Planning commission recommends zoning text amendment establishing building design standards

The Farmington Hills Planning Commission voted to recommend that City Council approve a zoning text amendment that would add new design standards governing building materials, facades, roof treatments and fenestration for new construction and major expansions.

The planner presenting the draft told commissioners the ordinance’s “intent of having design standards is really to set a baseline for quality, for the appearance of buildings and to make sure that they're durable, and and easy materials to maintain, and, consistent with the aesthetic appearance that, the city wants to see,” and described how the rules would apply only to new construction and to expansions that increase floor area by 50% or more and only to facades oriented toward a public right of way.

Commissioners said the measure is intended to raise the minimum quality of new development while preserving flexibility. The draft lists permitted primary and accent materials (primary materials must cover 60% of a facade), requires architectural scaling so facades are not blank, sets minimum ground- and upper-floor fenestration for buildings facing major thoroughfares and other public rights of way, and includes roof standards that require flat roofs to use parapets or other screening and limit parapet height to one-third of the supporting wall. The draft also prohibits rooftop patios or terraces in the rear 35% of a lot depth on buildings three stories or higher to protect neighboring privacy, and contains a waiver provision allowing the Planning Commission to relax material requirements after findings.

Commissioners asked staff for clarifications before the Council hearing: how public notice was distributed and whether targeted notice (for builders/developers and the Chamber of Commerce) should be sent; which official should review and approve required material samples (the planner said code enforcement is the zoning administration but that the city planner would review facades and elevations for conformance); and how the 50% threshold would affect building additions. One commissioner asked that additions be permitted to match existing building materials in some cases; staff and other commissioners noted the draft intends that expansions over 50% bring the entire visible facade into compliance but that the waiver provision can be used if matching is appropriate.

Before the recommendation vote, commissioners proposed editorial changes to the draft: change wording in section 4(c) to require that “building materials and colors shall be clearly labeled on the proposed building elevation plans,” replace the term “zoning administrator” with “city planner” for material-review responsibilities, remove a confusing sentence about parapets in the roof section while retaining the parapet-height limit, and add “exterior artwork” to the list of encouraged entryway features. The motion to recommend the amendment to City Council included those revisions.

The commission voted to recommend the zoning text amendment with the listed edits. One commissioner recorded a no vote. The commission closed the public hearing without public speakers and forwarded the measure to City Council for final action.