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environmental standards, and site design policy. The following
<br /> points represent just a few important trends in the evolution of
<br /> development standards,
<br />
<br /> · The purpose of development standards is to ensure that
<br /> certain facilities are accommodated on site (off-street
<br /> parking, signs, fencing).and are designed and located to
<br /> minimize the impact on adjacent properties and help
<br /> establish a specific urban design image.
<br />
<br /> · Standards tend to be performance based, citing policies and
<br /> criteria to be met, but providing the designer with flexibility
<br /> in meeting such criteria.
<br />
<br /> · Elements of development standards are becoming more
<br /> discretionary, with judgments of adequacy being made
<br /> through plan review procedures administered either by
<br /> professional staff or review boards.
<br />
<br /> · Plan submittal requirements are becoming more demanding
<br /> and stringent. Some communities, in order to exercise design
<br /> review and evaluate how well proposals meet performance
<br /> standards, require site plans prior to granting zoning
<br /> approvals.
<br />
<br /> The scope and detail of development standards have
<br /> increased. Consider the following:
<br /> Parking and Loading. The parking and loading sections of
<br />today's zoning ordinances do much more than prescribe the
<br />amount of off-street parking and loading required for each use.
<br />Off-street parking sections may include standards for bicycles as
<br />well as autos. Landscape requirements for parking lots are also
<br />commonplace, usually addressing peripheral parking lot
<br />screening and landscaping of internal lot islands. Shared parking
<br />standards are becoming ubiquitous, recognizing that businesses
<br />within close proximity may operate at different peak hours and,
<br />therefore, allow the computation of parking needs based upon
<br />the characteristics of the use. Some ordinances allow for the
<br />development of a master parking plan to lower overall parking
<br />standards for mixed-use developments.
<br /> Loading standards have become less onerous, in recognition
<br />of the fact that loading often occurs through van delivery. As a
<br />result, the demand for large loading spaces in shopping centers
<br />has declined.
<br /> Landscaping. Landscape provisions reflect a growing
<br />concern with site design. Bufferyards that separate
<br />incompatible uses fall under "general" usage. Bufferyard
<br />standards tend to have a sliding scale, whereby the size of the
<br />buffer area decreases as the intensity of the plant material
<br />increases. Landscape screening requirements are fairly
<br />common today, especially for relatively unsightly areas such
<br />as outdoor storage and parking lots, and as a transition
<br />between dissimilar uses. Some ordinances even specify
<br />planting requirements within various front, rear, and side
<br />yards, and address the number of trees or shrubs per linear
<br />distance or turf square footage. Limitations on the amount of
<br />impervious surface are relatively commonplace, emerging in
<br />response to policies regarding drainage and urban design.
<br /> Architectural character is becoming more of an issue in
<br />zoning ordinances. Ordinances have not become appearance
<br />design manuals, but they do provide general design policy.
<br />Examples include regulations that limit garage doors from
<br />facing the street and specify garage location, establishing anti-
<br />monotony provisions, limiting the extent of a blank or
<br />unartlculated wall on major industrial or commercial buildings,
<br />
<br />and addressing domestic architectural design, such as porches or
<br />street-side entry doors.
<br /> Urban design and land-use policy is also reflected in a variety
<br />of other performance requirements found in contemporary
<br />ordinances, including spacing standards between specified land
<br />uses, the adoption of the Renton standards for locating adult
<br />uses, and using maximum square footage to classify a particular
<br />use as "permitted" or %pecial.'
<br /> Planners and zoning officials continue to use environmental
<br />standards to control noise, vibration, dust, glare, light levels,
<br />smoke, and other nuisances. Originally established as a way to
<br />regulate industrial development, many ordinances have
<br />employed performance criteria in residential and commercial
<br />districts. However, difficulties persist in measuring these factors
<br />easily. In most cases, performance criteria are still enforced by
<br />complaint or initial certification rather than through any
<br />municipal technical evaluation.
<br /> Sign control. Signage is now an essential element of local
<br />land-use regulation, and a variety of approaches to on-premises
<br />sign regulation are used. Sign area square footage limitations
<br />based on property frontage (e.g. one square foot per linear foot
<br />of frontage) is the most common approach. Spacing standards
<br />for free standing signs, which determine sign distances from
<br />buildings on site and distance between sites, is also a common
<br />g. pproach in sign control.
<br /> Many communities address sign control more rigorously by
<br />adopting concepts that control the placement and number of
<br />signs on a building. Evidence suggests a general movement
<br />toward reducing the height of free-standing signs and
<br />encouraging monument signs over pole signs.
<br /> Most sign control is tied to zoning districts, with sign area
<br />allowances being more restrictive in residential districts and
<br />less restrictive in commercial and industrial districts. Some
<br />cities employ approaches other than zoning districts when
<br />arterial streets traverse a variety of zoning districts and the
<br />desire is to have uniform sign control along the street. The
<br />use of overlay zones for sign control, or establishing sign
<br />requirements based upon street classification, have been used
<br />to address such situations. Furthermore, many communities
<br />review sign location and design as part of the design review
<br />process.
<br />
<br />Definitions
<br />Clear and complete definitions are key to a useful ordinance.
<br />The number of defined terms is growing, as is evident in a
<br />comparison of current ordinances with those of 10 years
<br />past. Today's definitions reflect the more litigious concerns
<br />of a modern society. Furthermore, communities have a
<br />strong sense of what is wanted in particular areas and need to
<br />consult an extensive bank of definitions to help define land-
<br />use types.
<br />
<br />Reviewing and Adopting the Ordinance
<br />The zoning ordinance adoption process should begin early.
<br />Indeed, it could be said that adoption starts with a review of the
<br />policy list early in the process. This is when the city council
<br />should affirm the direction of the revision. After a public hiatus
<br />created by the ordinance drafting period, the adoption process
<br />will become more visible, as a "working" or "public discussion"
<br />draft is released and reviewed.
<br /> The working draft should be exposed to the public, the
<br />development and real estate communities, city departments, and
<br />public interest groups for general review and discussion. In
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