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18C-048 NO2226-350g Table of Use and Dim Regs URBZONING 350 Attachment 7:1 12 - 01 - 2015 350 Attachment 7 City of Northampton Table of Use and Dimensional Regulations URB District Description: Example Structures Primarily residential with single-, two-, three-family units allowed in different development patterns, including townhouse units. New homes should consist of units that maintain orientation, rhythm, setback pattern and street frontage green patterns of the surrounding block face Lot Dimension Requirements Layout/Setbacks For All Uses Lot Size 2,500 ft2 minimum (min.) per unit Frontage/Width = 50 feet min. Depth = 75 feet min. Setbacks Front =10 feet min. Side = 15 feet min. Side = 0 feet on one side for zero lot line Rear = 20 feet min. Max. Height = 35 feet Open Space = 40% NORTHAMPTON CODE 350 Attachment 7:2 12 - 01 - 2015 Design Standards Illustrated Planning Board may waive, by site plan approval, elements 2, 3, 4 if it can be shown that a different design meets a pedestrian-scale design that encourages public/private transition and interface (e.g., similar elements facing internal courtyards or private streets) 1. If a garage or other parking structure is attached, it must be set back 20 feet and the garage/structure shall comprise no more than 30% of the front facade of the primary structure. Side setback may be 10 feet for the garage only when not used as living area. 2. Front doors must face the street. For units extending behind front units, where entries orient to the side lot, the 20-foot side setback shall apply unless other means to create buffer/private outdoor space to adjoining property are approved by the Planning Board. Buildings must have a covered entry. Covered entry 20' 20' 20' 20' 15' 15' 15' 15' Max. 30% of total combined area of facades Max 30% of total combined area of facades Connector elements must be set back & include glazed openings that face the street Living space above DOESN’T FIT Max. 30% of total combined area of facades Living space above Exceeds 30% of total combined area of facades Garage or Parking Structure Area Primary Structure ZONING 350 Attachment 7:3 12 - 01 - 2015 3. For new buildings, setback, scale, massing should fit within the block face. 4. Parking for more than 5 cars shall be distributed on the site to minimize impact to the neighborhood character, which shall be accomplished by small groupings of spaces surrounded by landscaping or parallel parking along a narrow driveway to mimic an alley. Driveways wider than 15 feet shall be visually buffered from side lot lines through setbacks or screening to adequately block car headlights. Minimum parking for residential uses For other uses see table in § 350-8.2. 1 space per 1,000 ft2 gross living area (round up). No more than 2 spaces required per unit. Front yard setback may only have parking for a maximum of two vehicles Doesn’t fit NORTHAMPTON CODE 350 Attachment 7:4 12 - 01 - 2015 URB USES ALLOWED Uses Allowed By Right: • Single-, two-, three-family dwellings • Attached (to a single-family) accessory dwelling unit not to exceed 900 square feet gross living area. See § 350-10.10. Same setback as for principal structures. • Home business up to 25 visits per week as defined in § 350-2.1 • Zero lot line single-family; see § 350-10.14 • Preexisting nonconforming uses (may trigger ZBA permit) • Accessory uses to residential: Tag sales: temporary sales of personal and household articles Pets/Animals (§ 350-5.3) • Accessory structures, detached (but no larger than 1,000 ft2 of lot coverage or 3% of lot area, whichever is greater, unless it is used for agricultural purposes). See also § 350-6.7. Setbacks: Front: 20 feet Side: 4 feet Rear: 4 feet • Family day care (registration w/Building Commissioner required) • Cemetery • Temporary event as defined in § 350-2.1 • Municipal facility; facilities for essential services • Agriculture, horticulture, floriculture, noncommercial forestry, the growing of all vegetables and a temporary (not to exceed erection or use for a period of four months in any one year) greenhouse or stand for retail sale of agricultural or farm products raised primarily on the same premises • Rooftop solar hot water and photovoltaic • Accessory solar photovoltaic (PV) ground-mounted on a parcel with any building/use, provided that the PV is sized to generate no more than 100% or 8 KW of the annual projected electric use of the non-PV building/use. Same setbacks as for detached accessory structures. • Solar photovoltaic of any size, ground-mounted over any legal parking lot or driveway Site Plan Approval Required for the Following: • Any construction (other than for a single-family home) greater than 2,000 square feet • The addition of a principal structure to a parcel where one already exists. • Townhouses with six or fewer units • Educational use: nonprofit, dormitories, any religious use, day care, school-aged child-care program (MGL c. 28A, § 9) and historical association or society and nonprofit museum (may include the residence of a caretaker) • Reuse of historic educational or religious building(s) for any