Page last modified 05:07, 3 Nov 2008 GPWiki2

General Plan 2030 Public Input Site > 2.0 Development > 2.6 Community Design Element > 2.6.1.b Community Design Plan Discussion

2.6.1.b Community Design Plan Discussion

1. B.1 Transect Zones
1. 1.1. Natural Zone (T1)
2. 1.2. Rural Zone (T2)
3. 1.3. Suburban Zone (T3)
4. 1.4. Urban Zone (T4)
5. 1.5. Urban Center Zone (T5)
6. 1.6. Special District Zone (SD)
2. B.2 Urban Design
1. 2.1. Urban Form
2. 2.2. Streetscape Design
3. 2.3. Residential Streetscapes
4. 2.4. Commercial Streetscapes
5. 2.5. Public/Civic Spaces
6. 2.6. Land Use
7. 2.7. Corridors
8. 2.8. Identifying Design Corridors
  1. 2.8.1. Activity Nodes
  2. 2.8.2. Gateways
  3. 2.8.3. Scenic corridors
9. 2.9. Centers
10. 2.10. Neighborhoods

Key features of the Community Design Plan include community planning through Transect Zoning and design components to enhance the natural and built environment, and the internal and external perception of the city. Transect zoning includes the designation of transitional areas (i.e., natural, rural, suburban, urban, and urban centers) based on their general density or intensity of development as identified in the land use map. Design components include urban design guidelines that bring together the different transect zones through place making techniques.

B.1 Transect Zones

The Transect is a categorization system that organizes all elements of the urban environment on a scale from rural to urban (see Figure 2.6.A below). Its potential lies in: 1) Education (it is easy to understand); 2) Coding (it can be directly translated into zoning categories); 3) Creating “immersive environments.” An immersive environment is one where all of the elements of the human environment work together to create something that are greater than the sum of the parts. Due to its size and existing natural and social conditions, the city of Surprise would follow a Transect with five zones and a special district.

Figure 2.6A

Natural Zone (T1)

The natural zone consists of lands protected in perpetuity or reverting to a wilderness condition, including lands unsuitable for settlement due to topography, hydrology, or vegetation.

Rural Zone (T2)

These areas generally relate to the rural residential land use category. These character areas exhibit large lots for single family detached housing. A rural character is appropriate to retain areas that are environmentally sensitive (i.e., landform, topography/drainage, and vegetation) and that should be carefully planned and developed. Appropriate site planning techniques may include:

• Clustering to preserve natural desert or agricultural areas.
• Transfer of development rights.
• Use of building envelopes.
• Preservation of natural drainage washes
• Use of native plant palette for lot landscaping/desert restoration.
• Inclusion of sensitively designed equestrian and pedestrian trails

Characteristics include:

General Character: Scattered buildings.
Building Placement: Variable setbacks.
Frontage Types: Not applicable.
Typical Building Height: 1 to 2 story.
Type of Civic Space: Parks, Greenways.

Suburban Zone (T3)

These areas relate to the residential and low density residential designations and contain neighborhood oriented retail opportunities and community facilities. Due to the density/intensity of development, mass site grading may be employed to prepare the land for site development. Even so, appropriate site planning techniques exist to:

Protect existing washes and mature native vegetation.
Restore/enhance natural open space areas and salvage appropriate plant material.

These mechanisms assist in the accelerated integration of the built and natural environments. Connection to community sewer collection and treatment is required. Suburban character areas are concentrated in the central and south central regions of the planning area.

Characteristics include:

General Character: single-family houses and supporting commercial or public spaces.

Building Placement: Large and variable front and side yard setbacks.

Frontage Types: Porches, fences, naturalistic tree planting.

Typical Building Height: 1 to 2 story with some 3-story.

Type of Civic Space: Parks, Greenways.

Urban Zone (T4)

These areas are typically developed as medium and high density residential and contain neighborhood, commercial, employment and community facilities. Due to the density and intensity of development, mass site grading is generally used. However, sensitive site planning can include:

• Protection of existing washes.
• Salvage of appropriate plant material.
Because the natural environment is changed, the inclusion of developed park, recreation, and open spaces becomes an important element. Connection to community sewer collection and treatment is required.

