Agenda - Planning Commission - 02/02/2012

Home

® This cross section shows existing development setbacks along Route 132 (above) and proposed changes following the design guidelines (below). In the future cross section, the taller building on the left remains where it is and parking is shielded by a 3o -foot landscape buffer on the property. The shorter building on the right is moved closer to the street, and landscaping fills the front setback area. bonuses. It also acknowledges the need for local investment in infrastructure improve- ments, whether they are public transit, pedestrian and bicycle facilities, or design assistance for facade improvements. CONTEXTUAL DESIGN ON CAPE COD After using Designing the Future to Honor the Past for 10 years, we found that historic dis- tricts and village centers were often subject to design review or design standards, but outlying areas in the region were not. Larger commercial zones, mostly located outside village centers, were seeing development of chain stores and other large commercial buildings. Towns were requesting assistance . in how to review these structures, and it became apparent that further guidance was needed in the design of large -scale buildings. That led to development of the commission's second design manual, Contextual Design on Cape Cod: Design Guidelines for Large Scale Development, which won an Outstanding Planning Award from the Massachusetts Chapter of APA in 2009. Contextual Design on Cape Cod focuses on large buildings, which the commission sees most in its development reviews and which arguably have the greatest visual im- pact on region. As with the first design man- ual, this was developed on a regional scale in an effort to provide starting point for all towns and for the commission. Unlike the first manual, we developed it in -house with a group of architects that served as an advi- sory panel. In usage, it is very similar to the first manual. The commission has adopted it as another technical bulletin that provides guidance in how to comply with our regula- tions, and we are encouraging communi- ties to adopt it too. The Yarmouth Planning Board has formally adopted a slightly modi- fied version as a minimum requirement in certain commercial districts, but other towns are using it informally to guide their review. The importance of contextual design — guiding development to be consistent with the Cape's traditional character —is explained in this manual. It focuses on two main concerns: ways to site large build- ings and ways to break down large building Cape Cod Commission masses into smaller elements that are more consistent with the region's traditional scale. In looking at siting strategies, the guidelines address two different scenarios — siting buildings in centers and siting build- ings in outlying areas — acknowledging that different techniques are appropriate for each situation. In strip development areas, it is neces- sary to determine whether an area should be treated as center or as an outlying area. If a strip area is adjacent to a village center E This rendering of proposed development, looking north from the intersection of Route 28 and the Cape Cod Mall rear entrance, illustrates how the area could look with enhanced landscape buffers along Route 28 and a series of pedestrian -scale buildings fronting on a revised internal road/sidewalk network. The buildings are set close to the street and oriented to take advantage of visual access to the nearby ponds and green space. ZONINGPRACTICE AMERICAN PLANNING ASSOCIATION Ipage 6