3-8 Downtown Design Guidelines (Ordinance 228, April 13, 2005

                                    Ordinance 251, November 14, 2007)

 

3-8-1      Introduction.

 

The Ignacio Central Business District on Goddard Avenue/ Highway 172 is the commercial core of the town. It harbors a vibrant mix of activities that serve local residents and also appeals to an increasing visitor population.

 

The district is pedestrian-friendly with sidewalks from one end of the district to the other. There is ample on street and alley access parking which supports commercial activity. The Southwest heritage is the central theme of the buildings.

 

3-8-2      Purpose.

     

The intent of this code is to preserve business and property values by standards that promote a harmonious outward appearance in the downtown business district.

 

The ordinance is to provide a reliable framework for investment that will encourage owners to improve their properties in a manner that contributes to the character and function of the district while also meeting individual needs.

 

3-8-3.      Applicability.

           

This ordinance applies to the central business district on Goddard Avenue, from the north town limits to the south town limits, of Ignacio, Colorado. All new construction that becomes a business, conversions to business use of existing residences within this district, and remodels shall comply with this ordinance.

 

This ordinance does not apply to existing residences used exclusively as residences, nor to rentals used exclusively as residences.

 

Four or more rentals under the same owner constitute a business, therefore this ordinance applies to any conversions or remodels. Residences used for a business, such as day care, must comply. Residences used for living only, need not comply. 

 

This ordinance applies to maintenance on pre-existing, non-conforming buildings and vacant lots.

 

3-8-4.    Nonconforming Buildings and Structures

 

      Any building or structure in the business zoned district not meeting the standards set forth in this ordinance shall be considered nonconforming. Proposed additions or alterations should serve to bring the existing structure into or towards compliance with this ordinance.

 

3-8-5      Authorities and Process

 

The Town Staff provides Downtown Design Guidelines to an applicant and receives all applications. Staff will refer the application to the Downtown Design Review Committee (DDRC). 

 

Applications shall include the following:

1.      Name, Address, Phone number, Location proposed to be built

2.      Contractor, if known with address and phone number

3.   Drawings that illustrate the proposed construction.

 

To become a DDRC member an application is completed, taken to the Planning Commissioners at their next regular meeting and a recommendation to accept or reject sent onto the Town Board at their next regularly scheduled meeting. The Town Board appoints all members of the DDRC. The committee will be made up of two downtown business owners (one of whom will rotate every 6 months) and one public citizen who is not necessarily a town citizen plus, two alternates from any category. The DDRC meets on the 3^rd Monday of the month, when required.

 

The DDRC looks at the application and either approves completely or makes recommendations to the applicant for close compliance with the code. The application with DDRC recommendations is passed to the Planning Commission at their next regular meeting.

 

The Planning Commissioners review all applications and if the DDRC and Commissioners agree on acceptance and/or recommendations the application goes to the Town Board for final approval at their next regularly scheduled meeting.. The PC shall state by motion acceptance, denial or conditional approval naming the sections of this ordinance with which the application does not comply.

 

If the Commissioners do not agree with the Downtown Design Review Committees recommendation, both committees meet and discuss a compromise before passing recommendations on to the Town Board for final approval.

The Town Board must give final approval on all applications before Application for Construction can occur. If conditional approval is given, the list of conditions shall be attached to the application and included with the building permit.

 

3-8-6. Applications for Construction

           

Approved applications pass on to the Planning Staff, along with any conditions that were determined. Approval lasts one (1) year from the date of final approval by the Town Board. On written request, the Planning Staff can authorize a one-year extension. No building permit shall be issued after an approval has expired.

 

      If an application is denied, the applicant may again begin the review process with the DDRC at any time, once changes to the application have been made that resolve the reasons for an earlier denial.

 

No building permit for work within the district shall be issued without approval of the final design by the Town Board, approval of construction plans by the Building Inspector and validation that Permitting requirements have been met.

     

3-8-7. Criteria for Approval.

 

Applications for development within the downtown business district may be approved only if the proposed development complies with the standards within this ordinance or receives exceptions under 3-8-21.

 

3-8-8. Style Characteristics

 

            Inspiration is taken from dwellings of the Southwest.

 

(1)        Building Details

 

(a) Window and door space combined shall not exceed forty (40) percent of any publicly viewable elevation, except for doors and windows located beneath a porch.

 

(b) Doors on publicly visible elevations of buildings and structures are recommended to have divided lights not exceeding thirty (30) inches in any dimension. Snap-in or applied mullions are permitted. 

 

(c)              All external doors shall follow Americans with Disability requirements.

 

(d)            Doors shall not overhang the sidewalk when opened.