Characteristics include:

General Character: Mix of houses, townhouses & small apartment buildings, with scattered commercial activity; balance between landscape and buildings; presence of pedestrians.

Building Placement: Shallow to medium front and side yard setbacks.

Frontage Types: Porches, fences, dooryards.

Typical Building Height: Multi Story with a few taller mixed use buildings.

Type of Civic Space: Squares, Plazas, Urban Parks.

Urban Center Zone (T5)

Urban centers consist of higher density mixed-use buildings that can accommodate retail, offices, row houses, apartments, and civic buildings of regional importance. The areas have a tight network of streets and small blocks, with wide sidewalks, regularly spaced street planting, and buildings set close to the sidewalks.

Characteristics include:

General Character: Shops mixed with townhouses, larger apartment houses, offices, workplace, and civic buildings; predominantly attached buildings; trees within the public right-of-way; substantial pedestrian activity.
Building Placement: low setbacks or none; buildings oriented to street defining a street wall.
Frontage Types: Shopfronts, Galleries.
Typical Building Height: Multi Story with some variation.

Special District Zone (SD)

Special District designations are areas that, by their intrinsic size, function, or configuration, cannot conform to the requirements of any Transect Zone or combination of zones. The SD zone identifies areas of the city where sites with

existing specialized uses or unique community character require individualized development standards. The SD zone is applied to the following areas, each of which are intended to have development standards specific to the village’s or community's objectives. Some of the uses that are applicable in the SDs include resorts, airfields, and business parks.

B.2 Urban Design

Community character is comprised of the perception and experience of the community by those living, working, and passing through. It is largely determined by the built fabric and the surrounding natural environment as affected by urban development. Urban design can provide direction and guidance for development to enhance community character by creating a greater sense of space, time, and well being. Urban design principles seek to enhance Surprise’s image as a unique community and to retain that image in an attractive and orderly development which preserves the beauty of the natural setting.

The purpose of urban design is to set design standards reflecting Surprise's desire to achieve high quality built form. It brings together public and private development towards common city design goals. Key components of urban design are:

Urban Form.
Streetscape Design.
Land Use.
Corridors.
Centers.
Neighborhoods.

Urban Form

Urban form describes key physical characteristics envisioned for each village of the city. Urban form strives to form future development by ensuring that all parties (i.e., developers, the city, and the public) share a common understanding of the elements that contribute to good design. Also important are the implications of individual projects on the form and character of the village or the community as a whole. These characteristics include:

The height and bulk of buildings.
The location of buildings on their lots.
The relationship of buildings to streets.
The height of buildings relative to adjacent neighborhoods.
The location and character of parking and pedestrian facilities.
The transition from one neighborhood to other.

Streetscape Design

Streetscapes involve the use of landscaping, paving, furniture, signage, and lighting, interconnected path systems and appropriate building materials to enhance roadways. Streetscapes are an important mechanism in the built environment to buffer vehicular noise and reduce the impact of arterial roadways.

Key purposes of streetscapes are:

To increase the visual quality and character of streets.
To identify and reinforce the positive characteristics of existing streets.
To provide a more robust streetscape for the future redevelopment of key streets, and to improve pedestrian amenity within all residential streets.
To reinforce the traffic management operation of the road hierarchy.

Streetscapes can be classified into Residential, Commercial and Public/Civic Spaces. Combined together these three use classifications can be incorporated into a streetscape hierarchy. These use classifications relate to the parkways, major and the minor arterial roadways identified in the transportation plan. A general summary of each streetscape type includes:

Primary streetscape areas are designated along both sides of parkways and major arterial roadways within the planning area. Primary streets provide access to major activity areas and to secondary streets. They carry the highest volume of traffic and are therefore, the most visually prominent. Streetscape could include landscaping, lighting, gateway treatments, and signage selected from adopted city design guidelines.
Secondary streetscape areas are designated along both sides of minor arterial roadways within the planning area. Secondary streets provide access to facilities and connection between primary and tertiary streets. They carry a moderate volume of traffic and are relatively visually prominent streetscape corridors.
Tertiary streets accommodate local traffic and provide direct connection to adjacent uses. They carry a relatively low volume of traffic and are therefore less visually prominent streetscape corridors.

