§ 7.4. Development standards additional requirements.

7.4-1  Single-family residential (R-15).

a.

Development in district R-15 and R-10 shall be served with public or private central sewerage.

7.4-1.1

Single-family residential (RD-3).

a.

Intent: The RD-3 district shall be designed around the public realm. The area between the front of house on one side of a street and the front of the house on the other side of the street comprise a public space, or the public realm. This area is differentiated from the private space located in the backyards of the homes. Generally, homeowners concern themselves with the "street presence" of their home. Yards are neatly trimmed, landscaping is installed, and decorations adorn the front face of the house so as to be seen by the neighbors. The public realm is the area in a neighborhood where residents engage one another. The design of the public realm is focused on the experience of the pedestrian so the presence of automobiles should be minimized to enhance the community's enjoyment of the public streetscape.

b.

Infrastructure: Development in RD-3 district shall be served with public water and public or private central sewage.

c.

Documentation:

1.

Zoning —A proposed site plan must be submitted to planning and zoning for review and comment prior to RD-3 rezoning request. Typical lot layouts with building footprints and elevations/renderings of the proposed housing product are also required. More information about specific requirements when requesting RD-3 zoning can be found in Article 18 of the Zoning Ordinance.

2.

Development plan —If property is already zoned RD-3, a preliminary technical review meeting is required with development review staff. At this time, actual lot layouts with building footprints, elevations/renderings and design palette of the final housing product are required for review and comment by staff.

3.

Building permit —A house location plan must be approved by Cherokee County prior to the issuance of a building permit for a RD-3 lot.

d.

Overall site constraints:

1.

The minimum lot size of 7,500 square feet creates the opportunity for open space to be included in the design of the development. A minimum of 30 percent of the property must be set aside as open space. Yield of no more than three units per acre.

2.

The street network shall be designed and constructed as a series of interconnecting roads. The use of cul-de-sacs is strongly discouraged and only allowed if approved as a necessity by the county engineer. Instead the use of loop lanes and crescents are encouraged as alternatives to the traditional cul-de-sac design.

3.

There shall be an exterior building setback of 50 feet on the perimeter of the property being developed as an RD-3 development. Should the development abut an existing RD-3 development, the exterior building setback would be reduced to 25 feet if the two properties are not being developed as a single master planned development.

4.

On street parking shall be provided for guests at the rate of 0.25 spaces per home.

5.

At minimum, 30 percent of the lots are required to be served by alley access.

e.

Required open space:

1.

Open space consists of a combination of civic spaces and natural areas. Typical civic spaces include amenities, greens, commons, pocket parks and courts. No more than 50 percent of the total open space requirement can be met with civic spaces. The majority of open space is not allowed to be placed behind a small number of private lots. Stormwater detention ponds may not be used to meet open space requirements.

2.

Civic space shall be configured and distributed in such areas as to provide a central location for the majority of residents within the subdivision. Civic space is required to be accessible by internal street network with at least 40 percent of the perimeter of a civic space fronting on a street. Crosswalks are required to be installed where necessary to provide safe passage to civic spaces. Civic spaces are encouraged to provide a benefit to the residents (examples include: picnic area, playground, multi-purpose sports field, walking trail, community garden), where appropriate. A detailed landscape plan is required to be provided for each civic space.

3.

Natural areas should be configured to conserve and integrate the environmentally sensitive lands as a significant feature of the neighborhood design. Typical Natural areas include wetlands, floodplains, steep slopes, and wildlife habitat. The entirety of the natural areas should not consist of undisturbed buffers. The surrounding landscape should be considered in the design, and where possible the view into the property should be preserved. Access to each natural area shall be provided by road frontage or an access easement recorded on the final plat.

f.

Streetscape design:

1.

The minimum street section shall consist of the following elements in order (see Figure 7.4-1):

• Five-foot sidewalk *;b3; • Five to six-foot planting strip for trees and street lights

• Two-foot curb and gutter

• Two ten-foot travel lanes

• Two-foot curb and gutter

• Five to six-foot planting strip for trees and lights

• Five-foot sidewalk

2.

The minimum alley section shall consist of the following elements in order (see Figure 7.4-2:

• Utility easement

• Drainage swale or curb and gutter

• One nine-foot travel lane for one-way traffic or two nine-foot travel lanes for two-way traffic

• Drainage swale or curb and gutter

• Utility easement

3.

On-street parking may be provided with a dedicated lane of a minimum seven-foot width or as a bay of angled parking.

4.

Street trees are required to be located along the roads internal to the residential development. Trees should be planted within the planting strip and placed every 30 to 45 feet. Trees should be placed to provide adequate sight distance at driveways and intersections.

5.

Lighting along the street should be installed at a pedestrian height (15 feet max.) instead of at a height for automobiles, unless expressly required by the county engineer.

6.

Planning staff has the authority to modify required streetscape elements based on specific site conditions.

g.

Home siting and design:

1.

Homes shall be located between 15 feet minimum and 30 feet maximum from the property line on the front, five feet minimum on the side and ten feet minimum on the rear, unless perimeter setback applies. Corner lots in this zoning district shall have only one front yard with front setbacks parallel to the street upon which the lot has its least dimension.

2.

The home entryway for each home shall have three components:

• A walkway directly from the sidewalk to the front door.

• A semi-private outdoor space (i.e., porch, patio, garden, etc.) intended for interaction with the public realm with a minimum depth of eight feet and a minimum width of 12 feet.

• Front door, which may not be recessed from the front plane of the home.

3.

Porches are strongly encouraged. A minimum of 50 percent of the homes are required to have covered front porches. Porches are permitted to encroach into the front setback area.

4.

