APPENDIX C
Industrial Design Guidelines*
* Editor’s Note: See Section 17.34.120 for guidance on the use of these Design Guidelines.
Purpose
The Industrial Design Guidelines are intended to assist designers to understand the city’s goals and objectives for high quality industrial development. The guidelines complement the mandatory site development regulations contained in Chapter 17.34 by providing examples of desirable and undesirable industrial development.
Applicability
The design guidelines and illustrations are general and may be interpreted with some flexibility in their application to specific projects. The guidelines are to be used during the city’s design review process (Sections 17.18.090 and 17.20.030) to encourage the highest quality of design while, at the same time, provide the flexibility necessary to encourage creativity by project designers. The guidelines also may be imposed as a condition of approval. In any instance of conflict between the provisions of these design guidelines and other provisions of the zoning ordinance, the other provisions of the zoning ordinance shall prevail.
The guidelines apply to new construction and additions to existing development in the M industrial district in the city. Any addition, remodeling, relocation or construction requiring a building permit within this industrial land use district shall adhere to these guidelines, where applicable.
Site Planning
Context. Site planning should emphasize controlled site access and clear on-site circulation; service areas located at the sides and rear of buildings; screening of outdoor storage, work areas and equipment; clear building entries; and landscaping and open space. The placement of structures, open spaces, parking and access drives should consider the existing built context, including the location of potentially incompatible uses, major traffic generators, significant landscape or paved elements, unique site characteristics and particular influences.
Industrial Parks. For larger sites, comprehensively planned industrial parks should be developed, with grouped buildings and parking.
Varied Setbacks. Although no building setbacks are required in the M industrial district, building setbacks should be in proportion to the scale of the structure and in consideration of existing development adjacent to it. Larger structures may require a greater setback to achieve a proper balance of buildings to landscaped open space, and to protect adjacent properties from disturbance.
Site Planning Examples
Figures 1, 2 and 3 show examples of hypothetical industrial development projects on a typical parcel. The illustrations incorporate guidelines discussed in this section.
Acceptable Industry Layout. Figure 1 shows a development plan for a single manufacturing business. The building is set back from the street, behind visitor parking. Employee parking is on the side. Loading is at the rear. A three-foot wide planting strip borders the site. The building is set off with landscaping around its perimeter, and exterior walls are offset to break down the scale of the building. The site plan is acceptable, except for the undesirable parking at the front of the site.
Discouraged Industry Layout. Figure 2 shows a development plan for a single manufacturing business. The building is set back from the street, behind the loading area, and parking is oriented to the side. A three-foot wide planting strip borders a six-foot high fence/wall around one side and the rear of the site. The building is set off with landscaping along one side only. Exterior walls are articulated to break down the scale of the building. The main entry is made prominent. The site plan is discouraged because it places loading at the front of the parcel.
Preferred Business Layout. Figure 3 shows a development plan for three businesses such as fabrication, contracting and distribution. The front of the building is set back from the sidewalk to allow for landscaping. The front entry and side entries are articulated. Landscaping is located adjacent to the building, between the entries. Each business has direct access to paved areas at the rear and non-entry side of the building. One of the driveways is shared with an adjacent property.
Figure 1 — Acceptable Industry Layout
Figure 2 — Discouraged Industry Layout
Figure 3 — Preferred Business Layout
Parking and Circulation
Parking and circulation layouts should consider possible conflicts between project circulation and adjacent street traffic, possible conflicts at loading zones, and the importance of clear, attractive parking areas for public safety.
Visibility of Parked Cars. Parking lots and parked cars should not be the dominant visual elements of an industrial site, as it appears to be for Figure 2. Large, expansive paved areas located between the street and buildings are to be avoided in favor of smaller, multiple lots separated by landscaping and buildings. Visitor parking at the front of an industrial site is not desirable and should be screened from view.
Walking within Parking Lots. Parking lots should be designed so that pedestrians walk along drive aisles, parallel to moving cars, rather than cross parking aisles and landscaping areas (see illustration in Section 17.34.080, Commercial Design Guidelines).
Angled Parking. Angled parking is encouraged for larger parking lots that can accommodate one-way aisles. Figure 1 could operate with a one-way loop with angled parking.
Car/Pedestrian Conflict. Circulation routes should be designed to avoid potential conflicts with pedestrians.
Shared Driveways. Common driveways that provide vehicular access to more than one site are encouraged. Typically, a shared driveway bisects a common property line, as shown in Figure 3.
Internal Vehicular Circulation. Vehicles should not be required to enter the street in order to move from one building to another on the same site, as possible in the Figure 1 layout.
Loading Facilities
Loading at Rear. To avoid views of often unsightly and noisy loading operations, loading for industrial uses should not be located at the front of buildings where it is difficult to adequately screen them from view. Such facilities are more appropriate at the rear or the side where special screening may not be required (see Figure 1).
Loading at Front. Where it is not possible to locate loading facilities behind the building, the loading area must be screened from the street (see Figure 2).
Landscaping and Screening
Where industrial uses are adjacent to non-industrial uses or parking, appropriate buffering techniques such as setbacks, screening, and landscaping should be provided to mitigate impacts of industrial operations. See also Trees and Parking, Commercial Design Guidelines applicable to industrial development.
