APPENDIX B
Commercial Design Guidelines*

*    Editor’s Note: See Section 17.34.080 for guidance on the use of these Design Guidelines.

Purpose

The Commercial Design Guidelines are intended to assist designers to understand the city’s goals and objectives for high quality commercial development. The guidelines complement the mandatory site development regulations contained in Chapter 17.34 by providing examples of desirable and undesirable commercial development.

Applicability

The design guidelines and illustrations are general and may be interpreted with some flexibility in their application to specific projects. The guidelines are to be used in conjunction with the city’s design review process (Sections 17.18.090 and 17.20.030) to encourage the highest quality of design, while at the same time provide the flexibility necessary to encourage creativity by project designers. The applicant should use the guidelines, unless the city determines that compliance would result in an unfair or inappropriate burden, based upon unique site and project conditions.

The guidelines apply to new construction and additions to development in the CR regional commercial, CMU commercial mixed use, and NC neighborhood commercial districts in the city. Any addition, remodeling, relocation or construction requiring a building permit within any commercial land use district shall adhere to these guidelines.

In addition to the commercial design guidelines defined herein, guidelines for commercial development in mixed-use overlay districts (Chapter 17.34) may apply.

Site Planning

Context. Site planning should emphasize development that fits into established commercial districts and neighborhoods:

•    The placement of structures, open spaces, parking and access should consider the existing built context, including the location of potentially incompatible uses, major traffic generators, significant landscape or paved elements, unique site characteristics and particular influences.

•    New structures should be sited to complement, but not necessarily mimic the design of existing nearby structures. Attention should be given to height, roof forms, orientation of windows and entrances, architectural materials and colors.

•    Open spaces should be used for specific purposes such as shady seating areas rather than simply “left over” spaces. Open spaces should not be created in areas otherwise required as land use buffers or yard setbacks. Designers should look to maintaining continuity of open space with adjacent parcels, where appropriate. Plazas should be created at prominent locations in larger commercial centers and small courtyards should be created in shopping centers and office complexes.

Pedestrian Circulation. Buildings should be clustered, where practical and appropriate, to define protected pedestrian areas and clear paths.

•    Points of pedestrian/vehicular conflict should be minimized.

•    Special paving at primary vehicular driveway entries to commercial projects should be considered to create inviting points of arrival and to highlight potential points of conflict between pedestrians and automobiles. Enhanced paving should not be located in the public right-of-way (see Figure 1).

•    Where possible, vehicular entrances on side streets should be provided to minimize conflict between vehicles and pedestrians on the primary street.

•    Arcades, landscaped trellises, special paving and other ways to create well-defined pedestrian walkways within commercial projects should be considered.

•    Boxed and tubbed plants in clay or wood containers should be considered at entrances to sidewalk stores, plazas and courtyards.

•    Enhanced paving should be used in walkways across parking lots, where appropriate, to connect commercial buildings.

Figure 1 — Special Paving at Entrances to Shopping Centers

•    Parking lots in larger commercial centers should be laid out so that pedestrians walk along drive aisles, parallel to moving cars, rather than across parking aisles and landscape areas (see Figure 2).

Figure 2 — Parking Aisles for Pedestrians

Bicycle Circulation. A bicycle network comprised of both on-street and off-street routes should be provided within the commercial districts and neighborhoods.

•    The circulation system should be designed to minimize conflicts between the bicycle and pedestrian/vehicular routes.

•    End-of-trip facilities such as bike parking spaces and racks, bicycle lockers and storage should be provided. Such facilities should be designed to allow for options and flexibility to meet the long term parking needs of employees cycling to work (Class A bicycle spaces), as well as the short term parking needs of customers/visitors cycling to services (Class B bicycle spaces).

•    There should be a minimum of one Class A bicycle space for each eight thousand square feet of gross floor area, and a minimum of six Class B bicycle spaces for any development containing a minimum of ten thousand square feet of gross floor area.

