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BRICK. AS SOLID & DEPENDABLE AS AMERICA'S HEARTLAND <br /> <br />Case Study: Overland Park, Kansas <br /> <br />mrftCr trying to enforce an "informal" <br />ick requirement for years, <br />vcrland Park is putting its <br />preference for brick on thc books. Thc <br />city's dcsign guidelines, which have been in <br />the works for over three years and arc <br />expected to rcceivc final approval in <br />October 2002, require 40% brick or stone <br />on all new multi-family and commercial <br />construction. Previously the city's site plan <br />review committee had tried to steer <br />builders and developers toward brick, but <br />didn't have thc necessary legislation back <br />them up. <br /> <br />According to Senior Planner Leslie Karr, <br />"The city chose to require brick or stone <br />for multi-family residential construction <br />because the materials are considered high <br />quality and solve long-term maintenance <br />issues that come with the high occupant <br />turn-over inherent to apartment living." <br /> <br />The city went even further when specifying <br />materials in the plan for its 1 S 1st Street <br />Corridor, incorporating a brick requirement <br />as a goal for the do,vntown district. In the <br />plan, "Goal 13: Use of Brick" states that all <br />nonresidential buildings shall use brick on <br />all facades visible from the public street or <br />parking areas; and multi-family buildings <br />should use 100 percent brick on all facades <br />visible from thc strcct and a minimum of <br />50 pcrccnt brick on all othcr facades. The <br />plan states that stone and tile can be used <br />as an accent, but concretc block, stucco <br />and EIFS are prohibited in all cases. <br /> <br />As they are cmbarking on thc enforcement of <br />such a strong brick requirements, I(arr was <br />pleased to hear about the success of cities like <br />Urbandale, Iowa, which have am'acted major <br />retailers and have seen them adapt their <br />recognizable designs and looks to the brick <br />requirement with little or no problem. <br /> <br />City: <br /> <br />Population: <br /> <br />Founded: <br /> <br />Masonry Requirement: <br /> <br />Contact: <br /> <br />Overland Park, Kansas <br /> <br />155,OOO <br /> <br />1960 <br />Commercial/Multi-Family = <br /> <br />/40% Brick or Stone <br />51st Street Corridor = <br />~oo% Brick <br />Leslie Kart, Senior Planner <br />9z3.895.6196 <br />lkarr@opkansas.org <br />www. opkansas.org <br /> <br /> <br />