§ 68.203. Village Center Guidelines.

The following guidelines and standards apply to Village Centers:

(a)

Primary Activity Center. Village Centers should be developed as important destinations for each Residential Neighborhood, providing a variety of shops, services, restaurants, and civic facilities that serve the needs of the surrounding neighborhoods.

(b)

Housing. Medium intensity housing, located within the Village Center, should surround the core commercial area and be integrated with its design. Appropriate housing types include: apartments/condominiums, elderly housing, residential over commercial, townhouses, duplexes, bungalows, small-lot single family and standard lot single family. Owner-occupied homes are specifically encouraged.

(c)

Urban Design Character. Buildings should be placed to form active street fronts and other connecting pedestrian spaces, with rear or courtyard style parking. The dominance of parking shall be reduced by breaking large lots into small blocks of parking, locating employee parking in less-used areas, and maximizing on-street parking.

(d)

Mid-Block Connections. Pedestrian and/or auto connections shall be provided at mid-block locations for mixed use and commercial blocks to increase the permeability of the site and encourage walking for some daily trips. Mid-block connections should be provided every 200 to 400 feet.

(e)

Land Use Transitions. Land use boundaries and density changes in Village Centers should occur at mid-block locations whenever possible, rather than along streets so that buildings facing each other are compatible and transitions between uses are gradual.

(f)

Relationship of Building to Public Spaces. Buildings should reinforce and revitalize streets and public spaces, by providing an ordered variety of entries, windows, bays, and balconies along public ways. Buildings should have human scale in details and massing. Free-standing or "monument" buildings should be reserved for public uses.

(g)

Central Feature or Gathering Place. A Village Center shall include a comfortable, centrally located park or plaza with plaza with public amenities such as civic buildings, benches, monuments, kiosks, and public art.

(h)

Direct Pedestrian Connections. Direct local street access from surrounding neighborhoods shall be provided so visitors do not need to use arterial streets to access the Village Center. When existing developed areas are redeveloped or retrofitted, ensure that pedestrian and/or auto access from surrounding neighborhoods is provided. Providing direct connections from the public pedestrian network to the front door of businesses and residences is essential.

(i)

Arterial Streets as Edges. Arterials streets should be considered edges Village Centers, unless they are designed as a one-way couplet or substantial pedestrian improvements are made and traffic through the Village Center is slowed. The Primary Conservation Network may also be used as an edge for Village Centers.

(j)

Integration of the Transit Stop. Village Centers should be considered major stops on the local transit network. Associated transit stop facilities should be integrated into the design of the center, centrally located, and easily accessible for pedestrians walking to and from the surrounding neighborhoods.

(Ord. of 5-10-1999, § 10, Doc. #32070)