•    Class A bicycle spaces should have a minimum width of two feet and a minimum length of six feet (with a minimum access aisle used for maneuvering of three feet).

•    Class A bicycle storage spaces should include theft resistant bicycle racks (securely anchored to the floor or ground) for each bicycle space.

•    Class B bicycle spaces should be provided in racks with a minimum width of one foot and a minimum length of six feet (with a minimum aisle width of four feet separate from pedestrian access) for each bicycle.

•    Bicycle racks should have secure theft-resistant anchoring that prevents the rack from being dislodged, unless by the use of extreme force or custom design tool to dislodge. Methods that incorporate recessed bolt heads and/or grouted-in anchoring are appropriate.

•    Racks should be set back a minimum of one and one-half feet from walls, planters, etc. to provide clearance for access.

•    Racks should be provided in convenient, well-lit locations that provide visual surveillance by occupants of the building the racks are intended to serve. If the racks are not readily visible to visitors to a site, directional signage to the racks should be provided.

Vehicular Circulation. Parking and circulation layouts should consider possible conflicts between shopping center circulation and adjacent street traffic, possible conflicts at service vehicle zones, and the importance of clear, attractive parking areas for public safety:

•    Driveways entering street corner commercial businesses should be located as far as possible from street intersections so that adequate stacking room for entering autos is provided.

•    Sixty-degree angled parking in commercial businesses is generally preferable to ninety-degree parking because drivers backing out of ninety-degree spaces may turn in two directions of a through aisle. Also, angled parking space lots are often better where re-circulation is necessary for drivers to find vacant spaces. However, more ninety-degree spaces can be accommodated than angled spaces in most parking lot layouts.

•    Common driveways that provide vehicular access to more than one site are encouraged. Typically, a shared driveway bisects a common property line.

•    Shared parking between adjacent businesses is encouraged. An increase in floor area may be allowed where shared parking is demonstrated to be feasible by a study, caused to be prepared by the applicant (see Section 17.54.040(C), Shared Parking).

•    Truck delivery and loading areas in larger commercial projects should be located at the rear of commercial buildings and screened from view with landscaped berms and/or durable concrete walls.

Trees and Parking. Trees should be located in and on the perimeter of parking lots.

•    Parking for large projects should be located in connected smaller lots and separated by landscaping to reduce the visual impact of parking.

•    Landscaping areas shall be designed to serve as runoff infiltration areas and shall incorporate vegetated swales to convey storm water runoff to the stormdrain system, where appropriate.

•    Trees should be planted where they will help to delineate parking aisles and the edges of parking lots.

•    To create a tree canopy that will shade cars, trees should be planted no farther apart than four stalls, or about forty feet (see Figure 3).

•    Dense and durable plant materials in parking lots should be protected from vehicular movement by tire blocks in parking stalls, raised curbs and planting levels. Asphalt curbs are strongly discouraged because they break down much more rapidly than concrete curbs.

Figure 3 — Tree Spacing in Parking Lots

•    Trees may be placed in six-foot by six-foot planters at the head of parking stalls. When the planters are bordered with concrete curbs and turned in a diamond configuration, they will effectively serve as tire stops and will avoid the loss of parking spaces (see Figure 3).

•    Varieties of parking lot trees should be specified that lend themselves to trimming about ten feet above ground, and which do not drop fruit or sap that could damage automobile surfaces (see list of city-approved trees).

Walls and Fences. Walls and fences are integral parts of commercial project design and the streetscape. They should be designed in styles, materials and colors to complement the commercial buildings that they surround and/or to which they are attached. Chapter 17.45 contains mandatory requirements for development of walls and fences for commercial, industrial and residential projects. Discretionary guidelines are as follows:

•    Fences and walls should be compatible with the design of buildings or structures that they surround.

•    A consistent design style for a fence or wall should be used around a property.

•    Fences and walls should be compatible with the design of adjacent fences or walls, although walls and fence materials that are prohibited in Chapter 17.45 shall not be used.

