Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Visual Character topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Proposed standards aim to break up "big box" forms and reduce front‑facing garage impact
Summary
Planners said objective design standards would promote articulation, reduce visible garage doors and may allow modest lot‑coverage increases when paired with lower building heights; the East 9th Street townhouse project was cited as an example the standards would alter.
Planners told attendees the proposed design standards are intended to avoid large, unarticulated building façades and to reduce the prevalence of front‑facing garage banks. "So some, you know, maybe you could just set up parts of the building and other parts would be, at a different plane that might create interest in the front of the building," said Lauren Dickinson, explaining the goal of articulation.
Staff said lot coverage — not setbacks — often constrains how much can be built on a typical lot and that the proposed standards would provide ways to break up bulk so multiple‑family structures do not read as a single box. The East 9th Street four‑townhouse project was offered as an example of a development that would have presented differently under the proposed standards, with opportunities to relocate parking to side streets or alley access to reduce front garage exposure.
