Maple /Acer platanoides and cultivars Red Maple /Acer rubrum and cultivars River Birch/Betula nigra Sugar Maple /Acer saccharum Pin Oak/Quercus ellipsiodalis (Northern Pin Oak) Swamp White Oak/Quercus bicolor Bur Oak/Quercus macrocapa Ornamental trees (sterile or varieties with persistent fruit): Flowering Crabapples/Malus species and cultivars Thornless Cockspur Hawthorn/Crataegus crus -galli Japanese Tree Lilac /Syringa reticulata Mountain Ash/Sorbus species and cultivars Coniferous trees: Austrian Pine/Pinus nigra Red Pine/Pinus resinosa Scotch Pine/Pinus sylvestris White Pine/Pinus strobus Black Hills Spruce/Picea glauca densata Colorado Spruce/Pinus pungens Norway Spruce/Picea abies White Spruce/Picea glauca Deciduous shrubs: (Due to large variety of species, only genus is suggested here): Chokeberry, Coralberry Cotoneaster, Alpine Currant, Dogwood, Euonymus, Forsythia, Oak Park Heights, Minnesota Design Guidelines 1998 10 . . i 11111 Honeysuckle, Lilac, Ninebark, Potentilla, Rose, Snowberry, Spirea, Sumac, Viburnum, Willow, Drawf Bush Honeysuckle Coniferous shrubs: Juniper, Arborvitae, Yew, Mugo Pine Prohibited trees: Cottonwood (except for cottonless cultivars) Female ginkgo Boxelder American elm (except for disease resistant varieties) Silver Maple Mulberry Black Locust Willows Black Walnut (unless given adequate space) Seeded varieties of Green Ash Building Entrance Plantings Deciduous and/or ornamental trees are re- quired near the front and entrance of buildings. Deciduous trees shall be planted a minimum of twenty (20) feet and ornamental trees a minimum of fifteen (15) feet from the building. Pedestrian scale shrub planter areas within the front walk are encouraged. Oak Park Heights, Minnesota Design Guidelines 1998 11 .. . • • Building kW Building Film Entrance -- Entrance i ot Front Walk NI t Front Walk _? Parking 7 -'f , ;;�_ `N ; ` , / Lot `�°` 1 ! `I !t; �— P k a. 1)% �; oring � -- Lot Desirable Undesirable Street Trees Within Public Street trees shall be planted within a Right -of -Way landscaped boulevard, spaced a maximum of fifty (50) feet apart. The averaged spacing between street trees shall not exceed forty (40) feet apart. Street tree planting shall be as further regulated in Section 1304 of the City Code. Tree Preservation Applicants shall exert their best effort to avoid damage to or the destruction of significant trees when designing, locating, grading for and building improvements. Specific tree preservation policies are found in Chapter 13 of the City Code. Oak Park Heights, Minnesota Design Guidelines 1998 12 • • Pedestrian /Bike Routes The intent of the pedestrian/bicycle guidelines is to provide appropriate and convenient access for all people to commercial and industrial areas of the community. Issue Guideline Pedestrian and Bike Access Convenient access to the site for pedestrians and bicycles shall be included, i.e., walkways, signage, ramps, and bike racks. Sidewalks shall be included on both sides of a major entrance to a commercial use. Sidewalks shall continue in the development to connect with the primary entrances to the building. The development plan shall be reviewed to assure safety of pedestrians and bicyclists through the use of sidewalks and walkways. Bike rack capacity of four (4) bikes for every twenty (20) vehicular parking spaces in commercial developments should be provided in a visible and preferably sheltered location. • • r • ■■■ ■ ■ ■■/ s■■■ uuu 11111111 s■■■m■ Desirable Undesirable Oak Park Heights, Minnesota Design Guidelines 1998 13 . • • — 1gIi1Illllll 111 llnllll l 11 11 l 11 3 L_!111114111111111101 Illlll_IIIIII � f �I h m _ I I� 1�_ Desirable Undesirable Comprehensive Trail Plan The commercial and industrial sites shall include trail segments and connections in coordination with the City's Comprehensive Trail Plan. Environment The intent of the environmental guidelines is to provide appropriate protection of Oak Park Heights natural areas. Issue Guideline Stormwater ponding On -site stormwater ponding shall be included on each site appropriate to the size and runoff characteristics of the site (as determined by the City Engineer). Side slopes of the on -site ponding shall not be steeper than a twenty -five (25) percent slope. All impervious surfaces (with the exception of bike /pedestrian trails) shall be setback at least one hundred (100) feet from the ordinary high Oak Park Heights, Minnesota Design Guidelines 1998 14 • • water level of any natural or manmade water bodies. The side slopes and setback area around the ponds shall be planted with appropriate native shrubs, native grass and wildflower mixtures. Planting and maintenance schedules shall be submitted and require approval of the City for all native shrubs, native grass and wildflower mixture plantings. Utilities The intent of the utility guidelines is to provide quality construction emphasizing safety and aesthetics of all utility improvements. Issue Guideline Utilities All utilities in commercial and industrial de- velopments shall be placed underground. Oak Park Heights, Minnesota Design Guidelines 1998 15 . • • • • Signage The intent of the signage guidelines is to create a general design, compatibility and quality expected for all developments in the City. Signage should be designed so as to communicate the message and provide direction into commercial and industrial areas. Issue Guideline General Design Signs shall be compatible with the style, composition, materials, colors, and details of the building. Signs shall be an integral part of the building and site design. For buildings that house more than one business, an overall sign plan shall be developed. Signs need not match, but should be compatible with one another. No more than one (1) type of sign installation shall be used on a single building facade (i.e., wall signs, property signs, awning signs). All signs shall be compatible with the signage regulations found in Section 401.15.G of the Zoning Ordinance. Sign Locations On a storefront building, wall signs shall be placed within a sign band above the building entrance. Wall signs should be placed where they do not obscure architectural features. Sign Materials Consistency or compatibility with the con- struction materials and architectural style of the building facade will determine the choice of sign materials. Natural materials such as wood or metal are preferred over plastic. Oak Park Heights, Minnesota Design Guidelines 1998 16 • • Neon signs are more appropriately used in windows. Sign Types The following sign types are permitted in the commercial and industrial districts affected by these design regulations. For complete sign requirements, see Section 401.15.G.8.d.3 of the Zoning Ordinance. General Business District: Freestanding Canopy, Marquee and Wall Temporary Window/Permanent Window Motor Fuel Price Display Central Business District: Freestanding Monument Canopy, Marquee and Wall Temporary Window/Permanent Window Business Warehousing: Area Identification Freestanding Canopy, Marquee and Wall Industrial: Freestanding Canopy, Marquee and Wall Permanent Window Oak Park Heights, Minnesota Design Guidelines 1998 17 • Glossary Building Frontage: The front facade of a building, typically abutting the sidewalk. Facade: The visible exterior walls of a building. Fenestration: The arrangement of windows in a building. Franchise Architecture: Building design that is trademarked or identified with a particular chain or corporation and is generic in nature. Impervious: Incapable of being penetrated by stormwater. Native (plant materials): Plant materials indigenous to northern United States and southern Canada. Sign Types: Signs shall be identified in Section 401.02.B of the Zoning Ordinance. Stormwater: Any water that falls on and drains from a surface of the site, such as snow, rain, irrigation, etc. Streetscape: A public right of way, usually occupied by the street, boulevard, sidewalks, etc. Utilities: Public or semi- public services to private uses including sanitary sewer, water, storm drainage, electricity, cable, telephone, and gas. Oak Park Heights, Minnesota Design Guidelines 1998 18