•    Screening of a proposed commercial project from adjacent residential properties shall require a six-feet high masonry wall in the side yard and rear yard (see Section 17.45.040(C)(1)). The wall should be finished both sides with plaster or stucco, with landscaping planted adjacent to the wall on the project site. The landscape strip adjacent to the wall shall be not less than three feet in width and be irrigated with an automatic irrigation system.

•    Depending upon its length, a wall may be uniform in its height and/or surface treatment. However, a long, visible wall could be segmented with columns, offset wall planes, or planting pockets (see Figure 4).

Figure 4 — Wall Types

•    Vines and climbing plants, such as bougainvillea, wisteria and grape ivy should be planted adjacent to blank building walls on trellises and adjacent to perimeter walls or fences.

•    Low walls and/or fences such as a three-foot high solid wall or fence, or a transparent fence should be used with dense landscaping, to screen parking lots from the street. The planting areas adjacent to sidewalks should be no less than three feet wide and no more than three feet high (see Figure 5). Shrubs should be maintained to the same height of approximately three feet, to maintain adequate visibility from automobiles. Landscaping on berms can be used to elevate the effective height of the screen and present an attractive exposure of a project to the public sidewalk and street (see Figure 5).

Figure 5 — Screening of Parking Behind Sidewalks

•    Screening of commercial and industrial operations, utilities equipment and outdoor storage is discussed in Section 17.45.080.

•    Exterior storage should be confined to portions of a site least visible from public view.

•    Any outdoor equipment, whether on a roof or on the ground, shall be appropriately screened from view. The method of screening should be architecturally integrated with the primary structure in terms of material, color, shape and size.

•    Wall screening for outdoor storage in commercial and industrial projects should be six feet in height. A wall up to eight feet in height may be required, depending upon the items being stored and the visibility of the equipment and the wall from public areas.

•    Dumpsters should be stored within a concrete or concrete block wall enclosure, with a durable metal or heavy timber gate. Such enclosures should be located for the convenience of employees and where truck maneuvering will not disrupt vehicular movements. See Section 17.58.020 Refuse Disposal and Recycling for dimensional requirements.

•    Screening of loading areas is shown in Section 17.34.120 Industrial Design Guidelines.

Preferred Site Planning for Small Commercial Infill Projects

Portions of the principal roadways in San Pablo are bordered by small businesses on narrow lots. In some cases, storefronts may border the sidewalk with parking behind. In other cases, stores are located at the rear of parcels with parking in front, adjacent to the sidewalk. Street-front stores and businesses with parking at the rear of a parcel are strongly preferred because such layouts foster pedestrian shopping along the sidewalk and minimize the exposure of parking lots to the street. Not all properties lend themselves to this configuration, but they may be consolidated with adjacent parcels to allow driveway access to parking in the rear. Development on larger consolidated parcels, and development on corner lots with access to parking from the side street are most feasible. Examples of preferred, acceptable, and discouraged examples of commercial development on paired-parcels are illustrated below.

Preferable Commercial Building at Front of Parcel (See Figure 6). Commercial infill projects should be designed to strengthen the continuity of the building street-front and to minimize exposure of required off-street parking at the front of the parcel. Attention should be given to screening the parking from any adjacent residential development.

Figure 6 — Preferred Commercial Building at Front of Parcel—Parking at Rear of Parcel

Acceptable Commercial Building at Front and Side of Parcel (See Figure 7). Commercial infill projects with stores oriented to the front and side of the parcel, where parking is partially screened from the street, may be acceptable.

Figure 7 — Acceptable Commercial Project at Front/Side of Parcel—Parking at Rear and Side of Parcel

Discouraged Commercial Building at Rear of Parcel. (See Figure 8). Commercial infill projects that locate parking at the front of the parcel with buildings behind the parking should screen parking with low landscaped walls and possible berms. However, parking at the front of lots is strongly discouraged.

