Planning Commission Meeting Agenda Packet 05272026

o Primary and secondary entrances: Locate main entrances to face onto public streets or the Town Square. Secondary building entrances are encouraged to access pedestrian connections and side streets. • LD-P.51: Residential Character. Preserve and enhance the character of downtown residential neighborhoods by avoiding inappropriately-scaled new construction, additions, and excessive lot coverage, and by encouraging architectural elements and details, such as porches, picket fences, flower boxes, and street-facing entrances and windows. As proposed, the building’s design proposes a rear-facing elevation to Old Bernal Avenue. The primary entrance is located off the driveway on Augustine Street. In result, the project’s primary entrance does not face public streets. Staff finds the proposed project does not satisfy the design policies above. The project does not integrate storefronts, landscaping within the building through trellises or arcades, or visible, accessible street -facing entrances, for the goal of preserving and enhancing downtown character. Staff finds the residential project inconsistencies to the noted DSP policies above will not further the DSP goals LD-G.3, LD-G.6 and LD-G.11: • LD-G.3: Encourage attractive building architecture that reinforces the traditional, pedestrian-oriented design character and scale of downtown. • LD-G.6: Design residential projects so that the scale, architecture, and massing enhance and preserve the character of existing residential neighborhoods. • LD-G.11: streetscape enhancements and improvements that are compatible with downtown’s buildings. Downtown Design Guidelines In accordance with the DSP goals and policies, the Downtown Design Guidelines also call for design features to be sensitive to the historic character of the Downtown by encouraging multiple-family housing to be sited and designed to fit in with the character of the single -family neighborhood. Per the Downtown Design Guidelines, key residential design guidelines include: • Transition from multi-story, multi-family housing to adjacent single-story, single-family homes can be made with the stepping down of building forms. Dormers, articulated chimneys and stairways, landscaping, architectural molding, and window bays that reduce the mass of the building wall can also be helpful. • Multiple-family housing complexes should be designed to follow the rhythm and scale of the surrounding homes. • Groupings of townhomes are preferred in multiple-family developments instead of large continuous monolithic buildings with little distinction between residential units. As proposed, the current project design does not conform to the residential design guidelines. The building’s rear is oriented to the primary frontage along Old Bernal Avenue, with a proposed front setback of approximately 9 feet (10 feet required) and a front façade consisting of a flat roof and 2-story elements up to 30 feet tall. In combination with the vertical siding on two-story flush walls and stone veneer titles, staff finds the proposed design, in conjunction with a non-conforming front setback emphasizes the bulk and mass of the building and does not conform to the rhythm and scale of the surrounding homes. With the absence of articulation, such as a primary entrance along Old Bernal Avenue, landscape features as part of the building design, and massing breaks between floors one and two, the result is