Planning Commission Agenda and Packet 2021 06 24

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Planning Commission Staff Report June 24, 2021 ANALYSIS: The staff analysis section includes a review of applicable Design Handbook policies followed by the waiver criteria, the SRU criteria, and then the Final Plat criteria. The PUD review criteria are included as an appendix. Design Handbook for Downtown Louisville Any PUD within Downtown is subject to the Design Handbook policies. Staff has highlighted the following policies that are applicable to the project, along with staff's analysis in italics. Policies are broken out by categories of General Standards and Guidelines ("G") applicable to all areas of Downtown and Core Area Standards and Guidelines ("C"). Staff notes that some of the policies focus on commercial development but are primarily being applied to a residential proposal with this application. Staff recommends still applying the standard if relevant to the proposed building character to ensure the design is sensitive to the historic and traditional character of Downtown. Not all policies need to be met for approval or support of a project, but all projects should seek to meet all applicable polices when appropriate. Please reference p. 4 of the Design Handbook for further discussion on how the policies are structured as either mandatory or only encouraged. Each policy is followed by staff's analysis in italics. GI. All projects should respect the traditional context of downtown. 1) In all cases, consideration should be given to the broader context of the block and the town at large. This block of Front Street is comprised of a mix of commercial uses, including offices, retail, a gas station and a restaurant. The property is also across the street from 740 Front Street which is a local landmark. Building heights and form vary significantly from historic one-story structures to two-story modern office and commercial buildings. G4. Develop the street and alley edges of a property to be at a pedestrian scale. 1) Provide visual interest on all facades which will be seen from streets, alleys and pedestrian ways. 3) Buildings should express human scale, through materials and forms that are familiar building elements in town. 4) Use varied building setbacks and changes in materials to create interest and reduce the perceived scale of buildings along alleys. The building materials at the ground level is predominately brick and dark grey siding. The building includes massing and heavier materials at the street edge, helping to define and provide interest to the streetscape, along with patios and decks on the street edge. The primary material at the street is brick, incorporated into a two-story building element at approximately 25' in height with the third story a lighter stucco color set back from the two-story brick facade. This helps provide a human scale to the building. 9 11