§ 21.64.240. Dwellings, multi-family.

A.

BCE District.

1.

Retail and/or Office Use Required. Retail and/or office use shall be required as an integral component of a multi-family residential project and the project design shall allow for such uses on the ground floor if there is direct access and frontage along a principal arterial, minor arterial, or collector road. If there is no access and frontage along such a road, retail and/or office use is not required.

2.

Multiple Structures on a Zoning Lot. Consistent with Section 21.60.030, a multi-family residential use may contain more than one principal residential building, including a building containing a mix of residential and other BCE district uses, on a zoning lot.

3.

Parking and Loading.

a.

Structured parking may be permitted as a component of a multi-family development.

b.

Sufficient street-level parking shall be provided to accommodate commercial uses and office visitors.

c.

Parking spaces wherever reasonably possible shall be located in the rear or interior courtyard or plaza areas; if structured parking is provided then it shall be screened by buildings or landscaped wherever reasonably possible.

d.

Notwithstanding the provisions of Chapter 21.66, off-street loading facilities for a multi-family development and other BCE uses developed in conjunction therewith may be provided in the front yard of the lot.

4.

Streetscape and Planting.

a.

The streetscape shall be of an urban character with street trees, street lighting, controlled pedestrian crossings, dedicated bicycle facilities, benches and other streetscape elements.

b.

Public courts and plazas shall be open to the street or connect to pedestrian walkways. Such areas shall be well planted and shall be paved for pedestrian circulation.

c.

Pedestrian traffic through and around the use shall be separated from driveways and parking areas through the use of sidewalks, pathways, crossings and other marked pedestrian ways.

d.

Sidewalks along streets designated as major or minor arterial in the Comprehensive Plan shall be a minimum of fifteen feet wide; sidewalks along all other streets shall be a minimum of twelve feet wide.

e.

Buffer areas adjacent to public streets shall have street trees a minimum of thirty-five feet on-center and a maximum of forty-five feet on-center along with planting beds buffering pedestrians from vehicular traffic.

f.

Pedestrian features such as benches, lighting and pavers shall be designed in a consistent manner.

g.

Interior courtyards, boulevards and plaza areas shall be adequately landscaped, and include adequate sitting areas.

h.

A Planting Soils Improvement Plan shall be reviewed and approved prior to the issuance of grading permits, sufficient to provide for the long term health of all plantings and to meet the principles and recommendations for soils for urban tree plantings outlined in "Architectural Graphic Standards 10th Edition," pages 178 through 182, published by John Wiley & Sons, 1998.

5.

Lighting. An exterior lighting plan, including a fixture schedule, shall be provided, that shall insure that site lighting is designed at appropriate levels to achieve public safety without creating excessive glare or high intensity. High pressure sodium (yellow-orange) shall be prohibited for exterior use, and for the interior use in parking areas where the lighting is visible from the outside. A reduction in lighting intensity may be required after installation if a determination is made that the lighting is too bright or creates excessive glare.

6.

Building and Architecture.

a.

Buildings shall be designed with a diversity of architectural styles that enhance the visual identity and integrity of this important gateway to the City of Annapolis;

b.

Street facing façades shall provide several pedestrian access points;

c.

Buildings, rather than parking, shall be generally oriented towards adjacent public streets creating an active, urban-type frontage;

d.

Mixed-use buildings fronting on an arterial street shall provide opportunities for ground-floor retail or other commercial space with residential, hotel or office uses above;

e.

Buildings with ground-floor retail shall have all retail entrances facing the public or private streets or interior courtyards or plazas of the site;

f.

The ground floor shall be differentiated from the upper floors to establish a distinct base for the building;

g.

The exterior façades of the building shall be articulated in a human scale;

h.

The mass of large scale building shall, where possible, be divided into smaller elements or parts to minimize any negative impact on adjacent streets;

i.

Buildings shall be constructed of quality, durable materials appropriate to the vernacular architecture of Annapolis, including brick, stone, wood and/or concrete;

j.

The visibility of all parking facilities from any street or residential zoning district shall be minimized whenever possible;

k.

Visible façades of parking facilities shall be designed to be compatible with the architectural character of surrounding structures;

l.

The applicant shall explore the possibility of utilizing green roof technology, unless proven not commercially feasible, as determined by Planning and Zoning Director.

7.

Traffic Impact. A traffic impact study is required, pursuant to Section 21.62.090.

8.

