Streetscapes: Streets should not only be designed to get people someplace but also be designed to be “someplace,” balancing the needs of multiple users of the public rights-of-way. The streetscape is the “destination” in a center.

! Use expanded landscape areas to transition from the on-street parking to the pedestrian zone. Amenities such as landscape beds, tree wells, benches or other street furniture should be regularly spaced in a 4 to 6 foot wide area, interspaced with an expanded pedestrian area.

! Expanded sidewalks, where significant areas for through pedestrian traffic remain, may create areas for street activities related to uses in the buildings, such as sidewalk sales, outside dining or seating areas, and kiosks.

! Street trees should be densely located to provide shade for pedestrians, yet achieve canopy heights and crown heights that maintain visibility of adjacent buildings and the street level uses.

! Frequent connections to adjacent Neighborhoods should provide multiple alternative routes between the Neighborhood and the Center. However the design of these connections should discourage through traffic which does not originate in the Neighborhood.

! Curb-cuts should be limited in width, frequency, and location. Vehicular access to sites should not occur on any primary street, but be located on secondary streets or alleys. Access points should be combined and shared within blocks. Curb-cuts should always be designed to emphasize the priority of pedestrian movements along the streetscape.

! Intersections should appropriately balance vehicle turning movements and pedestrian movements. Techniques to slow turning movements and decrease pedestrian crossing distances, such as bump-outs or curb-projections, smaller curb radii, and pedestrian refuge items should be incorporated into the streetscape.

Buildings:  Buildings should have a uniform setback with no visual obstructions for adjacent buildings.

!      All buildings shall have its primary façade and primary entrance oriented towards the street.

!      Metal siding shall not be allowed as the primary building material for building facades visible from the right-of-way

!      Street level facades should include significant proportions of transparent display windows. Generally, between 60% and 90% of all street-level facades between 2 and 10 feet above grade shall be transparent with views to the interior of the building. No window starting at a level of greater than 3.5 feet above the street level should be included in the calculation.

!      Upper level facades should include punched openings with transparent windows. Openings should occupy between 25% and 60% of the upper facades. Each story should meet this requirement independently.

! No more than 30 feet of horizontal blank wall space should be permitting along street level facades without a display window or building entrance.

!      Significant deviations from building alignments may occur along the street wall at limited locations along a block face. These deviations should be strategically located to emphasize and embellish important elements of the public realm – the streetscape design and include features such as public art and water fountains. Examples of significant deviations in the street wall are front entry courts for dining or building entrances, courtyards or plazas, or upper level patios.

!      All facades shall include architectural elements such as accent banding, base plates, cornices, soffits, sills, parapets, transoms, and windows aligned horizontally. The horizontal alignment should differentiate stories in a building and create a base and crown for the building. The base should be between 5% and 25% of the building height, and the crown should be between 5% and 15% of the building height.

!      Architectural diversity and creativity should be encouraged and rewarded to avoid dull or homogeneous buildings. Buildings should incorporate elements from the vernacular of buildings in Maize and Central Kansas.

Sites:     Sites  should  be  designed  to  emphasize  buildings  and  their  relationship  to  the streetscape, rather than individual lots along a block.

!      Primary access to most individual sites shall be pedestrian oriented, with vehicle access concentrated at shared entrances, provided internal to the blocks, or central parking facilities or on-street parking.

!      When located on the side or in front of buildings, parking areas shall be screened in accordance with landscape ordinance.

!      High-impact site elements, stormwater facilities, storage areas, or loading areas and shall be limited or located and designed to minimize impact on the streetscape design.

!      Exterior lighting and signs shall be provided and should coordinate with building architecture and landscape materials and in accordance with sign code.

!      Use screens and buffers only when a better site design that relates to adjacent sites, buildings, and uses is not possible.

Open Spaces:   Open spaces are valuable for their ability to enhance public life in Centers, providing patrons of businesses opportunities for gathering and social interaction.

!      Plazas or courtyards should be located at key focal points along the streetscape with high accessibility and visibility, and be consolidated within blocks.

!      Open spaces should be designed to provide a balance of “hardscape” for public gathering and “landscape” for ornamental purposes.

!      Open spaces should include elements of public art.

!      Any green space in the Center should be designed to serve multiple functions of stormwater mitigation, recreation, aesthetic amenities, or strategic screening. Undevelopable remnant green space is not valuable to Centers.

!      Incorporate sensitive natural areas or prominent topographic features into natural open space features.