ARB approves Fourth Street Village design review with condition to enhance SR‑50 facades

The Town of Oakland Appearance Review Board voted to approve design review for the Fourth Street Village plan development amendment, subject to a condition requiring additional texture or architectural detail on facades facing State Road 50.

Brad Cornelius of Wade Trim presented the 21‑acre mixed‑use project, which the Town Commission previously approved in principle through a plan‑development ordinance (Ordinance 2024‑04) but without final building designs. Cornelius said the developer revised the site layout to consolidate the multifamily component into a single, horseshoe‑shaped building of about 190 units and to reorient several commercial buildings toward an internal East‑West drive and an activated public event space.

Staff flagged several departures from dimensional limits in the town code but said they do not object because the buildings integrate into the overall PD: the proposed multifamily building has an approximate footprint of 50,000 square feet (town code maximum footprint for similar apartment buildings: 12,000 sq ft) and a maximum depth of about 228 feet (code: 180 feet). Building widths for three commercial buildings were cited as exceeding the 150‑foot code limit (Building B about 204 ft, C about 215 ft, D about 224 ft).

Several board members and business‑owner commenters expressed concern that facades facing State Road 50 appeared long and relatively blank in the submitted elevations and suggested stronger storefront treatment, openings, or textured materials to create a more inviting street presence for drivers and future pedestrians. The applicant and architects explained functional constraints for loading/service access and said the project’s intent is to activate interior streets and a central event area rather than orient principal storefronts to SR‑50.

Member Meredith Rhine moved to approve the design review with the condition that the SR‑50‑facing walls be enhanced with additional texture; the motion was seconded and carried. Staff noted the applicant’s on‑site landscape buffer along SR‑50 is 12 feet and that the right of way outside the property could provide additional green space; signage strategy will be coordinated as part of final design and permitting.

Key project figures discussed in the meeting include: approximately 190 multifamily units, roughly 73,500 square feet of commercial/office space, an approximate multifamily footprint of 50,000 sq ft (compared with a 12,000 sq ft code threshold), multifamily depth ~228 ft (code 180 ft), and commercial building widths of 204–224 ft (code 150 ft). The ARB condition will be incorporated into the packet that moves to the Planning & Zoning Board on Oct. 21 and the Town Commission hearing on Oct. 28, with final action on Nov. 10.