Planning Commission Agenda and Packet 2009 09 02 Joint

Home Browse Search

Gateways, Parks and Public Spaces, 3) Pedestrian, Bicycle and Transit Systems, 4) Automobile Circulation, 5) Parking, 6) Public Signs, 7) Public Art, 8) Architectural Scale and Character, and 9) Residential /Commercial Mixed Uses. Within each system, there are Goals and Policies and Action Statements to implement the recommendations of the Plan. Workshop participants evaluated three building bulk and massing scenarios to determine a preferred scenario. The preferred scenario was to maintain the existing character allowing building height to vary as a mix of one, two, and three story buildings. Three story buildings would be permitted as exceptions only when compatibility within the surrounding context is demonstrated. There was strong consensus on both the scale of downtown as well the fact that downtown should be diversified with mixed use, residential, and commercial. It is the position of staff that this preferred massing scenario is still consistent with the vision of Downtown Louisville as adopted by the Comprehensive Plan. Downtown Design Handbook The Design Handbook for Downtown Louisville (Handbook) was developed through a series of public workshops and adopted in 1998. Those workshops were facilitated by Winter and Company, and a Downtown Steering Committee, appointed by the Mayor and City Council. The Handbook replaced the Commercial Development Design Standards and Guidelines (CDDSG) as the controlling design requirements for the downtown commercial area. The Handbook would be enforced through the City's PUD and building permit review processes. In comparison to the CDDSG, the Handbook has fewer mandatory standards and more guidelines. In keeping with the diverse character of downtown, the Handbook does not dictate architectural styles or building materials, but rather provides required elements of design for downtown that could be incorporated into varied styles. The Handbook provides for a range of appropriate design solutions. The document is intended to be educational in addition to regulatory. The Handbook divides the town into Core and Transition areas. Per the Handbook, the Core areas are intended to have more of a typical retail storefront feel with buildings built up to the sidewalk. In the Transition areas, some setback from the sidewalk would be encouraged, as would a more residential style and scale of architecture. The Handbook requires that one and two -story buildings be the predominant character. However, there is a section that establishes design requirements for third stories, in the event that those were to be considered in the context of a PUD review. One of the shared goals between the Downtown Framework Plan and the Downtown Design Handbook is the goal of maintaining and preserving historic structures. One of the primary goals of the Handbook is balance the historic attributes of a structure against the demands of modern use. There has been recent discussion at the staff level concerning the applicability of the section of G: \Planning Commission \2009 \HPC_PC_worksession agenda \Joint Meeting with HPC \Memo_PC HPC Joint Worksession 090209.doc