12-20-2017 Council Packet - Laserfiche WebLink

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The building wall facing Rice Street is proposed to include glass panel overhead doors which could be raised during warm weather and open onto an outdoor seating area. The entry vestibule at the southwest corner of the building would include additional glass and a flat canopy would cover the sidewalk along the building on the main street- facing sides (south and west). The architectural guidelines were originally written to encourage masonry exterior materials, and the zoning ordinance language is written to accommodate “architectural” metal. The proposed building is of a different character than the buildings envisioned by the Guidelines. However, there is flexibility in the Architectural Guidelines text in that the document allows alternative materials of similar quality and design to be approved by the City. The applicant, for this building, would be suggesting that while the character of the building is not similar to those buildings envisioned by the Guidelines, the materials are of substantial and high quality. The primary comment related to building design would be that the east facing wall – the long wall visible to South Owasso traffic – is a flat plane with no windows on that exposure. It would be beneficial to the view of the site from the east that additional attention is paid to this wall. Since the interior use along this wall is shown to be kitchen and prep area, clerestory windows could add natural light to the work area, or other architectural features might be added to the exterior wall materials. Signage. The proposed building appears to rely on wall signage that would be mounted on the vestibule wall over the main entry facing each street. The signage appears to easily fit within the sign allowances of the Sign Ordinance. The Architectural Guidelines direct sign design to avoid white-background backlit signage. The applicants should consider a darker backlit field out of which a lighter colored message is displayed. Site Design. The applicant has designed the site to gain access from the Rice Street in the northwest corner of the site, and from South Owasso Boulevard in the southeast corner of the site. The primary drive aisle circulates between the two access points, with parking along the south and west sides of the building. An additional dead-end drive extends along the east side of the building, and provides access to 8 parking spaces and the exterior trash enclosure. While dead-end drive aisles are not ideal, the site is severely constrained, and these areas can work fine for employee parking. The parking area includes a total of 28 spaces. The zoning ordinance requires that all parking areas are paved and surrounded by concrete curb. The plan as submitted includes one area (the four spaces along the northern boundary adjacent to Rice Street) that show curb stop bumpers, rather than continuous curb. This should be amended to complete the continuous curb as required. The parking supply is addressed separately in the variance discussion below. The landscape plan shows low shrubs along the boundary of the parking area adjacent to both Rice Street and South Owasso Boulevard, and tree plantings and perennial plantings around the site. An area of lawn along the north boundary line is also