14.34.285 Single-Family Residential Design Standards and Guidelines

(1) Purpose and Intent. This Section establishes two (2) kinds of residential design criteria: design standards and design guidelines. They are intended to improve the quality and compatibility of new development in established residential neighborhoods.

(a) Design standards are required in addition to other requirements set forth in this Title and are indicated by the verb “shall”.

(b) Design guidelines indicate additional actions that may be taken to enhance development design and achieve greater compatibility with adjacent land uses. Guidelines thus use the verb “should” or may (rather than “shall”) signifying that the guidelines are desirable objectives but are not required to be achieved.

(c) These standards and guidelines deal with streetscape design, open space design, building location and orientation, driveway and parking design, landscape design, building mass and scale, building forms, building materials, and compatible additions. They are intended to provide design guidance for project applicants, staff, the Design Review Committee and the general public.

(2) Applicability. The design standards and guidelines set forth in this Section shall apply to all new residential buildings and uses located in the area shown on the Residential Design Standards and Guidelines Applicability Map, except where the requirements of this Section are expressly superceded by another provision of this Title. In approving a project plan, the approving authority may impose reasonable conditions consistent with the purpose and intent of the purpose of this Section. The requirements of this Section shall apply in addition to other applicable requirements of this Title. This Section shall not be interpreted to supercede other requirements of the Provo City Code which may impose more restrictive requirements than this Section.

(a) Sidewalks shall be separated from curbs by a turf landscaped planting strip.

(i) Existing detached sidewalks and planting strips shall be retained and preserved.

(ii) New sidewalks shall be detached from the curb, similar to existing, with planter strips planted with compatible street trees.

(b) Vegetation in planting strips shall be protected and maintained.

(i) Replacing planted material with hard or impervious surfaces shall be prohibited.

(ii) Established vegetation shall be protected during construction to avoid damage.

(iii) Turf should be a low water use type.

(c) The pattern of street trees in a block shall be continued.

(i) Existing street trees shall be preserved whenever possible.

(ii) Damaged or diseased trees shall be replaced with a species similar in character and growth habit to the predominant existing tree species consistent with the City forester’s list.

(iii) Street tree installation or replacements shall be required with new development.

(iv) New street trees should have a minimum caliper size of two (2) inches in diameter.

(a) Front yards should be similar in character to neighboring properties.

(i) There shall be a logical hard surface pedestrian connection between the street and the front entry.

(ii) The front yard shall be predominantly landscaped with a combination of turf and plants. Hard surfaces for driveways, parking or patios shall be minimized.

(iii) Multi-family housing shall be oriented to the street with an entryway creating the appearance of traditional one-family housing facing the street.

(iv) Parking shall not be allowed in the front yard setback other than in the driveway.

(b) Fences or hedges may be used to define the yard.

(i) A fence within the front yard should be short and transparent with a maximum height of forty-eight (48) inches except for corner lots where the height limit at the corner shall not exceed thirty-six (36) inches for visibility purposes.

(ii) Masonry and solid fences shall reflect the architectural character of the project.

(iii) Chain link fences shall be prohibited in front yards.

(iv) Contemporary interpretations of traditional fences should be compatible with those found in the neighborhood.

(v) Landscaping along the fence edge should soften and define the property line.

(c) The sense of open space in the front, sides and rear yards should be preserved.

(i) New structures shall be sited consistent with the existing front setbacks of adjoining properties to maintain neighborhood compatibility.

(ii) Building side and rear yard setbacks beyond zoning minimums may be provided to maintain an adequate sense of privacy for adjoining properties.

(a) The primary entry of the building shall be oriented to the street.

(i) All structures shall have one primary entry that faces the street.

(ii) Additional entrances may be located to the side or rear.

(iii) Multi-unit structures shall be street-oriented with the entry facing the street.

(b) The primary entrance shall be clearly defined by use of a raised porch or other similar entry feature.

(i) The front porch or entry feature shall be oriented to the street.

(ii) The minimum dimensions of the porch should be compatible with the scale of the building facade.

(iii) The porch floor height should be consistent with adjoining property.

(c) The majority of new multi-family buildings should be sited along a block face rather than the interior of the block.

(i) The development of large multi-family complexes on the interior of a block with little development out to the street should be discouraged.

(ii) Interior lots should comprise not more than twenty five percent (25%) of a project’s area.

(a) The pattern of a single driveway per property should minimize the impact of paving and on-site circulation.

(i) New development shall provide no more than the minimum amount of driveway access required in order to preserve a residential feel.