residential use, live/work space, or office; provided, however, that no more than 20% of the floor space of the building(s) shall be used for medical, banking or any offices where a primary function is to provide services to retail customers or individuals. All such uses approved under this provision shall be within the footprint of existing building(s) and may only be approved contingent upon protection of all historically contributing portions of the building with an historic preservation restriction granted to the City of Northampton in a form acceptable to the Planning Board, with input from the Historical Commission, as preserving the key character-defining features visible from the road (and not necessarily meeting federal or state preservation standards for the entire building). The existing building may be expanded to accommodate elevators and stairwells. Portions of the building that are not part of the original architecture of the building and which do not contribute to the historical or architectural significance of the building as determined by the Planning Board, with input from the Historical Commission, may be demolished. • Cluster development. See below for lot layout standards and § 350-10.5 for other required criteria. ZONING 350 Attachment 7:5 12 - 01 - 2015 • Parking off-site and combined parking. See §§ 350-8.5 and 350-8.7. • Creation or expansion of six or more parking spaces • Parking lot access for nonresidential uses across a residential lot. See § 350-8.9. • Parking requirement reduction. See § 350-8.10F. • Residential shared driveways. See § 350-8.8R. • Private utility, substation or district utility, small-scale hydroelectric generation • Year-round greenhouse/stand for wholesale and retail sale of agricultural farm products raised on site • Telecommunications antennas (cellular phone) located on existing telecommunications towers or other structures which do not require the construction of a new tower (in accordance with § 350-10.9) Special Permit Approval Required for the Following Uses by Planning Board Unless Otherwise Noted: • Detached accessory dwelling unit (see § 350-10.10—Zoning Board of Appeals special permit) • Home business for personal service business by appointment only or home business more than 25 visits, etc. (see § 350-10.12 for other criteria—Zoning Board of Appeals special permit) • Any townhouse project creating seven or more units in one or more phases within a five-year period. Any such project shall comply with the following: A. Buildings and parking. 1) The first row of buildings along a street shall face the street and add to the streetscape. There shall not be any parking, except incidental to a driveway or roadway, between the first row of buildings and the street. Parking shall be located behind buildings or designed otherwise to minimize view from the public street. 2) The area between the property and the road pavement shall be made to be pedestrian friendly, with sidewalks, street furniture, trees and other vegetation, all of which shall be in conformance with City standards. All landscaping incorporated as part of the applicant’s design between the street and the building(s) shall facilitate and enhance the pedestrian use of sidewalks and other areas adjacent to the building. Such streetscape may include rebuilding by the applicant, as necessary, of granite curbs, ADA-compliant concrete sidewalks, tree belts, and drainage improvements incorporating low-impact development standards for any necessary drainage improvements triggered by these changes. 3) Buildings that abut existing residential properties shall incorporate building articulation alongside facades. Building projections shall be incorporated for any side façade that is longer than 30 feet. 4) Front facades shall have setbacks consistent with other buildings within the block or provide a different setback that is necessary to address any natural resources constraints. B. Streets and roadways. 1) Projects shall connect to all surrounding neighborhoods with bicycle and pedestrian access to the extent possible. a) For projects that have more than one vehicular access, driveways and roadways shall internally and externally connect to each other and dead-end streets shall be avoided whenever possible. Dead-end roadways and driveways shall never exceed 500 feet and, to the extent possible, must include a bicycle and pedestrian connection from the dead-end street to a street, common area, park or civic space. b) For projects that have a single vehicular access, such access shall not exceed 500 feet and pedestrian access shall also be provided directly from any street to residential units. 2) The design standards for the length of dead-end streets, protection of natural features, sidewalks, wheelchair ramps, landscaping, utilities, and the construction method and NORTHAMPTON CODE 350 Attachment 7:6 12 - 01 - 2015 materials for water lines, sanitary sewers, storm sewers, fire protection, sidewalks, private roads and other infrastructure shall be those set forth in Chapter 290, Subdivision of Land. These standards shall apply even for private roadways and driveways that are not part of a subdivision, unless waived by the Planning Board. 