§ 3.4.5.2. Architectural standards for small box retail/drive through buildings/lot type.

Objectives:

• To establish architectural requirements and performance standards to ensure the compatibility of the small box retail and drive through building/lot type within the planned context of the mixed use commercial district (and other nearby districts, if applicable);

• To protect and enhance the character and quality of the districts and neighborhoods where these building types are located;

• To enhance the public streets and contribute to a high quality public space;

• To create safe and controlled traffic circulation that balances the needs of vehicles and pedestrians; and

• To minimize impacts on adjacent land uses that could be caused by on-site activities.

The design guidelines for drive through/small box retail building/lot types are organized into six sections:

1.

Site design.

2.

Building appearance and scale.

3.

Streetscape.

4.

Site size and relationship to adjacent uses.

5.

Site access, vehicular and pedestrian traffic.

6.

Stacking and queuing lanes.

A.

Site design.

A site plan must be provided to the zoning administrator for the small box retail/drive through building/lot type. While the following examples are for illustrative purposes, they demonstrate the practices the zoning administrator will endeavor to adhere to for site design purposes.

The illustration above shows the major elements to consider in preparing a site plan for a building with a drive-through (as described in section 3.1.3E). Site plans can be adjusted to accommodate drive through lanes, order kiosks, menu boards, trash enclosures, and other exterior accessory uses while remaining consistent with the parameters included in this section.

The illustration above shows the major elements to consider in preparing a site plan for a small box retail building (as described in section 3.1.3E). Site plans can be adjusted to accommodate fuel islands, accessory ATMs, phone booths, tire air pumps, trash enclosures and other exterior accessory uses based on the parameters included in this section.

B.

Building appearance and scale.

Per section 3.1.3E drive through buildings are to be placed at or near the street frontage of the site. Parking shall be placed in the side or rear yard.

In general, the small box retail/drive through building type shall demonstrate consistency with the form based code architectural requirements of other allowed building types in the mixed use commercial district. Buildings shall compliment existing context of surrounding uses, be responsive to the public aspect of the street, and account for a pedestrian scale through appropriate use of massing and materials.

 

If located on a corner, buildings shall be designed to address both streets directly and shall incorporate elements such as increased height at the corner, as well as massing and roof features. Both street facing facades of the building shall be articulated appropriately to adjacent uses.

Buildings should be arranged so interior areas such as restaurant seating areas, offices, retail sales floors, waiting areas and lobbies have clear glass windows along street facing walls. 60 percent of the building façade facing the street between the heights of two feet and eight feet should be glass windows/fenestration.

In order to have an aesthetically pleasing presence on the streetscape, the building elevation(s) will adhere to the commercial architecture requirements of 3.4.5 section B—exterior walls, 3.4.5 section C—roofs and parapets, section 3.4.5 E. building entrances, windows and doors and section 3.4.5F misc. building elements.

Walls that face streets, parking lots (excluding parking lots at rear loading docks), and/or connecting pedestrian walkways must not have a blank, uninterrupted length of greater than 20 feet without including two or more of the following: change in plane, change in texture or masonry pattern, windows, or other equivalent elements that subdivide the wall into human scale proportions. Side or rear walls that face walkways may include false windows and door openings defined by frames, sills and lintels, or similarly proportioned modulations of the wall, only when actual doors and windows are not feasible because of the nature of the use of the building.

All facades of a building visible from adjacent properties or the public right-of-way should contribute to the pleasing scale features of the building by featuring characteristics similar to a front façade.

C.

Streetscape.

The lot will establish a defined edge to the street through the use of walls, berms and landscaping (or combination thereof) to establish clear boundaries between the public and private spaces. These shall be built to a minimum of height three feet and up to a maximum of six feet after insuring for property ingress/egress visibility at access points.

Landscaping should also be used to screen operational elements of the development such as stacking lanes, driveways, parking, utilities and services.

Pedestrian walkways, patios, seating areas and other pedestrian areas should be landscaped to improve amenity, provide sun and wind protection, and encourage their use.

