Agenda - Planning Commission - 09/01/1998

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projects subject to Development Review in terms of Section 401, the actual colors approved for use in any given instance may be more restrictive due to their greater degree of visibility, and other factors pertaining to the specific development under review. [*Sect/on 904 amended by Ordinance 95.09; Effecffve June 23, 1995]. *905 ALTERNATE STANDARDS Ao This section establishes procedures whereby a property owner may choose greater limits than those established in Sections 903.01 (Height and Massing). In order to utilize Alternate Standards, the property owner must accumulate enough credit points to offset the debit points for the greater limit. Table 9-A shall be used to determine the debit and credit points. The following is an explanation of the three basic concepts underlying the application of Alternate Standards: Height. The total heights of structures determines their degree of visibility above the surrounding vegetation. If height is to be increased beyond the limits established in Section 903.01, steps must be taken to offset the increased visual impact. Unrelieved Building Planes. The more articulation in a structure, the less visual impact it creates. Large flat planes of continuous color and texture stand out against their backgrounds as they are incompatible with the natural sizes of trees and rocks and the spaces between them. The more smaller plane surfaces in a structure that project and recede, the more shadow patterns ar~ 'created that will help the structure fit better into its natural background. Color. The Light Reflectance Value (LRV) provides a means to limit the color contrast of structures with the surrounding natural environment, and thereby reduce its visual impact. If LRV is to be increased beyond the limits established in Section 904, steps must be taken to offset the increased visual impact. The cumulative effect and interrelationship of height, unrelieved building planes and color affect a particular development's visual impact in its context area, and in many cases beyond it, to affect the visual status of the community. In order to provide flexibility for developing building designs which are most sensitive to the natural environment while still respecting the user's needs, the following table (Table 9-A) has been developed. It's intent is to create a framework within which excellence in design is encouraged while maintaining equivalent high standards. Application of Table 9-A is based on balancing debit (negative) points and credit (positive) points so that the resultant point total is zero or a positive value. Depending on the particular development project, this section shall be administered by the persons/entities specified in Article 4 (e.g., application of these Alternate Standards to a development project subject to Development Review would be determined by the entity specified in Section 401). The property owner who chooses to use these Alternate Standards to obtain greater limits than those established in Section 903.01 shall provide the necessary data from Table 9-A to show which elements will be changed, what the end values are for height, unrelieved building planes and color, and the calculation of debit/credit points. Such data shall be provided with building plans when applying for a building permit. The Director may require the submittal of a visual analysis presentation that clearly demonstrates the effect of the application of Alternate Standards on surrounding property. The visual analysis can be in the form of photographs, artist renderings, models, drawings or computer simulations, and should include, at a minimum, elevations from alt sides of the proposed building, accompanied by photographs clearly showing the context of each of the submitted elevations. Notwithstanding the above procedures, a property owner may apply for a variance in accordance with Section 403. Such application City of Sedona Land Development Code 9-9 January 1, 1995