Figure 8 — Discouraged Commercial at Rear of Parcel, Parking at Front of Parcel

Architectural Guidelines for Commercial Buildings—Commercial Districts

Commercial development that is subject to the design review process defined in Sections 17.18.090 and 17.20.030 will be evaluated against the guidelines contained in this section.

Commercial Storefront Design. There is no particular architectural style required for projects in the commercial districts. The focus of design is for commercial storefront development adjacent to the sidewalk. Second story development is also allowed and encouraged. Corner buildings may have a roof or building mass that is greater than adjacent buildings. Infill commercial development should promote lively, pedestrian-oriented business districts (see Figure 9).

Figure 9 — Storefronts

•    Storefronts with display windows sheltered by awnings or canopies are intended to stimulate window-shopping. Window and doorframes should be made of substantial materials such as solid wood or steel, but not narrow aluminum frames.

•    The required dimensions of awnings and fixed canopies used for signs are shown in Section 18.04.090(C)(8). The use of awnings or fixed canopies along a row of contiguous structures should be restricted to covered walkways of the same form, color, fabrication, and mounting location.

•    Plexiglas, metal and glossy vinyl illuminated awnings are prohibited.

•    Infill commercial storefronts should include display windows mounted over an eighteen-inch to twenty-four-inch high bulkhead, a recessed doorway in the middle of the storefront, and a fixed canopy or canvas awning mounted at the top of the display windows. An awning may be in a fixed or retractable frame (see Figure 9).

•    Designers should consider a variety of materials for storefronts, such as tile bulkheads, multi-paned windows, and stucco walls, as long as they are durable. Materials used on the second and succeeding floors of a building should be carried through from the materials used at the ground floor. Upper floors may include residential unit(s) and/or commercial space (see Section 17.34.110 Mixed-Use Design Guidelines).

•    Second and succeeding floors for residences or offices may be required to be set back from the front yard property line in order to provide a balcony and reduced exposure to street noise.

•    Fixed or sliding security grilles may be used for doors and windows where permitted by applicable building and fire code regulations. However, grilles shall be located on the interior side of the openings only.

•    Corporate franchise imagery, such as that used for national franchise businesses, is strongly discouraged unless building forms, materials, signs, logos, colors and other identifying features are made compatible with the overall design character of the area.

Architectural Guidelines for Commercial Buildings—NC, CR and CMU Districts

Architectural Styles. There is no particular architectural style required for commercial buildings in the CR regional commercial and CMU commercial mixed use districts. However, designers are encouraged to consider the early California mission style, as best represented by the design of San Pablo city hall. Regardless of the architectural style chosen, commercial buildings should be designed to fit into their surroundings, but not necessarily mimic, the design of nearby buildings.

Articulation of Large Commercial Buildings. Large windowless buildings that give the impression of “box-like” commercial warehouse structures are generally unattractive and detract from the overall scale of most buildings. The following ways to reduce the appearance of large-scale, bulky structures, particularly on the ground floor, should be considered.

•    Exterior wall planes should vary in depth and/or direction; Wall planes should not exceed fifty feet in length without a vertical offset.

•    Blank walls should be made more interesting with windows, trellises, pedestrian arcades or awnings or canopies, rich exterior materials and colors, eaves and moldings, and other architectural features.

•    Roof height should vary up to the maximum allowed height.

•    A height increase of up to fifteen feet above the allowed height may be allowed for architectural features, such as a building entry or prominent corner building, covering up to twenty percent of the building footprint.

•    Landscaping and architectural detailing, particularly around building entrances, should be used to lessen the impact of otherwise bulky buildings.

Building Wall Surface Treatments. The different parts of a building’s facade should be articulated by arrangement of facade elements and/or a change in materials and color.

•    Rich, saturated colors are encouraged, while a uniform treatment of off-white is discouraged.

•    Darker colored wall treatments on the lower portions of a facade should be considered to establish a base for a building (perhaps three feet to four feet in height).

