Design Review Program
Applicant's Toolbox: Design Guidelines
Multifamily and Commercial Buildings | Downtown Development | Neighborhood-Specific Design Guidelines
Design Review Guidelines for Multifamily and Commercial Buildings
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Guideline E-3: Landscape Design to Address Special Site Conditions |
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The landscape design should take advantage of special on-site conditions such as high-bank front yards, steep slopes, view corridors, or existing significant trees and off-site conditions such as greenbelts, ravines, natural areas, and boulevards. |
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Explanation and Examples The following conditions may merit special attention. The examples suggest some ways to address the issue.
High Bank Front Yard Where the building's ground floor is elevated above a sidewalk pedestrian's eye level, landscaping canhelp make the transition between grades. Several techniques are listed below.
- rockeries with floral displays, live ground cover or shrubs.
- terraces with floral displays, ground covers or shrubs.
- low retaining walls with raised planting strips.
- stone or brick masonry walls with vines or shrubs.
Barrier-free Access Where wheelchair ramps must be provided on a street front, the ramp structure might include a planting strip on the sidewalk side of the elevated portions of the ramp.
Steep Topography Special plantings or erosion control measures may be necessary to prevent site destabalization or to enhance the visual qualities of the site in connection with a neighborhood improvement program.
Boulevards Incorporate landscaping which reflects and reinforces .
Greenbelt or Other Natural Setting
- Minimize the removal of siginificant trees.
- Replace trees that were removed with new trees.
- Emphasize naturalizing or native landscape materials.
- Retain natural greenbelt vegetation that contributes to greenbelt preservation.
- Select colors that are more appropriate to the natural setting.
On-site Vegetation
- Retain significant vegetation where possible.
- Use new plantings similar to vegetation removed during construction, when that vegetation as distinctive.
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<previous E-2 Landcaping to Enhance the Building and/or Site |
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Last Updated: July 15, 2005