Common Open Space. Permanent usable common open space equal to a minimum of ten percent of the lot area shall be identified and dedicated for passive recreational activities or limited active recreation, subject to the following requirements:

a.

The area required for parking lot landscaping or buffers shall not be included in the common open space calculation.

b.

The area of each parcel of common open space shall be of such minimum dimensions as to be functionally usable.

c.

Common open space areas shall be convenient to the dwelling units they are intended to serve.

d.

Up to fifty percent of the common open space may include community meeting rooms and indoor recreational facilities, such as club houses and exercise facilities.

e.

Any area dedicated for open space purposes shall be described in appropriate subdivision dedications, covenants and/or deed restrictions approved by the City Attorney which demonstrate that:

i.

The use of the common open space shall continue for the life of the project for the purpose specified;

ii.

Appropriate provisions shall be made for the maintenance of the common open space areas; and

iii.

Common open space areas shall not be used for a commercial enterprise admitting the public for a fee.

f.

The type of ownership of land dedicated for common open space purposes shall be selected by the owner, developer or subdivider, subject to the approval of the Planning and Zoning Director. Type of ownership may include, but is not limited to the following:

i.

The City, subject to the acceptance of the City Council;

ii.

Homeowner, condominium or cooperative associations;

iii.

Shared, undivided interest by all property owners;

iv.

The project owner.

g.

The owner of the common open space shall be responsible for its continuing upkeep and proper maintenance.

9.

Subdivision Plat.

a.

Notwithstanding any other provisions of the City Code to the contrary, a subdivision plat in accordance with the requirements of Title 20 shall be approved by the Planning Commission.

b.

Notwithstanding the provisions of Section 20.08.030, an administrative exemption to the subdivision plat shall not be allowed.

c.

In approving the subdivision plat, the Planning Commission shall determine that the design and development of the project is consistent with all applicable goals and policies of the Comprehensive Plan and any legislatively adopted sector studies or other legislatively adopted planning studies for the area in which the project is located.

d.

Modifications to Standards. In acting upon the subdivision plat, the Planning Commission shall have the authority to modify any of the foregoing standards or other BCE development standards, provided the Planning Commission shall find based on the evidence presented in each case that the proposed modification to the standard complies with all of the following criteria:

i.

The objectives underlying the standards can be met without strict adherence to them;

ii.

Because of peculiarities in the parcel of land to be developed or the facilities proposed, it would be unreasonable to require strict adherence to the standards;

iii.

The modification is in the public interest and is necessary in order to further the purposes of the BCE district; and

iv.

The modification is consistent with all applicable goals and policies of the Comprehensive Plan or other legislatively adopted planning studies for the area in which the project is located.

10.

Modifications to Approved Site Development Plan. All substantive changes or modifications to the approved site development plan shall require review and approval by the Planning Commission in accordance with the criteria for modifications to standards in previous Subsection (A)(9)(d) of this section for subdivision plat approval.

B.

C1 District.

1.

In addition to proposed new uses, the following uses require special exception approval:

a.

Any change or expansion of the bulk or any structural modifications, including extensions, enlargements or alterations which increase or decrease the floor area of a particular use, except as provided in Subsection (B)(2) below, or

b.

The expansion or extension of a special exception for part of a building or structure, the remainder of which is utilized for a use permitted in the district.

2.

The gross floor area of a dwelling unit on an individual lot of record may be expanded with administrative approval by up to twenty percent of the total floor area, provided the proposed addition complies with all other requirements of the district and provided that no previous expansion has been granted pursuant to this section.

C.

MX District.

1.

On lots of forty thousand square feet or greater, permanent usable common open space equal to ten percent of the lot area shall be identified and dedicated for passive recreational activities or limited active recreation. In the case of attached units, each unit shall have an individual rear yard which may be included in calculating the required common open space. The area required for parking lot planting or buffers shall not be included in the open space calculation.

2.

Pedestrian traffic through and around the use shall be separated from driveways and parking areas through the use of sidewalks.

3.

If surface parking is located on the zoning lot, it shall be located at the rear of the zoning lot and new structures shall be located at the front of the zoning lot.

4.

If surface parking located on the zoning lot is adjacent to single-family residential use, dense plantings shall be installed and maintained on the zoning lot to provide an effective screen.

(Ord. O-1-04 Revised (part), 2005)

(Ord. No. O-31-14 Amended, § I, 2-9-2015; Ord. No. O-6-11, § I, 6-20-2011; Ord. No. O-19-18, § I, 11-19-2018)