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traditional character of Downtown. Not all policies need to be met for approval or <br />support of a project, but all projects should seek to meet all applicable polices when <br />appropriate. You may reference p. 4 of the Design Handbook for further discussion on <br />how the policies are structured as either mandatory or only encouraged. <br />G1. All projects should respect the traditional context of downtown. <br />1) In all cases, consideration should be given to the broader context of the block <br />and the town at large. <br />This block of Front Street is comprised of a mix of commercial uses, including offices, <br />retail, a gas station and a restaurant. The property is also across the street from 740 <br />Front Street which is a local landmark. Building heights and form vary significantly from <br />historic one-story structures to two-story modern office and commercial buildings. <br />G4. Develop the street and alley edges of a property to be at a pedestrian scale. <br />1) Provide visual interest on all facades which will be seen from streets, alleys and <br />pedestrian ways. <br />3) Buildings should express human scale, through materials and forms that are <br />familiar building elements in town. <br />4) Use varied building setbacks and changes in materials to create interest and <br />reduce the perceived scale of buildings along alleys. <br />The building material most prominent at the pedestrian scale and where the front fagade <br />meets the street edge is an off-white composite or hardi-panel. Staff recommends the <br />use of a more "familiar building element" for such a prominent architectural feature. <br />This is discussed in more detail below. <br />G13. Where appropriate, design a parking area to be accessed from an alley rather <br />than the street. <br />1) In a residential context, the use of a detached garage, located along the alley, is <br />especially encouraged. <br />The project design meets this standard with detached garages that have alley access <br />through a private parking lot. The project also closes the curb cut onto Front St., thereby <br />eliminating conflicts between vehicles and pedestrians and improving the pedestrian <br />realm for this part of the block. <br />G15. Locate parking such that it will be subordinate to other site features. <br />1) An on -site parking area should be located inside or behind a building, where its <br />visual impacts will be minimized. <br />The addition of the residential buildings will bring the property into compliance with this <br />policy by screening the majority of parking. <br />HPC April 19, 2020 7 <br />16 <br />