Garages shall be set back a distance of 20 feet from the front face of the primary residence, to avoid front elevations dominated by garages that are located closer to the front property line than the front of the primary structure. The "front face" of the primary residence is defined as the plane consisting of the majority of the front elevation of the structure. Modifications to the 20-foot requirement may be approved as follows:

a.

Front facade with a covered porch - 20-foot setback may be measured from the front edge of the porch.

b.

Front facade with architectural treatment of garage - garage setback may be reduced by up to ten feet with the following architectural treatments for the garage doors:

i.

Carriage-style doors

ii.

Doors are painted to match the predominate color of the home.

c.

Side entry - Garages may not be located within 20 feet of the front plane of the home.

d.

Rear entry - no requirements.

5.

Detached garages may be erected, but must meet all applicable yard setback requirements. Detached garages must be located a minimum of 20 feet behind the front plane of the home.

6.

There shall be a consistent design palette of building design elements details, exterior materials and colors for each RD-3 development to provide a cohesive look and feel throughout the neighborhood.

a.

Design palette: The design palette shall consist of three or more of the following items:

- Detailed or rendered elevations of with facade materials labeled

- Photos of proposed residential product with same floor plan

- Drawings of typical architectural details for cornices/soffits, windows, doors, porches, overhangs, etc.

- Paint samples of primary and accent colors

- Detailed list of exterior materials and proposed finishes

b.

Exterior finish materials: The materials used on the exterior of the structures should reflect traditional residential materials, such as wood, brick, stone, stucco and cementitious siding (such as "Hardi-Plank"TM). The use of vinyl and aluminum siding is expressly prohibited.

c.

The design of the facades shall vary such that adjacent homes will not be the same.

7.4-2  Zero-lot line residential (RZL).

a.

Prior to development, a conceptual site plan is required to show the locations of all buildings, uses, fences, property lines, landscaping, open spaces, parking areas, and uses and any other features deemed appropriate by the county commission. Site plan shall be prepared in accordance to requirements as indicated in section 7.5.

b.

A development with rear garages can reduce the front yard to 25 feet for a yard which faces an interior street provided that the combined front and rear yard set back shall total a minimum of 60 feet.

c.

Zero-lot-line dwellings shall be constructed against the lot line on one side of a lot, and no windows, doors, or other openings shall be permitted on this side.

d.

There shall be a minimum side yard of ten feet on one side and no minimum requirement on the opposite side.

e.

Cluster open space shall not include areas devoted to public or private vehicular streets or other public uses subject to the provisions in article 7.

f.

Development shall be served with central sewerage facilities.

7.4-3  Single-family attached residential (RA).

a.

All developments shall be served with a central sewerage system.

7.4-4  Townhouse residential (RTH).

a.

Prior to development a conceptual site plan is required to show the locations of all buildings, uses, fences, property lines, landscaping, open spaces, parking areas, and uses and any other features deemed appropriate by the board of county commissioners. The site plan shall be prepared in accordance to requirements as indicated in section 7.5.

b.

A development with rear garages can reduce the fronts yard to 25 feet for a yard which faces an interior street provided that the combined front and rear yard set back shall total a minimum of 50 feet.

c.

A minimum of two off-street parking spaces per unit shall be provided.

d.

A maximum of eight dwelling units shall be allowed in each row of townhouses. When there is no street being placed between two rows of townhouses, an open space or court of at least 20 feet in width shall be provided between the two rows of townhouses.

e.

Cluster open space shall not include areas devoted to public or private vehicular streets or other public uses subject to the provisions in article 7.

f.

Development shall be served with central sewerage facilities.

7.4-5  Multifamily residential (RM-10, RM-16).

a.

Prior to development, a conceptual site plan is required to show the locations of all buildings, uses, fences, property lines, landscaping, open spaces, parking areas, and uses and any other features deemed appropriate by the county commissioners. Site plan shall be prepared in accordance to requirements indicated in section 7.5.

b.

Development shall be served with central sewerage facilities.

c.

Townhomes are allowed in the RM-10 and RM-16 zoning classification. Where townhomes are chosen the density and all design criteria will be consistent with the RTH zoning classification.

7.4-6  Office/institutional (OI).

a.

Distributive functions such as loading, unloading, storage, packaging, and unpackaging shall be limited to ten percent of the total building area and five percent of the total lot area.

7.4-7 Corporate park (CP).

a.

No more than 20 percent acreage of the development may be used for freestanding retail uses. The entire site area, including building footprints, associated parking and landscaped areas, would count toward the acreage cap. Ground floor accessory retail uses with a multi-story office building are not considered freestanding retail uses.

b.

Distributive functions such as loading, unloading, storage, and packaging shall be limited to ten percent of the total building area and five percent of the total lot area.

7.4-8  Neighborhood commercial (NC).

a.

No outdoor storage is permitted.

7.4-9  General commercial (GC).

a.

Permitted uses of district GC shall be located on property along interstates, arterial, major or minor collector streets when they intersect with a major street or highway as classified by the Cherokee County Road Classification Map.

7.4-10  Light industrial (LI).

a.

Permitted use of district LI shall be on property which has access to interstates, arterial or major collector streets.

b.

Permitted uses are restricted to [whose] those which are not characterized by extensive open storage, or the nuisance factors such as smoke, dust, fumes, gas, heat, glare, fire hazards, noise, vibrations and other objectionable influences.

7.4-11  Heavy industrial (HI).

a.

Permitted uses of district HI shall be on property which has access to state or federal highway arterial or railroads.

b.

Permitted uses shall be separated from residential districts by natural barriers and buffer zones subject to the provisions of article 10, buffer.

(Ord. No. 2006-A-008, 5-16-06; Ord. No. 2009-Z-003, 10-6-09; Ord. No. 2011-Z-001, 3-1-11)