Perimeter Screening. Screening of a proposed industrial project from existing neighbors may require a six-foot high masonry wall or durable wooden fence on the side yard property line and the rear yard property line. A height (up to eight feet) should be determined by the height of the material or industrial activity that requires screening.
• A masonry wall should be finished on both sides with plaster or stucco, with landscaping planted adjacent to the wall on the project site.
• The landscape strip adjacent to the wall shall be not less than three feet in width (see Figures 1, 2 and 3) and must be irrigated with an automatic irrigation system. The landscaping should be protected by tire blocks.
• Depending upon its length, a wall may be uniform in its height and/or surface treatment. However, a long, visible wall could be segmented with columns or pilasters, offset wall planes, or planting pockets (Figure 4, Commercial Design Guidelines).
Screening of Industry and Storage. Equipment and outdoor storage should be screened, where it is visible from public view.
• Screening should use the most appropriate materials, including solid wood fencing, masonry walls and landscaping. Merchandise shall not be displayed, sold, or stored outside, with the exception of exterior construction materials, public utilities equipment, and similar materials, pursuant to a use permit.
• Any outdoor equipment, whether on a roof or on the ground, shall be appropriately screened from view. The method of screening should be architecturally integrated with the primary structure in terms of material, color, shape and size.
• Wall or fence screening for outdoor storage should be six feet in height. A wall up to eight feet in height may be acceptable, depending upon the items being stored and the visibility of the equipment and the wall from public areas.
• Exterior storage should be confined to portions of a site least visible from public view.
Parking Adjacent to Sidewalk. Parking lots adjacent to, and visible from public streets are discouraged. They must be adequately screened from view by a low wall or hedge, berms, changes in elevation and landscaping, or combinations of these elements, where appropriate (see Figure 1).
• Low walls and/or fences should be used with landscaping to screen parking lots from the street. The planting areas adjacent to sidewalks should be no less than three feet wide and no more than three feet high (see Figure 5, Screening of Parking Behind Sidewalks, Commercial Design Guidelines). Shrubs should be trimmed to a height of approximately three feet to maintain adequate visibility from automobiles.
• Landscaping on berms can be used to elevate the effective height of the screening and present an attractive exposure of a project to the public sidewalk and street. See Section 17.45.030 for discussion of walls and fences applicable to commercial and other projects.
Landscaping “Islands.” Bare ground is discouraged and should be paved or landscaped. Structures should be located on landscaped “islands,” where the office portion of a building does not directly abut paved parking areas; a minimum five to ten-foot landscape strip should be provided between parking areas and the office portion of the structure. Landscaping is recommended around the base of buildings to soften the edge between the parking lot and the structure, as appropriate to the type of industry proposed (see Figure 1).
Buildings Adjacent to Streets. Long, windowless industrial buildings paralleling Rumrill Blvd. and Giant Road should be avoided. Industrial buildings should be oriented perpendicular to these major streets, allowing for a pedestrian entry at the front of the building to the sidewalk (see Figure 3).
Screening of Loading Areas. Landscaped berms should be considered to screen loading docks and dumpsters from public areas (see Figure 4).
Figure 4 — Elevation Changes to Screen Loading and Other Operations
Architectural Design Guidelines
Industrial development that is subject to the design review process defined in Sections 17.18.090 and 17.20.030 will be evaluated against the guidelines contained in this section.
There is no particular architectural style required for industrial projects. The focus of design should be on building entrances, durable and attractive exterior materials, and avoidance of long, uninterrupted blank walls.
Large Buildings. Large buildings that give the impression of “box-like” structures are generally unattractive and detract from the overall design of most buildings. The following ways should be considered to reduce the appearance of large scale, bulky structures, particularly on the ground floor.
• Roof height should vary up to the maximum allowed height.
• A height increase of up to fifteen feet above the allowed height shall be allowed for architectural features, particularly building entrances, covering up to 20% of the building footprint (see Figure 2).
• Exterior wall planes should vary in depth and/or direction. Wall planes should not exceed fifty feet in length without a vertical offset. Rooflines should not maintain the same height for more than fifty feet without offsetting the roofline or interrupting it (see Figure 1).
• The upper portion of an exterior wall should end with a capped parapet, molding or roof eave. Mansard roofs and mansard roof eaves are strongly discouraged.
• Blank front and side wall elevations on street frontages should be avoided.
• Blank walls should be made more interesting with windows, textured or incised wall materials and bands of varying color and materials. Stucco wall treatments are encouraged because stucco can be used in a sculptural manner, such as a curved parapet or a linear parapet molding. Stucco walls can be divided into scaled panels by inscribed grooves (“reveals”).
• Windows and doors flush to the exterior wall of the building are discouraged, unless awnings or canopies over the windows are used.
Entrance Projections. Trellises with vine landscaping, window awnings or canopies, and other architectural projections should be considered at entrances, depending upon the nature of the proposed industry.
Lighting
Lighting should provide illumination for security and safety, while avoiding light intrusion into off-site areas.
• Parking, loading, shipping and receiving, walkways, entrances and working areas should be illuminated.
• Light fixtures should be architecturally compatible with the project design.
• Lighting should be adequate for security, particularly at entrances, but not overly bright.
• All lighting fixtures shall be shielded to confine light spread to project boundaries.
• No mercury vapor lights are allowed—use metal halide or low-pressure sodium, or equal, only.
• Light shall be directed toward the ground and not toward the sky.