 

            (2)      Name: Territorial Southwest

                       

(a)      Characteristics:

 

1.            Appearance of stucco, earth plaster or adobe outside walls.

2.            SQUARE parapets.

3.            Framed windows, Victorian style.

4.            Brick or decorative coping or parapet trim.

5.            Square beam supports, instead of round.

 

 

 

 

 

(3)      Name: Pueblo

 

5.            Primary elevations shall be flat, varied by inset portals, projecting

portals, projecting vigas or rafter tails, canales or waterspouts, flaking buttresses and wooden lintels, and/or architraves and cornices.

6.            Vertical posts are round.

7.            Carved ornamentation.

8.            Flat or slightly pitched roofs are concealed by parapets.

9.            Inspiration is taken from the Native American.

 

(4)      Name: Southwest Norteano

 

1.            Appearance of stucco or plaster on outside walls.

2.            Pitched or shed roofs, gabled or hipped provided that at least fifty   

3.            Dormers

4.            Porches

5.            Metal, wood, tile, asphalt shingled roofs

6.            Both exposed and hidden window frames with panes

 

 

 

3-8-9      Facade Appearance

 

Facades on the four sides of a building shall be indistinguishable from the following materials or suitable facsimile:

 

            (1)      Stucco

 

            (2)      Dry-stack sandstone

 

            (3)      Fieldstone with traditional grouting

 

(4)       River rock with traditional grouting

 

            (5)             Cultured Stone is acceptable

 

An appearance of aluminum, vinyl siding, metal panels, mirrored glass, and exposed concrete block or concrete are prohibited as exterior facade appearance.

 

3-8-10.      Building Scale and Mass

     

A human scale shall be achieved near ground level on large buildings and along street facades and entryways through the use of such scale elements as windows, doors, columns, and beams. “Human scale” means the entrances, windows, doors, columns, and beams are in proportion to and not significantly larger than the people using the building. For example, a ten-foot high entrance cover is in proportion to a person using it. A thirty (30) foot high colonnade is not.

 

Buildings that extend greater than fifty (50) feet along the street-side(s) shall utilize appropriate techniques to break the plane of the building line. For example, these techniques may include, but are not limited to, windows, doorways, staggered walls and embedded pillars.

 

3-8-11. Setbacks

 

To maintain an optically pleasing streetscape and to limit avoidance of dark or vacant spaces where people do not feel comfortable walking, all construction shall meet the property line at the street-side(s). For example, the building should align with the sidewalk in most cases, if not, a fence or wall should be constructed at the street side.

 

3-8-12.      Walls, Fences and Landscaping

     

Walls shall be predominantly constructed of the same materials and in the same style as the building. Styles may be approved if they are complementary to the building’s style. Chain link and wire fencing is not acceptable for street facing fences.

 

The height of the wall or fence shall not obscure the building facade on street-side(s). Generally, this would be considered as no higher than five (5) feet as measured from the bottom visible portion. All fences must follow town code with intersections requiring special considerations.

 

The appearance of the wall shall change every fifty (50) feet by six to eight inches (6-8”) to avoid an uninteresting plane. Landscaping on top of, or over a wall is encouraged.

 

Landscaping may be used as an alternative to a wall where a barrier or mitigation is required. The owner of the property who puts in landscaping is responsible to maintain it in a manner that conforms to the purpose for which it was approved (as an example: as a barrier, a hedge might be used, but must not grow taller than 6 ft, the highest fence allowed by town code.)

 

3-8-13.      Screening of Equipment and Appurtenances

           

Equipment and appurtenances should be architecturally integrated into the structure, color and design of the building. Equipment includes but is not limited to: Mechanical, electrical, telephone, satellite dish, solar and other energy-collecting equipment, chimneys, flues, vents, and skylights. Glare from any equipment must not cause a safety hazard to drivers passing by the building.

 

3-8-14. Murals

     

Murals are governed by Ignacio’s sign code.

 

3-8-15. Signs

 

Signs are governed by Ignacio’s sign code.

 

3-8-16. Exterior Lighting

         

All exterior lighting shall comply with dark skies design ideals in that lighting shall be designed to point downward. No lighting nuisance will be allowed. Lighting is not permitted to spill outside property lines.

 

3-8-17. Exterior Building Colors

     

Exterior building colors shall be limited to a palette of southwest colors available from the town hall or approved by the Review Committee. Earth tones in a non-glossy finish, and of relatively smooth texture are acceptable, but white and dark chocolate brown colors do not meet this definition and are therefore excluded. Building trim may be of complementary accent colors and glossy.

