Drafting Regulations

Staff are currently in the process of drafting specific language, and supporting graphics, for the amendments to the Design Regulations. As these are developed they will posted, with the complete set being presented to the Planning Commission at an upcoming regularly scheduled meeting.

Findings Continued

Much of the Storefront document details signage design.

Given the necessary scope of sign code amendments, in terms of process and complexity, it is not intended that this project involve such revisions.


The only exception is that staff intent to explore additional signage allotments that would be contextually fitting with the historic nature of the area. The suggestions include painted wall signs and architectureal signage features such as the one shown in this photo.

Staff will develop regulations that would permit/promote these kinds of signs to add to the sense of place for the Harborside district.

Findings Continued

The exitsing Regulations state:

"Buildings shall respect the architectural heritage of the neighborhood with complimentary choices for materials, building scale, proportions and architectural details".



Staff intent to clarify this direction, by defining permitted materials that would complement the more architecturally interesting buildings in the area, such as those in the image on the left.

Findings Continued

The Design Regulations for the Harborside area require weather protection along building frontages; and all awning and/or canopies must be designed to compliment the aesthetic and architectural characteristics of the neighborhood.

However in terms of awnings, the Strorefront Doc states,

“keep it light and airy using translucent materials to allow sunlight to filter through and provide views of overhead signage”.

We currently do not have this refinement of direction in our regulations resulting in some existing awning designs impacting the effectiveness of transom windows, and the overall architectural interest of the building façades.

Staff intent to add language to the regulations to promote the types of solutions such as the one pictured here.

Planning Commission Meeting July 22

On July 22, staff presented the findings of the analysis phase of this project to the Planning Commission.

I will be describing the results of this analysis in a series of posts.

Translating Windjammer Guidelines

The backbone of this update of the Design Regulations will be the Storefront Design Guidelines published in October 2006 and Streetscape Furnishing Specs draft report. These documents compile the results of work done as part of the City's Windjammer Project and illustrate the main components of the streetscape that affect the character of this district. The documents contains numerous detailed recommendations that help define critical streetscape issues and actions that could improve the sense of place for the area.

The work to develop the recommendations in this document came from a series of cooperative workshops with the City, and the Harborside Shops Association Streetscape Committee.

Why not just adopt the Storefront Design Guidelines? There are two main reasons why simple adoption of these, as they are, is not appropriate:

1. many of the guidelines are too specific (a particular building, solution, or site) to be effective and fair as regulations for the entire area;
2. the guidelines are not written in a way that they can be used to review applications in a consistent and effective way.

Essentially this project will allow us to take one last look at both documents, and translate the many great ideas, and important work contained in them, into regulations that are consistent, fair and effective.

Good Site Design = Livability

The basic principles of good site planning, as those prescribed by the Design Regulations, can be remembered with the acronym SAFE.

S - SAFE
A - ATTRACTIVE
F - FITS THE NEIGHBORHOOD
E - EFFICIENT AND USEABLE

This involves attention to how sites, buildings, open spaces, and streets work together to create a positive sense of place. At the scale of a street, neighborhood, or an entire city these combine with environmental, social and economic characteristics to greatly affect the livability of our community.

Design Regulations

The rules defined in the Design Regulations & Guidelines document help direct the look and function of new development in our city.

These rules have been created to meet the community's long term goals defined in the Comprehensive Plan.

The rules require design that is human scaled, people oriented, neighborhood appropriate, builds on our community's history and addresses the street and public areas.