20.28.050 Building standards – Height, façades, articulation, setbacks.
A. Additional Height. For projects that do not require a development agreement pursuant to CMC 20.28.040, building height standards in Table 20.28-2, when indicated by a plus (+) symbol, provide for additional stories to be permitted with the provision of community benefit and with city council approval. Such benefits may include, but are not limited to:
1. Incorporation of affordable, workforce, or low income housing.
2. Incorporation of public or community facilities.
3. Innovative use of shared parking and transportation demand management measures.
4. Efficient and innovative use of infrastructure and renewable resources.
5. Public art.
B. Building Orientation and Entrances. Street-facing primary entrances for nonresidential uses shall be unlocked and accessible to the public during business hours. Residential and nonresidential entries shall be clearly defined features of front façades, and of a scale that is in proportion to the size of the building and number of units being accessed. Larger buildings shall have a more prominent building entrance, while maintaining a pedestrian scale.
C. Building Transparency/Windows and Openings Facing Streets. Placement and orientation of doorways, windows, and landscape elements shall create strong, direct relationships with the street. Street-facing façades of all buildings shall incorporate windows and openings providing light to adjacent spaces, rooms, and uses.
1. Commercial Ground-Floor Uses. Windows and openings facing streets shall constitute a minimum of 50 percent of street-facing building faces. Windows shall provide a clear and transparent view into ground-floor uses or shall display merchandise for view from the outside to reinforce a pedestrian scale.
2. Commercial Upper-Floor Uses. Windows and openings facing streets shall constitute a minimum of 40 percent of street-facing building faces.
3. Residential Ground-Floor Uses. Windows and openings facing streets shall constitute a minimum of 30 percent of street-facing building faces.
4. Residential Upper-Floor Uses. Windows and openings facing streets shall constitute a minimum of 20 percent of street-facing building faces.
D. Shared Property Lines with Residentially Zoned Lots.
1. Wherever a mixed-use zoned development shares a property line with a residentially zoned lot, a minimum 10-foot-wide side yard or rear yard shall be maintained.
2. Whenever a mixed-use zoned development shares a side or rear property line with a residentially zoned lot, a minimum six-foot-high solid masonry wall shall be provided along or adjacent to all such side and rear lot lines pursuant to CMC 20.20.030(A). The wall shall conform to the height regulations applicable to front yard areas of the residentially zoned lot having the common lot line. A landscape buffer shall also be provided along the shared lot lines.
E. Blank Walls. No street frontage wall may run in a continuous plane for more than 20 feet without an opening. Openings fulfilling this requirement shall have transparent glazing and provide views into work areas, display areas, sales areas, lobbies, or similar active spaces, or into window displays that are at least three feet deep. Exceptions are subject to approval as part of the development permit review procedures.
F. Corner Features. At important intersections, buildings shall incorporate prominent special features to reinforce the intersection. Corner entrances, bay windows, and towers are examples of elements that may be considered to emphasize corner locations.
G. Integration and Standards for Nonresidential Uses in Vertical or Multi-Story Mixed-Use Buildings.
1. Nonresidential uses shall be located on the ground floor along street frontages and shall have a minimum depth of 18 feet. Depth requirements for nonresidential uses located on a secondary street may be approved as part of the development permit review procedures.
2. On corner parcels, the nonresidential space shall turn (wrap around) the corner for a distance of at least 50 percent of the building façade, but not less than 30 feet along secondary/side streets. The termination of use shall occur at an architectural break in the building.
H. Outdoor Dining Encroachment. Chairs and tables for outdoor dining and carts for merchant display may be permitted in the public right-of-way (e.g., in sidewalk areas); provided, that the use maintains a minimum six-foot-wide unobstructed portion of sidewalk corridor adjacent to the building which is clear and unimpeded for pedestrian traffic, and the use keeps the full width of the building entrance clear and unimpeded for building access. Outdoor furniture, including but not limited to chairs, tables, umbrellas, heat lamps, windscreens, busing stations, partitions, and planters, shall not be permanently fixed into the public right-of-way (e.g., sidewalk areas) without prior approvals from the city of Cudahy, such as a revocable encroachment permit issued by the city engineer and/or the city council. (Ord. 690 § 4 (Exh. A), 2018).