 

3-8-18. Parking

     

Parking lots are not permitted in the front of any building. The Town Board may grant exception to this requirement for existing, non-conforming buildings if the remainder of the requirements of this ordinance is being met. In these cases, walls or fences meeting this ordinance shall be constructed.

 

New buildings are to include sufficient parking in the rear, side, or within to meet employee and customer needs. In the case of parking being provided on the sides of buildings, walls or fencing meeting this ordinance shall be constructed except for the width of the driveway.

 

 

 

 

 

3-8-19.      Minimum Maintenance Requirements

 

All properties shall be preserved against decay and deterioration and kept free from structural defects by the property owner or other persons who may have legal custody and control of the property.

 

3-8-20.            Exceptions

           

An exception is a waiver to this ordinance. It requires a Board of Adjustment variance decision. An exception to current code must meet the following requirements:

 

(1)       The exception will not damage the character of the district as outlined within these   

          regulations, including their intent, which is to: PRESERVE PROPERTY AND

          BUSINESS VALUES THROUGH HARMONIOUS OUTWARD

          APPEARANCE.

 

(2)       The exception will strengthen the unique character of the town by providing a full

           range of design options that are appropriate to the downtown business zoned

           district and fulfill the land use goals.

 

(3)       The exception is unique to special conditions and circumstances that are peculiar to

           the land or property involved and are not motivated by economic considerations.

 

The applicant must submit their reasons for an exception in writing. The staff will consider and write a pro and con statement for the exception. The Board of Adjustment variance process will be followed.

 

Words and Terms Defined.

 

Addition: Any expansion to an existing property that increases the height, floor area, 

or roofed area (including porches, portals, and ramadas).

 

Alley: Rear access lane paralleling Goddard Avenue.

 

Adobe: Dried block or coursing of dirt, clay, cement-modified earth, or other natural  

materials.

 

Alteration: Any change to a building, structure, site, object, or cultural landscape that

modifies its features. Such changes include the removal of parts or features and  

reconstruction. Additions are considered to be alterations.

 

Business location: This is the physical location where a business license is posted.

 

Canales: Drain spouts, often decorative, protruding through the roof parapet.

 

Cantilever: A projecting beam or structure supported at only one end.

 

Corbel: A carved, decorative piece of wood that tops a post and helps support a beam.

 

Coyote Fence: Branches wired together vertically to create a fence with a rustic appearance.

 

    Design Development Drawings:             Submittals drawn to scale that fully delineate the

    architectural characteristics of a site, building, or structure, but are not detailed enough to be

    considered working or construction drawings.

 

    Earth Color: Colors found in the earth in the Ignacio area. White or dark chocolate

    brown colors do not meet this definition and are therefore excluded.

 

    Elevation: The external faces of a building or structure often represented in drawings or

    photographs.

 

    Facade: The characteristics of a building’s face or structure that are delineated within its  

    elevation.

 

Lintel: a horizontal architectural member supporting the weight above an opening, as a window or a door.

 

    Mass: The physical size and bulk of a structure.

 

    Mural: A painting or other form of artwork applied directly to a wall’s surface.

 

    Mullion: A vertical member, as of stone or wood, dividing a window or other opening

 

    Muntin: A strip separating panes of glass in a sash.

 

Southwest Norteano Style: A building with a pitched roof, often having long portals and larger windows.

 

    Parapet: A low wall extending above the roofline in pueblo style architecture.

 

Porch: A roofed space outside the main walls of a building at street or first floor level, which has a depth of four feet or to the street (whichever is less) from the outside face.

 

    Publicly Visible: A site, building, structure, object, or any part thereof, that is visible from a 

    public street or other area to which the public has legal access.

 

    Pueblo Style: Stucco walls with rounded parapets, usually with roofs and vigas extending   

    through the exterior.

 

    Rental Business: Four or more structures under the same ownership.

 

    Residence: A structure legally occupied only for living.

 

Southwest Palette of colors includes: Other colors by application to the Design Review committee.

 

Spanish Revival Style: Cupolas, turrets, rounded arcades, twisted columns, red clay barrel tile roofs, iron railings, curved balconies, small obelisks and finials, and colorful tile work.

 

Structure: A fixed, functional construction made for purposes other than providing shelter. Examples include, but are not limited to walls, fences, bridges, towers, dams, roadways, railroads, fortifications, mounds, earthworks, pools, gazebos, and bandstands.

 

Territorial Southwest Style: Stucco walls with square parapets, brick coping around the top, and Victorian-style window moldings. The portal usually has square beam supports rather than viga supports.

 

Vigas: Logs used for ceiling support or appearing as ceiling support. A rafter or roofbeam, especially a trimmed and peeled tree trunk whose end projects from an outside adobe wall.