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HomeMy WebLinkAbout16095-BznDesignObjectivesPlan-2016update-ProjectBrief-DRB-8.24 MEMORANDUM TO: DESIGN REVIEW BOARD (DRB) & OTHER DEVELOPMENT COMMUNITY REPRESENTATIVES FROM: REBECCA OWENS, ASSOCIATE PLANNER - COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT SUBJECT: DESIGN OBJECTIVES PLAN FOR ENTRYWAY CORRIDORS 2016 UPDATE (PROJECT 16095) – PROJECT SUMMARY IN PREPARATION FOR DRB MEETING ON AUGUST 24, 2016 DATE: JULY 27, 2016 Background The City of Bozeman has four planning and two regulatory revision processes underway. The Department of Community Development is using the input from all of these efforts to improve and enhance the update of the Unified Development Code and Design Objectives Plan. Comments from public input shows that the community seeks: • Consistency (with other policies/standards/plans), • Clarity, • Compatibility/appropriateness (with transition areas), • User-friendliness, • Flexibility, and • Predictability These goals are advanced by the improved integration of the design standards adopted through the Design Objectives Plan with the existing site development review criteria of the Unified Development Code. There is a substantial overlap of issues and priorities between the two documents. Revisions of the two documents are proposed to share a common topic structure to make it easier to find relevant information. Standards presently in the Design Objectives Plan can move to the Unified Development Code to aggregate material and application and provide greater clarity in how a criterion may be satisfied. For example, the long standing plan review criteria four of section 38.19.100.A requires evaluation of the “Relationship of plan elements to conditions both on and off the property…” with several subsections. The Design Objectives Plan addresses the same subject in several sections in Chapters 2 and 3. It will be: clearer and more consistent to have all of these items addressed in a single location; more user friendly to not have to address multiple documents; and, clarity will be improved as the language of both documents is evaluated, coordinated and brought into a single location. The merger of standards will allow the Design Objectives Plan to evolve from a minimum standard to a best practices reference and source to demonstrate how Page 2 of 4 Entryway Corridors - Click for Full Size superior outcomes are achieved to justify deviations in areas where design review (other than historic preservation) applies. Design Objectives Update Summary and Status The City of Bozeman (City) is revising the design requirements, known as the “Design Objectives Plan for Entryway Corridors.” The professional services firm Community Design Group (CDG) has been hired by the City to assist Community Development Department staff and the Design Review Board in this effort. Associate Planner Rebecca Owens is overseeing the initiative. The Design Objectives Plan was originally adopted in 1992 and last revised in 2005. Adoption of the revised standards, by resolution of the City Commission, is anticipated for November or December 2016. As introduced in the current plan, these corridors serve as key entry routes into the core of the city and set expectations for the quality of development downtown. For these reasons, the city seeks to assure that development in the commercial corridors will result in dynamic, attractive neighborhoods and also will reflect the overall goals for high-quality design throughout the community. The design standards are currently applied to new construction as well as commercial renovation applications based on the development’s location within entryway corridors. The instrument of review is the Certificate of Appropriateness (COA), either as a standalone application or as a review part and parcel to larger applications, such as site plans. The standards bring an additional layer of detail to commercial site plan reviews, above and beyond the minimum requirements of the Unified Development Code (UDC). The concept of “superior design” and associated criteria is what enables some developments to apply for and be approved for deviations from standards when necessary. In summary, the criteria are referenced when considerations of alternatives or departures from the primary code compliance path are required. The current design standards organize review of projects by chapter, according to the following hierarchy: neighborhood, site, building, signage, and applicable entryway corridor characterization. The revised criteria will strive to align even higher level community connectivity and transition area considerations, such as between residential neighborhoods and commercial center zoning/uses. Ensuring the function, aesthetics, and preservation of Bozeman’s core character, as represented by development along these corridors, serves to maintain the values of and interest in our community for current and future residents—and visitors—alike. The requirement to meet the design standards is integrated with development code via Chapter 38, Article 17 – Bozeman Entryway Corridor Overlay District, Bozeman Municipal Code (BMC). The supervising City authority is the Design Review Board (DRB), per Chapter Page 3 of 4 2, Article 5, Division 18, BMC. While functional as standalone documents, there is thus a clear relationship between the UDC and design standards that compels close coordination of the two documents’ update processes. A variety of public engagement outreach and coordination is within the scope of the design standards update. In addition to scheduling a meeting with the DRB, the project team has held discussions with the UDC update advisory committee and several City of Bozeman elected officials. They also prepared displays and feedback forms to share a table with the City’s Strategic Plan update team during the Sweet Pea Festival. Staff from the Community Development Department is coordinating to give a special presentation to the City Commission on August 15, 2016. A project website has been launched and is accessible directly from the existing UDC update website. The project team will endeavor throughout August and Fall 2016 to complete project development evaluations, stakeholder meetings, pop-up tables, visual preference surveys, and ongoing collaboration with other community plan/code update processes. The refreshed formatting and final draft of the revised design standards will also be reviewed by the Planning/Zoning boards and City Commission. UDC Update Summary The City is revising the development code. This initiative is being managed by Tom Rogers, Senior Planner with the Community Development Department, with support from a professional services firm, Makers. As described in detail on the UDC update project website, the purpose of the project is to review and update as needed the Unified Development Code (UDC) for the City of Bozeman in two related steps. With the adoption of the City’s Community Plan in 2009, the existence of numerous adopted neighborhood and special area plans, and rapid growth (infill and edge), the City recognizes the need to update its land development regulations and standards. The update will be completed in a two-step process. Step one focused on the North Seventh Avenue corridor (“Midtown”) and urban renewal/tax increment district (TIF) and creating a new more user friendly organization and presentation of the development code that will carry through the entire chapter 38. This step entailed preparing text/graphic zoning concepts for Midtown that focuses on mixed-use infill that fulfills the goals of the urban renewal district. The intent was also to create a design handbook, image catalog, or visual representation of what the Midtown code provisions will do and will allow, or not allow. Step one is complete. Step two is to continue the evaluation of the Unified Development Code, Chapter 38, BMC, make recommendations on the organization, presentation and create revised code for adoption. Staff and others have identified 15 broad issues and more than 100 specific code revisions this update intends to address. In addition, the Community Development Department will integrate current code updates in process including cash-in-lieu of parkland, subdivision review process, Neighborhood Conservation Overlay District (NCOD) demolition, and others into the overall code update. Page 4 of 4 Step two is underway with numerous amendments being considered with the remaining components being drafted according to the UDC code update review adoption schedule. These drafts began their public process with initial discussion with the UDC advisory committee on August 9th. The target timeline for completion remains spring of 2017. Coordination The updates to the design standards (“DOP” in figure below) and UDC are intricately connected. A coordinated schedule has been developed to ensure complete integration and public engagement. Your Role Our objective for outreach to stakeholders like you is to capture your experience with the Design Standards including: 1. Your experience as a developer, consultant, etc. with projects that have had to use the entryway corridor guidelines 2. Feedback from others—constituents, clients, potential property investors, etc. 3. New content or best practices in design that we should consider adding to the standards (e.g., we will be looking to add more tie-in’s to existing City guidance on low-impact development, as well as to Complete Streets-type relationships between projects, right of ways, and the public realm) 4. Priorities for existing guidance or themes in the Design Standards that should be highlighted 5. Comprehension in terms of the overall usability of the standards, document format, language, examples, etc. 6. Questions regarding the relationship between the UDC and Design Standards Thank you in advance for you time, insights, and any public outreach assistance that you might provide as the project progresses! Please email comments to rowens@bozeman.net in advance of the meeting if desired.