Downtown Community Plan + Design Guidelines
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FREMONT DOWNTOWN COMMUNITY PLAN + DESIGN GUIDELINES Adopted September 18, 2012 - Last Amended September 18, 2018 Resolution No. 2018-59 Fremont Downtown Community Plan + Design Guidelines CITY OF FREMONT City Manager’s Office, City Attorney’s Office, Community Development, Community Services, Economic Development, Fire Department, Information Technology Services, and Public Works LOCAL JURISDICTION CONSULTANT TEAM CITY COUNCIL HELLMUTH, OBATA + KASSABAUM Mayor - Gus Morrison Project Management, Planning, Urban Design, Landscape Architecture and Architecture Vice Mayor - Anu Natarajan BKF ENGINEERS Suzanne Lee Chan Civil Engineering Dominic Dutra CHANDRA CERRITO / ART ADVISORS LLC Bill Harrison Public Art Consulting PLANNING COMMISSION GUZZARDO PARTNERSHIP, THE Chairperson - David Bonaccorsi Landscape Architecture Vice Chairperson - Lisa Quan NELSON\NYGAARD Dirk R. Lorenz Traffic and Transportation Planning Ed Pentaleri ROSS/LUTHIN CREATIVE Roman Reed Signage Design Raj Salwan Simon + Associates Inc. Yogi Chugh LEED Consultant ART REVIEW BOARD TMG PARTNERS Chairperson - Carol Lawton Development Consulting Vice Chairperson - Laurie Manuel S. Beth Booth Jacline Deridder Preston Metcalf This page intentionally left blank. FOREWORD For as many years as Fremont has existed, there has been a vision for the creation of a vibrant central “downtown” area that can unite the City and serve as a regional destination. Many factors have shaped Fremont’s downtown area over the past 55 years as it developed from farm land and rural homesteads into the 430+ acre ‘City Center’ we see today. As the City has adopted its General Plan 2035, it has become increasingly apparent that the original vision needs refinement to reflect the many changes that have occurred over the years as well as the many changes expected as the City continues to grow into the future. To this end, the “Downtown Community Plan and Design Guidelines” sets forth a vision for a new urban mixed-use 110-acre area within City Center. This vision achieves the ongoing goal of creating a sense of place within the City Center to attract residents, employers and visitors. This new plan also creates a high degree of flexibility within the land use scheme, in particular for the ground floor space, to allow buildings to adapt to a variety of uses over time and to respond to differing market conditions. A healthy, vibrant City Center and Downtown District is crucial to the economic health and civic pride of a community. In fact, there are several reasons why downtown districts are an important and worthwhile investment in the economic health and quality of life in a community. Downtown business districts are prominent employment centers. This type of job creation translates into a stronger tax base and economic activity. Downtown revitalization efforts often encourage rehabilitation of vacant or underutilized land and buildings, which increases property values and helps attract new businesses, including small businesses, to the community. A vital downtown area also reduces urban sprawl by concentrating residential and commercial uses in one area with a variety of transit options. The goal of revitalizing a downtown to create a vital commercial core as the center of the community may be achieved by implementing strategies which focus on traffic, transportation links and parking, architecture and visual appearance, pedestrian improvements, safety, locating businesses, and marketing. These factors combined can create a dynamic urban core that results in an exciting destination for residents, employees, and visitors. Fremont’s Downtown District is poised to become a vibrant urban mixed-use district within the City Center. The Community Plan and Design Guidelines that follow describe how this area will be transformed into an urban, pedestrian-friendly district embodying sustainability and transit- oriented development principles. The public realm within the district will consist of a newly configured and redesigned “complete” street grid that serves multiple modes of transportation, accommodates parking and, in some instances, also serves to treat stormwater. Distinctive retail opportunities, civic plazas, entertainment/cultural art venues, a robust art program, and consolidated City government offices will also serve to attract residents from the City and the region. Finally, the Plan creates flexibility in accommodating a variety of land uses to respond to market conditions over time. The City intends to reward new developments that adhere to Plan goals and guidelines with streamlined approval processes and, in earlier years, other incentives to make development both economically feasible but also highly desirable. Downtown offers