river north art district - denver · in river north art district, 2014. (jason kaczorowski, via...

38th & Blake Design Overlay District 1

Artist Justin Lovato completes a mural in River North Art District, 2014. (Jason Kaczorowski, via google)

River Nor th Ar t Distric tProposed Design Overlay Zone District

December 26, 2017

Part of what makes the River North Art District so special is the sense of place created by its unique mix of 19th-century factories and warehouses, ultra-modern apartments and gritty industrial sites. As the area continues its evolution to a vibrant mix of arts, entertainment, employment and living options, recent public planning efforts have elicited a community desire for design rules that preserve and enhance the area's pedestrian realm, reduce the impact of automobiles and encourage creative, human scale, building design. The 38th & Blake Station Area Height Amendments, adopted by City Council in late 2016, recommend enhanced design quality in the area, espe-cially in association with higher-intensity development near the commuter rail station.

To implement these recommendations, City Council President Albus Brooks has collaborated with the Community Planning and Development Depart-ment and community stakeholders to propose a Design Overlay Zone Dis-trict.

The proposed Design Overlay Zone District addresses:

• Build-to and setback requirements

• Structured parking design

• Mass reduction for larger buildings

• Street level height, transparency and active use

• Pedestrian access for street level dwelling units

This document provides an overview of the proposed River North Design Overlay Zone District.

Overlay Implementation

The River North Design Overlay will be proposed for implementation through legislative Denver Zoning Code text and map amend-ments. Except in special circumstances, map amend-ment applications will not be required to rezone individual properties for use of the over-lay.

The Denver City Council must adopt all zoning code text and map amendments in a public hearing.

38th & Blake Design Overlay District2

ApplicabilityThe proposed River North Design Overlay would apply to properties within Denver Zoning Code Mixed Use (MX) zone district designations as illustrated on the map above (which also illustrates proposed applicability of the related 38th and Blake Station Area Incentive Overlay that is proposed to allow additional building height for development that provides certain community benefits, such as affordable housing. More information about the Incentive Overlay is available on the project web page at www.denvergov.org/38blake.

The Design Overlay would not apply to properties in the I-A or I-B industrial zone districts, former Chapter 59 Zone Districts, Open Space Context (OS-) districts and Planned Unit Development (PUD) districts (except where the PUD specifically indicates that the Overlay Zone District applies).

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Proposed Overlay Districtsfor River North and the

38th and Blake Station Area

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Miles November 20, 2017

Areas proposed for initial Overlay application (parcelswith existing or proposed MX zoning)

Area where only Design Overlay is intended to apply

Area where both Incentive Overlay and DesignOverlay are intended to apply

http://www.denvergov.org/38blake


Proposed RequirementsRiNo's future success depends on a vibrant social scene along its streets that encourages residents and visitors to walk or bike between activities. Proposed River North Design Overlay standards include:

Street Level Height

Upper Surface of Floor

Upper Surface of Floor

Depth

Required "build-to" standards for all building types. This Overlay would require at least 70% of a structure be built near the sidewalk edge.

Reduced parking impact. The presence of automobiles -- whether parked or circulating parking lots -- can discour-age walking. This overlay proposes several regulations that would reduce their impact, including:

• No minimum parking requirements within 1/2 mile of the A Line commuter rail station.

• A requirement that no surface parking serving a devel-opment be located between the building and adjoining streets.

• Special surface parking lot landscaping standards, in-cluding perimeter planting strips and low "garden" walls.

• A limitation on visible structured parking above street level. Any structured parking would have to be screened or "wrapped" with shops or other primary uses besides parking along at least 70 percent of each street frontage.

Flexible, pedestrian-scaled building fronts. A requirement that the street level, regardless of use, incorporate typical commercial shopfront dimensions to allow conversion from residential to more active uses.

Street Level Non-Residential Active Uses. Inactive uses like private residences, storage facilities, warehouses and out-door storage discourage an active urban environment. This Overlay District proposes to require active uses like shops, restaurants or offices along the sidewalk for large develop-ments.

Pedestrian Access for Residential Units. The Overlay would require that any residential unit located at the street level have a pedestrian entrance to the sidewalk with an entry fea-ture to create a sense of openness to the street and encour-age community.

Low wall and landscaping buffer between surface parking and pedestrian realm in RiNo Arts District (image source: Architect Magazine).

Special regulations for street level floor height would result in flexible spaces that could be adapted to more active, commercial uses in the future (image source: proposed River North Design Overlay).

Active ground-floor uses attract people and encourage walking from place-to-place (image source: Visit Denver).

38th & Blake Design Overlay District4

Incremental Mass Reduction. The overlay would require taller buildings to incorporate massing reductions to preserve daylight access and promote creative design. Mass reduction requirements would apply only to large or wide lots (greater than about 1/3 of block frontage). It would set maximum floor areas within specific ranges of building stories to reduce building mass as building height increases. Required mass reductions would vary from 10% for building stories 2-5 to 30% for the portion of a building above 12 stories (where allowed). The illustrations below provide an example of combined Incremental Mass Reductions on a 16-story Structure.

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Image: Kutnicki Bernstein Architects

Images: Architecture Magazine

GROSS FLOOR AREA

COMBINED INCREMENTAL MASS REDUCTION

Not to Scale. Illustrative Only.

STORIES 3 - 5 IncrementalMass Reduction



STORIES 13 - 16IncrementalMass Reduction

STORIES 6 - 8 Gross Floor Area



STORIES 3 - 5Gross Floor Area

PRIMARY STREETSIDE STREET

ALLEY

These images show possible approaches consistent with use of the proposed floor area mass reduction requirements.

PRIMARY STREETSIDE STREET

ALLEY








STORIES 3 - 5Gross Floor Area

Gross Floor AreaIncremental Mass Reduction


Definitions Used in this DocumentDesign Overlay District: An area designated on the Official Zoning Map to establish special urban design standards for newly developing or redeveloping areas that implement recommendations set forth in adopted plans.

Incentive Height Overlay District: An area designated on the Official Zoning Map where building heights are permitted to exceed maximums established by underlying zoning, in return for affordable housing or other community benefits. The Design Overlay District described in this document will be considered in tandem with an Incentive Height Overlay District that would impact some of the same area.

Incremental Mass Reduction: a set of design requirements that aim to reduce the visual impact of large build-ings by requiring increasingly greater reductions in building mass as a building gets taller.

Build-To Standard: An alignment at the primary street or side street setback line of a zone lot, or within a range of setback from the zone lot line abutting the street, along which a street-facing, primary building wall must be built.

For More Information, Visit the Project Website:www.denvergov.org/38blake

Image: Armando Martinez, via Flickr

http://www.denvergov.org/38blake

river north art district - denver · in river north art district, 2014. (jason kaczorowski, via...

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