(ii) Driveway placement should be toward the side property line to avoid dividing a building by a single central driveway to subterranean parking.

(iii) Alley access for properties should be encouraged to reduce the impact of parking and traffic circulation on the front property line.

(iv) Parking and interior access should be designed to minimize the number of curb cuts.

(v) Driveways serving five (5) or less parking spaces shall have a minimum width of twelve (12) feet. Driveways serving six (6) or more spaces shall have a minimum width of twelve (12) feet for one-way traffic and sixteen (16) feet for two-way traffic.

(b) Required parking shall not be placed in the required front yard and should be minimized in the required rear yard.

(i) New development shall not have any required parking in front of any front face of a residential building.

(ii) Rear surface parking areas should be buffered from neighboring properties by appropriate plant materials.

(iii) Building and driveway lighting should not extend beyond the boundaries of the subject property.

(iv) Entrances to underground parking should occur from driveways along the sides of properties not from a front facing underground garage entry.

(a) The design and siting of impervious surfaces should consider existing trees and other significant vegetation.

(i) Property owners shall comply with the tree protection ordinance prohibiting damage or removal of trees in the public right-of-way.

(ii) The design of underground parking structures shall avoid the removal of significant canopy trees within five (5) feet of side and rear property lines.

(b) New landscaping with the public and semi-public view areas of the property should be consistent with existing neighborhood vegetation or approved by the City’s urban forester.

(i) The species, size and placement of new front yard landscaping should be considered in the design review process.

(ii) New planting designs should consider xeriscape principles and seek to minimize landscape water use.

(iii) Subterranean parking structures shall be designed in a way that allows planting and growth of mature trees in the front yard.

(c) Landscaping should be used, where feasible, to reduce the impact of larger buildings on neighboring properties.

(i) The perimeter landscaping of new multi-family housing should soften views of such housing from adjoining property.

(ii) Front yard landscaping for multi-story buildings should be selected and placed to balance and soften the architecture of the building from the street.

(a) Building front elevations shall be similar in scale to those seen traditionally on the block where the building is located.

(i) New multi-family structures should not overwhelm the visual character created by adjoining or nearby one-family homes.

(ii) Each segment of the front facade of new buildings should be within ten percent (10%) of the average width of existing residential structures in the neighborhood. If the building facade has a greater width the facade should be articulated into different planes to reduce the apparent mass of the building.

(b) The perceived scale of a building should be minimized.

(i) The front wall of a building should generally not exceed two (2) stories in height.

(ii) Wall heights of one (1) to one and a half (1 1/2) stories should be provided along the street.

(iii) A one (1) story porch or similar element, which defines the front door and entrance to the building shall be provided.

(c) Doors, windows and balconies of new housing should be located to the extent feasible to respect the privacy of adjoining neighboring properties.

(i) Where possible, windows, doors and balconies should not be located on elevations that are directly adjacent to a neighboring property.

(ii) Where windows overlook an adjoining property means to preserve privacy should be utilized, such as locating windows above the typical eye level, use of an opaque or glazed glass or appropriately placed landscaping.

(a) Building forms should be similar to those traditionally seen in the neighborhood.

(i) Simple rectangular building forms may be appropriate if found in the neighborhood.

(ii) Foundations should be raised. Finished first floor height should be within the range typically found in the neighborhood.

(iii) Exotic building and roof forms, which detract from visual continuity shall be prohibited.

(b) Roof forms should be similar to those traditionally seen in the residential neighborhood.

(i) Sloping roofs such as gable and hipped should be used as the primary roof form.

(ii) Shed roofs may be appropriate for some additions.

(c) Window and doorway forms should be similar to those traditionally seen in the residential neighborhood.

(i) Historic window and door forms should be used to create harmony with historic neighborhood forms.

(a) Brick, stucco and painted wood shall be used as primary building materials.

(i) Painted wood lap siding and other forms of wood siding should be used predominately.

(ii) Stucco may be considered when it is detailed with wood trim around windows and doors. A shadow line around windows should be created by recessing windows.

(iii) A range of secondary and trim materials may be used as long as they are not dominant.

(b) Roof materials should appear similar in scale and texture to those traditionally found in the neighborhood.

(i) Wood, slate, tiles and high-quality composition shingles and shakes should be used for roofing materials.

(a) Existing buildings should be adapted to new uses.

(b) An addition should not strongly alter the perceived character of an original building.

(i) Windows, materials and doors should be compatible with those of the original building.

(ii) Roof forms shall be compatible with the primary structure.