•    Stucco wall treatments are encouraged because stucco can be used in a sculptural manner, such as a curved parapet or a linear parapet molding. While large expanses of blank stucco are discouraged, stucco walls can be divided into scaled panels by inscribed grooves (“reveals”). Stucco is also the most appropriate material for design in the early California mission style, which should be considered for commercial, multi-family residential, and public/semi-public uses in the city.

Lighting. Lighting should provide illumination for security and safety, while avoiding light intrusion into off-site areas.

•    Parking, loading, shipping and receiving, walkways, entrances and working areas should be illuminated.

•    Light fixtures should be architecturally compatible with the project design.

•    Lighting should be adequate for security, particularly at entrances, but not overly bright.

•    All lighting fixtures shall be shielded to confine light spread to project boundaries.

Architectural Guidelines for Multi-Family Infill—NC District

Where long-term demand for housing exceeds demand for commercial space in commercial districts, the city will consider proposals for infill multiple-family development in the commercial districts.

Multiple-family development in the NC district is allowed by conditional use permit, pursuant to Table 17.34-A. Eligible multiple-family projects include R-3 and R-4 projects developed pursuant to standards defined in Section 17.34.050.

Two examples of acceptable urban infill housing in the NC district are discussed and illustrated below. Infill is encouraged where it would be closely oriented to the sidewalk and would serve to maintain the continuity of existing or future commercial storefronts on one or both sides of the housing. This type of residential development may not be suited to all NC neighborhood commercial districts.

Courtyard Apartments. To be successful, residential development must be protected from adjacent, incompatible commercial development and street activity and noise. An example of an inward-oriented courtyard housing project is shown in Figure 10 (see also Residential Design Guidelines, Figure 15 Acceptable Multiple-Family Parking Court for Four Units, which may also provide guidance for infill residential development in commercial districts).

Figure 10 — Courtyard Apartments in Commercial Districts

Discretionary guidelines are as follows:

•    The privacy and security of occupants should be protected by a clear transition from public sidewalk to semi-private entrances and private indoor space. Windows that look down on the courtyard, as shown in Figure 10, discourage unwanted visitors. In this figure, a narrow planter box separates the sidewalk from a well-illuminated pedestrian entry. Residents may also enter their homes directly from their garages. There are no exterior stairwells.

•    Units that face the street front should have windows that impart a residential scale, consistent with other appropriate nearby development.

•    Multiple-family housing in commercial districts should be consistent with the design of multiple-family housing in residential districts; however, private and common open space may not be feasible, except for small balconies. In such cases, driveway/courtyards should be designed as attractive usable open space, perhaps bordered by planters and paved with decorative tiles (designed to withstand the weight of moving vans).

•    Flow-through ventilation may be inhibited because the rear of units in Figure 10 abut the side property line with a blank wall, anticipating future adjacent development of commercial or residential projects. Therefore, the two units in the middle of the project on each side of the court have only one facade exposed to light and ventilation. In this case, operable skylights for these units may be appropriate.

Streetfront Apartments. Infill lots in commercial districts may be appropriate for streetfront apartments. In contrast to the inward-oriented apartment project shown in Figure 10, the streetfront apartment project shown in Figure 11 may be appropriate for locations where street traffic is not great.

Figure 11 — Streetfront Apartments in Commercial Districts

Discretionary guidelines are discussed below and illustrated in Figure 11 above.

•    Ground floor apartments may be oriented to the street if front doors are separated from the sidewalk by such measures as lockable gates, a narrow landscaping strip of dense shrubs, and an elevation change from the sidewalk to the front door, as shown in Figure 11.

•    To enhance security for residents, entrance porches should be well illuminated and visible to passers-by.

•    Each apartment should have its own entry.

•    Buildings should be articulated to emphasize the single-unit apartment. Variations in setback, balconies and rooflines will help to avoid the anonymity of typical apartment blocks.