City Council Minutes 1998 12 15 - Laserfiche WebLink

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stone retaining walls to provide more interest to the detention pond design and to increase the grade immediately adjacent to the paved area of the site. As currently proposed, the downward slope adjacent to the pavement will reduce the screening effectiveness of those shrub beds. By using a low stone wall, the effective height of the shrub screening can be increased. Given that all surrounding sites are developed, the architecture on this site should be well integrated into the styles, materials and colors of adjacent buildings, particularly Chili's, Rite Aid and Bank of Louisville. CDDSG Policy 4.1 requires that, "All buildings within a proposed development should be visually and physically compatible with one another, and with existing buildings on adjacent sites." The City's PUD ordinance (Section 17.28 of the Louisville Municipal Code) also requires architectural design compatibility. While the applicant has made some effort to accomplish that through materials, staff believes there is significantly more work to be done. The 'Split Second' convenience store is proposed to be constructed primarily of brick with limited synthetic stucco as an accent material, aluminum frame window glazing and a standing seam metal roof. Staff is not familiar with the proposed synthetic stucco. It will need to be demonstrated to be a proven and durable material. The materials proposed are similar to the Bank of Louisville and Rite Aid, on the opposite side of the main Parcel L1 entry drive. While staff supports the use of brick as a primary material, there could also be opportunities to use some stone accents to better integrate with the adjacent Chili's. Staff also suggests more that brick should be used in vertical pilaster elements at the main entry doors to create a strongly defined entry and also at the northeast comer of the building. The dimension of the brick should be clearly disclosed and should match that on the 'adjacent structures. Colors should be compatible with the three adjacent buildings. The detailing currently proposed in the brick work is very limited. The beige-colored squares are not as effective as an architectural detail feature. Staff would encourage more traditional features such as coursing, window sills and lintels, pilasters or other similar techniques. More window glazing on the south (rear) and west (right side) elevation should also be given consideration. The proposed breaks in the roof plane on the front and left side elevations do not seem appropriate, according to staff. On the right side of the front elevation, it appears to be done solely to make room for a sign. In the southeast comer of the building, it allows for awnings that are not well-integrated into the building design. It would also be important to review the colors of the awnings. The City has not allowed any bright, particularly primary colors, on awnings. The Use of a standing seam metal roof is consistent with the Rite Aid and Bank of Louisville. Color should be compatible with those buildings. However, staff is concerned that if the same color and material are used, it may be too monotonous. A shingle roof material would also be appropriate to match Chili's roof. The cupola element should be justified as a functional element of the building. Staff does not find it to be well- related to the general architectural style of the building nor to the entry area. Staff stated that the car wash and Grease Monkey accessory structures should utilize the same materials and follow the same design theme as the primary convenience store structure. All structures on the site should be clearly related architecturally. As currently proposed, they have very different detail feature styles than the primary structure. The Grease Monkey in particular has a window 5