Buildings should form the street edge. It is important to screen views from the street edge of stacking lanes, driveways, parking, utilities and services to maintain an attractive and unified experience of the streetscape from the street. Trees and other soft landscaping should be planted to complement other screening measures.

Minimum buildings heights of 25 feet to establish a streetscape in scale with street width is required. Main entrance doors are to be located so as to be directly accessible and visible from the sidewalks and public streets. All building entrances are safely and conveniently accessible from the parking lot.

Projections, recesses, arcades, awnings, color treatment and texture should be dispersed consistently to eliminate blank or featureless walls along all building facades.

Amenities, such as outdoor seating spaces and patios adjacent the building and close to the street are encouraged.

All rooftop and ground mounted mechanical equipment must be screened (visually and acoustically) so it is not visible from the public right-of-way.

D.

Site size and relationship to adjacent uses.

Per section 3.1.3 E, this building/lot type shall be comprised of 10,000 square feet or less of gross interior area and no more than 1.5 acres of lot or site area. A "site" shall include adjoining lots or land parcels that serve as ancillary or accessory to the generating use. For example, a parking lot on a separate lot to serve an adjacent restaurant.

Drive-through facilities are discouraged from locating adjacent to the neighborhood residential or rural residential districts. Where it is clearly demonstrated that this cannot be achieved, a transitional buffer yard meeting the requirements of the city zoning code section 1228.05 is required. Additionally, the drive through queue and/or order box associated with a drive through facility shall be setback a minimum distance of 100 feet from the nearest lot line of any adjacent residential use.

Lighting sources shall be directed away from adjacent residential properties. Exterior outdoor lighting shall be confined to the site, with 0.0 footcandles shown on a photometric plan. Field measurements at the property line shall be taken to demonstrate no light spillover.

Drive throughs shall be limited to a maximum of two lanes.

E.

Site access, vehicular and pedestrian traffic.

Ancillary/accessory drive-through facilities shall adhere to the following:

a.

Subject lot shall have frontage along a collector or an arterial street (as defined by the Land Development Code table 5A) in the mixed use commercial district;

b.

Access to and from the subject site shall meet the appropriate minimum distance spacing between driveways per the city Land Development Code. On corner sites, vehicle access points must be from the secondary street (if applicable). The number of potential vehicular movements around the access location should be minimized.

c.

For lots without direct driveway access as provided in (b) above, drive through facilities shall provide an internal traffic circulation plan. This circulation plan must demonstrate how vehicular traffic will travel from the public street or alley to the subject tract and provide public cross-access easements to adjoining lots;

d.

A circulation plan which demonstrates pedestrian linkages to/from the building to all parking areas and the public street is required. Pedestrian paths shall use decorative pavement or painting and minimize locations where the path crosses drive aisles, stacking lanes or parking areas. The path shall adhere to Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) and Illinois Accessibility Code standards.

F.

Stacking and queuing.

Drive through plans must demonstrate adequate stacking space in the drive-through lanes. The drive through queue shall not overlap pedestrian paths or impede passage for required drive aisles. Queue lines which encroach onto adjoining lots/uses, off-site drive aisles or into the public street right-of-way shall not be permitted.

To the extent feasible, stacking lanes shall be designed to be linear and straight, with a minimum of curves and turning movements and not wrapped around the building. Where appropriate, an escape lane shall be provided.

There shall be a minimum distance of three car lengths between the entrance to the stacking lane and the access to the site from a street.

Stacking lanes shall not be within the front yard setback.

Stacking lanes/driveways shall not be located between the building and the street.

For restaurants, the recommended minimum total for vehicle stacking spaces is ten in the drive-through aisle. Each stacking space length shall be 19 feet. For financial institutions and pharmacies, a minimum total of four vehicle stacking spaces in the drive-through aisle. Applicants may provide evidence that a lesser number is reasonable at the time of site plan application to the zoning administrator.

In locating the stacking lane, blocking access to parking spaces and loading and service areas is to be avoided.

Clearly visible and appropriately placed directional signage at entrance and exit locations to stacking lanes is shall be provided. This signage shall conform to the Sign Ordinance.

(Ord. No. 6016-07-16, 7-19-2016)