the opportunity to partner with the City in the development of a vibrant and exciting new district within Fremont’s City Center! This page intentionally left blank. Fremont Downtown Community Plan + Design Guidelines Table of Contents FOREWORD 5 CHAPTER 1 1.0 PROJECT OVERVIEW 23 A Vision for Downtown 23 1.1 GOALS + OBJECTIVES 24 Downtown District Goals 24 1.2 EXISTING CONDITIONS 25 Project Area Context 25 Existing Conditions 26 Economic Development 26 Streets + Blocks 27 Transportation 27 Bicycle Circulation Network 27 Parking 27 Utilities 27 CHAPTER 2 2.0 DISTRICT FRAMEWORK 29 2.1 STREET + BLOCK FRAMEWORK 30 New Public Open Spaces 31 Improved Pedestrian Accessibility: 31 Improved Sustainable Elements: 31 Streetscapes 31 Land Use 31 Development Density 31 Civic Parks + Open Space 33 2.2 TRANSPORTATION + CIRCULATION SYSTEMS 34 Vehicular Access 34 Pedestrian Conditions 35 Existing Pedestrian Conditions 35 Proposed Pedestrian Conditions 36 Adopted September 18, 2012 - Last Amended September, 2018 Fremont Downtown Community Plan + Design Guidelines 7 Table of Contents (Continued) Public Transportation 38 Bicycle Circulation 40 2.3 PARKING PLAN 42 Base Parking Requirements 43 Operational Efficiencies 44 Parking Design 45 2.4 TRANSPORTATION DEMAND MANAGEMENT (TDM) STRATEGIES 46 Proposed TDM Programs 46 2.5 UTILITIES + INFRASTRUCTURE 48 Domestic Water System 48 Sanitary Sewer System 48 Storm Drain System 49 Stormwater Quality 50 Gas and Electric Services 50 Telecommunications 50 Abandonment of Existing Public Utility Easements 50 Excess Street Right-of-Way 50 CHAPTER 3 3.0 PUBLIC STREETSCAPE 51 3.1 STREET TYPOLOGIES 52 Downtown Spine 52 Edge Streets 53 Gateway Streets 53 East - West Streets 53 North - South Streets 53 3.2 STREETSCAPE CHARACTER 55 Unifying Concepts 55 Beacon Avenue 57 California Street 59 8 Fremont Downtown Community Plan + Design Guidelines Adopted September 18, 2012 - Last Amended September 18, 2018 Table of Contents (Continued) Capitol Avenue - East Segment 61 Capitol Avenue - Liberty St. to State St. 63 Capitol Avenue - West Segment 65 Fremont Boulevard 67 Hastings Street 69 Liberty Street - Beacon Avenue to Walnut Avenue 71 Liberty Street - Capitol Avenue to Beacon Avenue 73 New Middle Road 75 New North - South Streets 77 State Street - Mowry Avenue to Capitol Avenue 79 State Street - Capitol Avenue to Beacon Avenue 81 3.3 STREETSCAPE DESIGN ELEMENTS 82 Pedestrian Paving Materials 83 Street Lighting 84 Street Furnishings 85 Street and Median Trees 86 Benefits of Trees 88 3.4 STORMWATER SYSTEM 88 Stormwater Quantity Control 89 3.5 DOWNTOWN ART PROGRAM 90 Mission 90 Concept 90 Downtown Art Program: Participation and Funding Requirements 91 Art Program Guiding Principles 91 Primary Gateway Art 92 Secondary Gateway Art 92 Civic Park Art 93 Signature Civic Center Art 94 Temporary Civic Art 94 Art Walk 95 Private Art Features 96 Adopted September 18, 2012 - Last Amended September, 2018 Fremont Downtown Community Plan + Design Guidelines 9 Table of Contents (Continued) CHAPTER 4 4.0 PRIVATE DEVELOPMENT 97 4.1 SUSTAINABLE DESIGN 98 California Building Standards Code - Title 24 98 4.2 DEVELOPMENT CHARACTER 99 Residential Development Character 99 Commercial Development Character 100 4.3 DEVELOPMENT CONTROLS 101 General Controls 102 Easements 102 Capitol Avenue Zone 104 Edge Zone 106 Mid-District Zone 108 Civic Center Zone 110 4.4 ARCHITECTURAL DESIGN GUIDELINES 112 Development Character - Building Types 112 Mid-Block Connections 114 Building Facade Organization 116 Top Zone 116 Body Zone 117 Base Zone 118 Building Design Elements 119 Facade Elements 119 Roof Design 120 Materials and Colors 120 Canopies and Awnings 121 Special Building Corner Treatments 122 Building Entrances 123 Refuse Storage, Service + Loading Areas 124 Parking Facilities 125 10 Fremont Downtown Community Plan + Design Guidelines Adopted September 18, 2012 - Last Amended September 18, 2018 Table of Contents (Continued) 4.5 SIGNAGE DESIGN GUIDELINES 126 Intent 126 General Signage Guidelines 126 Placement 126 Sign Types 126 Design and Materials 127 Signage Illumination 127 4.6 LANDSCAPE DESIGN GUIDELINES 128 Bay-Friendly Landscaping 128 Storm Water Quality 128 Plant Materials 129 Site Furnishings 130 Paving Materials 130 Exterior Lighting 131 CHAPTER 5 5.0 IMPLEMENTATION 133 5.1 DEVELOPMENT APPROVAL PROCESS 134 Intent & Purpose 134 Application 134 Early Consultation 134 Approval Process 134 Optional – Preliminary Review Procedure (PRP) 135 Design Review 135 Design Approval Submittal Requirements 135 5.2 PRIORITY PROJECTS PLAN 138 CHAPTER 6 6.0 APPENDIX 139 6.1 FIRE ACCESSIBILITY 140 City of Fremont Fire Regulations 141 Adopted September 18, 2012 - Last Amended September, 2018 Fremont Downtown Community Plan + Design Guidelines 11 Table of Contents (Continued) 6.2 US GREEN BUILDING COUNCIL