3) Driveways and private roadways shall be designed to function as private alleys, or shared streets with pedestrians and cyclists, and engineered to keep speeds below 15 miles per hour, or yield streets with separate sidewalks as shown in the subdivision regulations. Such sidewalks shall connect to sidewalks along adjacent streets. 4) Vehicular access shall connect to surrounding streets as appropriate to ensure safe and efficient flow of traffic within the surrounding neighborhood and to mitigate increases in traffic on nearby streets. 5) Preexisting paths historically used as bicycle and pedestrian trails shall be preserved to the extent possible and marked with appropriate signage. C. Park space. 1) All projects shall include a park/common area fully designed and constructed to be integrated into the project, which area shall be easily accessible and available for residents of the project. At a minimum, this space shall be 300 square feet or 30 square feet per dwelling unit of buildable land area, whichever is greater. 2) All such space shall be contiguous unless waived by the Planning Board upon finding that it is in the public interest and consistent with the intent and purpose of this section. D. Environment and energy. Buildings shall meet one of the following environmental standards: 1) Home Energy Rating System (HERS) rating for the building envelope at least 25% lower than the current municipal standard at the time the special permit is requested, but in no event shall the HERS rating be greater than 47 for units of 1,200 square feet or less, and no greater than 41 for units larger than 1,200 square feet. Alternatively, for units of 1,200 square feet or less, the Planning Board may consider a comparable energy standard to the HERS rating of 47 after consultation with the Building Commissioner. 2) U.S. Green Building Council LEED New Construction Gold or Neighborhood Development Gold Certified. E. Size, access and affordability. 1) Buildings shall meet one of the following standards: a) 11% of the units shall be “affordable units” as that term is defined in § 350-2.1 of the Code of the City of Northampton; or b) Contain 25% or more of the units no larger than 1,200 square feet gross floor area. 2) Equal access. All projects shall provide equal access to all building amenities, park and civic space and public entrances to buildings to residents of both affordable and non-affordable units. F. Internet connectivity. All projects that include infrastructure making internet connectivity available shall do so without differences in quality, capacity or speed to residents of both affordable and non-affordable units. • Educational use: private for-profit colleges, schools, etc. • Community Center • Lodging house, halfway house • Bed-and-breakfast/tourist home • Nursing homes, assisted living • Membership club operated as a not-for-profit corporation, as defined by MGL c. 180, excluding any adult establishments which display live nudity • Filling of any land. See § 350-10.4. ZONING 350 Attachment 7:7 12 - 01 - 2015 • Filling of water or wet area. See § 350-10.3. • Funeral establishment • Crematory • Accessory solar photovoltaic ground-mounted on a parcel with any building or use, between 8 KW or over 100% but no more than 200% of the annual projected electric use of the non-PV building or use • Heavy public use. See § 350-10.7—City Council special permit • Solar photovoltaic (PV), large-scale ground-mounted not requiring the removal of more than 25,000 board feet of timber. Setbacks: Front = 50 feet Side = 50 feet Rear = 50 feet Maximum height = 30 feet Open space = 20% A planted buffer to abutting residential property shall be at least 15 feet in width along the property boundary. It shall contain a screen of plantings of vertical habit in the center of the strip not less than three feet in width and six feet in height at the time of occupancy of such lot. Individual shrubs shall be planted not more than five feet on center, and individual trees thereafter shall be maintained by the owner or occupants so as to maintain a dense screen year-round. At least 50% of the plantings shall be evenly spaced. Whenever possible, existing trees and ground cover should be preserved in this strip, reducing the need to plant additional trees. Trees may not be cut down in this strip without site plan approval. Cluster Development Layout Standards a. Project lot = 2-acre minimum b. Project frontage = 50 feet c. Project depth = 100 feet d. Setbacks from project boundary: Front = 10 feet Side = 15 feet Rear = 20 feet e. Individual lot frontage, setbacks, frontage = 0 feet f. Maximum height = 40 feet g. Project open space = 50% h. Design: Planning Board to review layout to ensure project transitions between existing neighborhood along street and proposed project. For new buildings, setback, scale, massing should fit within the block face. Mature specimen trees shall be preserved unless shown to be infeasible. No minimum setbacks, lot size, frontage, or open space for internal lots. More than one structure may be located on a single lot.