Residential Streetscapes

Streetscape design plays a key role in defining the neighborhood community image. It compliments the identity of the particular neighborhood or village. The residential streetscape relates to the street itself, and consists of landscaped tree lawns between curbs and sidewalks, the adjacent sidewalks, front yard spaces, and the building facades. In addition to accommodating transportation needs, the streetscape provides a public and semi-public space for street trees, street furniture, and view corridors. There are many aspects of overall neighborhood design that also contribute to a traditional streetscape, including the design of buildings and parking, as well as the connected network of streets, alleys, and sidewalks. These are all planned together to create a pleasant, as well as a safe and efficient experience for residents, pedestrians, bicycles, transit, and motorized vehicles.

Commercial Streetscapes

The commercial streetscape is the most intrinsic streetscape identity and can establish a strong sense of identity and character for a particular village or the city in general. The commercial streetscape treatments may be extended as transitional zones between the centers (regional, village, or city centers) and the residential neighborhoods.

Public/Civic Spaces

Public/Civic spaces are an extension of the community. When they work well, they serve as a stage for our public lives. If they function in their true civic role, they can be the settings where celebrations are held, where both social and economic exchanges take place, and where cultures mix. Some of the public/civic spaces include plazas, squares, and public parks. Proper design and economic initiatives in key corridors and activity nodes (explained below) can build a strong sense of community for residents and workers by creating social gathering spaces, offering a wide-range of uses, and activities. They are vibrant and well-used during all seasons, and serve a variety of people of all ages, races and economic levels.

Land Use

Through urban design policies, land use can be regulated to achieve a vision for the city that is sustainable and is comprised of distinctive and vibrant village centers and corridors that incorporate more compact mixed use development, an effective public transit system, and attractive pedestrian-friendly streets. The goal is to promote development that utilizes the city’s natural setting as the key to enhancing Surprise’s position as an attractive place to live and work and a unique destination to visit.

Corridors

Urban Design has the potential to transform auto oriented commercial corridors to mixed-use, pedestrian-oriented environments. Within this, policies will promote corridors (refer Map 2.6A) as village and neighborhood connectors that will generate mixed-use development and residential uses, defined by pedestrian oriented streetscapes. Development along corridors will be compatible with adjacent village neighborhoods through the siting of buildings, transitions in scale, functional compatibility, land use mix, density, physical form, and character. These corridors will support surrounding neighborhoods and contribute to a more compact and consistent pattern of development.

Identifying Design Corridors

Design corridors preserve the aesthetic integrity of an area by imposing criteria for the appearance and design of buildings within the corridor. These corridors include activity nodes, gateways, and scenic corridors that provide a sense of visual stimulation to the Surprise planning area.

Activity Nodes

Activity Nodes include high intensity employment, commercial, and mixed-use areas within the Surprise Planning Area. They are the focus of non-residential activity that supports surrounding neighborhoods and city-wide economic growth objectives.

Gateways

The presence of city identity/signage enhances external perceptions and announces to city visitors and residents that they have entered Surprise. Gateway treatments can include signage, landscaping, and public art that portrays a sense of visual guidance.

Scenic corridors

Scenic corridors are generally described as “the view from the road” and can best be defined as the visible land area outside a road right-of-way. Scenic corridors (Map 2.6B) are design resources which when protected, preserve scenic views by requiring land uses to complement rather than detract from scenic experience.

Centers

Through Urban Design, centers (regional, village, city, and civic centers) with uniquely identifiable characteristics can be created that are defined by their functional role, mix of uses, density/intensity, physical form, and character. Pedestrian-oriented activities are encouraged with plazas, cafes, bookstores, and restaurants that draw a variety of people and offer a welcome setting. Urban Design policies will ensure that their development is consistent with adjacent neighborhoods through the siting of buildings, architectural styles, transitions in scale, and land use mix.

Neighborhoods

Urban Design tools provide for the protection, maintenance, and enhancement of city’s residential neighborhoods, assuring that new development complements and reinforces their unique characteristics through sensitive infill and transitions in scale from adjacent centers and corridors. The plan calls for residential neighborhoods to contain a diversity of housing types, styles, and completeness that incorporate supporting and complementary uses such as neighborhood-serving commercial, schools, parks, community meeting facilities, and comparable uses.