Mid-Rise Building Guidelines Draft - November 2018 CONTENTS 1. INTRODUCTION & OVERVIEW .................................................................... 1 1.1 What is a mid-rise building? .......................................................................................... 2 1.2 Benefits of ‘Mid-Rise’ .................................................................................................... 2 1.3 Where do the Mid-Rise Building Guidelines apply? ....................................................... 3 1.4 How to use the guidelines ............................................................................................. 3 2. LOWER BUILDING ...................................................................................... 4 2.1 Building Placement ....................................................................................................... 4 2.2 Building Separation & Spacing ...................................................................................... 6 2.3 Built Form: Height & Massing........................................................................................ 7 2.4 Street Level Design, Façade Articulation and Materials ................................................. 9 2.5 Site Design, Open Space and Streetscaping ................................................................. 11 3. UPPER BUILDING ..................................................................................... 15 3.1 Built Form: Transitions ................................................................................................ 15 3.2 Upper Façade / Roof Design, Articulation and Materials ............................................. 17 GLOSSARY ..................................................................................................... 19 1. INTRODUCTION & OVERVIEW The City of Burlington is situated in the Greater Golden Horseshoe, one of the fastest growing regions in North America. The City’s ‘urban area’ represents the land where forecasted population and employment growth will be accommodated. Further the Adopted Grow Bold Official Plan establishes a Growth Framework, to elaborate on where the city is planning to accommodate significant population and employment growth and where intensification is generally discouraged. Another objective of the Growth Framework is to communicate the City’s built form strategy for new development with respect to low-rise, mid-rise and tall buildings. The ‘mid-rise’ building type is a key element of the Adopted Grow Bold Official Plan, which directs population and employment growth to targeted locations within city ‘urban centres’, ‘mobility hubs’, ‘mixed use nodes’ and along ‘intensification corridors’. Many of these areas are near or next to established residential neighbourhoods. As such, it is important to ensure that new mid-rise buildings are well-designed to enhance and fit within the community context, while balancing the need to provide for a wide range of housing and employment within a growing city. These Guidelines represent best practices, developed to inform the urban design aspects of mid-rise buildings and implement the City’s Official Plan objectives and policies related to design excellence and the creation of a high- quality built environment that supports complete, compact, and sustainable communities. Mid-Rise Buildings Guidelines │ 1 1.1 What is a mid-rise building? Sustainable Design Sustainable design should be at the forefront For these guidelines a ‘mid-rise building’ is of all mid-rise building development. The defined as any building between five (5) and City’s Sustainable Building and Development eleven (11) storeys in height. Guidelines should be referred to for more detailed and specific guidance on sustainable design measures. 1.2 Benefits of ‘Mid-Rise’ Mid-rise buildings have many benefits for a growing city, especially one that is no longer sprawling but focused on strategically growing in place. They provide for a scale of building that is very important when transitioning from (Image credit: City of Burlington) lower scale residential neighbourhoods to higher scale ‘urban centres’ and ‘mixed-use intensification nodes’. At the street-level, mid-rise buildings effectively frame streets, create a comfortable pedestrian environment, and line streets with uses that support a vibrant street-life including shops, restaurants and other amenities. Mid-rise buildings contribute to complete communities, provide a mix of housing and activity, and are built at densities that improve (Image credit: City of Burlington) the viability of transit. Some of the other economic, environmental, and social benefits include: • Providing a form of housing that typically offers a more affordable option than traditional low-rise buildings and the option for people to ‘downsize’ while remaining in their community; • Building at a human scale, which supports vibrant and walkable neighbourhoods, higher property values, and more tax revenues; and (Image credit: City of Burlington) • Developing land in a more sustainable way, which keeps people close to transit routes, schools, jobs, and other services. Mid-Rise Buildings Guidelines │ 2 1.3 Where do the Mid-Rise guidelines, particularly with respect to Building Guidelines apply? building heights and matters of transition. The Mid-Rise Building Guidelines are 1.4 How to use the guidelines applicable across the City, wherever mid-rise buildings are permitted by the Official Plan The Mid-Rise Building Guidelines provide and Zoning By-law (with the exception of guidance for developers and architects employment lands). Within these areas, the designing mid-rise buildings in the City of suitability of a property to accommodate this Burlington and will be used by City staff as a building type should be considered on a site- tool in the review and evaluation of by-site basis, to ensure the intent of these development applications or City-initiated guidelines can be met. Sites that are too small projects. The objective of the guideline is to to permit the setbacks outlined in these provide best practices related to building guidelines, or transitions to adjacent uses, height, massing, transitions, and building may not be appropriate for mid-rise buildings articulation to promote and encourage high as permitting this building type on ‘small sites’ quality mid-rise building proposals. creates shadowing and privacy concerns, and The guidelines are grouped by the main limits the development potential of adjacent components of a mid-rise building as follows: properties. • Lower Building; and Mobility Hubs • Upper Building. Mobility Hubs (i.e. Downtown Burlington and Together, these components address all the areas around Aldershot GO, Burlington aspects of the building, and should be GO, and Appleby GO) are currently being referenced in their entirety in the design and considered through an area-specific planning review of all projects. The guidelines set process. As an outcome of these processes, expectations for high quality design outcomes design guidelines may be developed as an but do not anticipate every design scenario. It implementing tool for each area-specific plan. is not the intention of the guidelines to limit In general, should a mid-rise building be creativity. Where it can be demonstrated proposed within a mobility hub prior to the that an alternative built form achieves the approval of an area-specific plan and/or area- intent of the guidelines, alternative solutions specific design guidelines, the policies of the should be permitted and encouraged. When Official Plan should prevail. Likewise, these additional advice is appropriate, the City may guidelines may be applied as a useful planning consider peer review by an independent third tool while an area-specific planning process is party. underway, or where an area-specific plan supports mid-rise development but does not regulate built form or does not fully address urban design aspects of mid-rise buildings. These guidelines are not intended to be used to challenge Council-approved studies or area-specific policies, by-laws, design Mid-Rise Buildings Guidelines │ 3 2. LOWER BUILDING The lower part of the building forms the building base and contributes to a positive pedestrian experience at the ground level. It is important that the location and height of base elements respond to its context to create a continuous and strong urban form that defines the street edge. The first few storeys of the building base can be arranged as a podium to ensure that the building relates well to the street and reinforces a human scale. Street level design elements such as clear glazing, and the organization of entrances and internal uses, further define the appearance of the building and create physical and visual connections between the private and public realms while promoting vibrancy and activity throughout the day. 2.1 Building Placement Building placement influences many aspects of the ultimate building design and its fit within the site and broader context. Placement can help to define the edges of streets and open spaces, reinforce a consistent streetscape, and provide for high quality connections and open spaces within the site. (Image credit: Ledcor Group, Crossroads, Vancouver) 1. In general, the building should be placed parallel to the street and open space within or along the edge of the site to frame these public spaces. This also helps increase the separation distance between the building and other buildings. 2. Think about the building’s