Chapter 18.30
DEVELOPMENT STANDARDS – DENSITY AND DIMENSIONS

Sections:

18.30.010    Purpose.

18.30.020    Interpretation of tables.

18.30.030    Densities and dimensions – Residential zones.

18.30.040    Densities and dimensions – Resource and commercial/industrial zones.

18.30.045    Downtown building form and site design standards.

18.30.050    Measurement methods.

18.30.060    Minimum residential density.

18.30.070    Calculations – Allowable dwelling units, lots or floor area.

18.30.080    Calculations – Site area used for base density and maximum density floor area calculations.

18.30.090    Calculations – Site area used for minimum density calculations.

18.30.100    Minimum density adjustments for moderate slopes.

18.30.110    Lot area – Prohibited reduction.

18.30.120    Lot area – Minimum lot area for construction.

18.30.130    Measurement of setbacks.

18.30.140    Setbacks – Specific building or use.

18.30.150    Setbacks – Livestock buildings and manure storage areas.

18.30.160    Setbacks – Modifications.

18.30.170    Setbacks – From regional utility corridors.

18.30.180    Setbacks – From alley.

18.30.190    Setbacks – Required modifications.

18.30.200    Setbacks – Projections and structures allowed.

18.30.210    Height – Exceptions to limits.

18.30.220    Height – Limits near airports.

18.30.230    Lot or site divided by zone boundary.

18.30.240    Sight distance requirements.

18.30.250    Nonresidential land uses in residential zones.

18.30.260    Personal services and retail uses in R-4 through R-8 zones – Neighborhood commercial.

18.30.010 Purpose.

The purpose of this chapter is to establish basic dimensional standards for development relative to residential density and as well as specific rules for general application. The standards and rules are established to provide flexibility in project design, and maintain privacy between adjacent uses. (Ord. 42-02 § 2 (21A.12.010))

18.30.020 Interpretation of tables.

(1) CMC 18.30.030 and 18.30.040 contain general density and dimension standards for the various zones and limitations specific to a particular zone(s). Additional rules, exceptions, and methodologies are set forth in CMC 18.30.050 through 18.30.240.

(2) The density and dimension tables are arranged in a matrix format on two separate tables and are delineated into two general land use categories:

(a) Residential; and

(b) Resource and commercial/industrial.

(3) Development standards are listed down the left side of both tables, and the zones are listed at the top. The matrix cells contain the minimum dimensional requirements of the zone. The parenthetical numbers in the matrix identify specific requirements applicable either to a specific use or zone. A blank box indicates that there are no specific requirements. If more than one standard appears in a cell, each standard will be subject to any applicable parenthetical footnote following the standard. (Ord. 42-02 § 2 (21A.12.020))

18.30.030 Densities and dimensions – Residential zones.

A. Table.

STANDARDS	ZONES
	RESIDENTIAL
	R-1 (17) Urban Separator	R-4	R-6	R-8
Base density: dwelling unit/acre (15)	1 du/ac	4 du/ac (6)	6 du/ac	8 du/ac
Maximum density: dwelling unit/acre (1)		6 du/ac (24)	9 du/ac (24)	12 du/ac
Minimum density (2)		85% (12) (15)	85% (12) (15)	85% (12) (15)
Minimum lot area (13)	2,500 sf	2,500 sf	2,500 sf	2,500 sf
Minimum lot width (3)	35 ft (7)	30 ft	30 ft	30 ft
Minimum street setback (3)	20 ft (7)	10 ft (8)	10 ft (8)	10 ft (8)
Minimum interior setback (3) (16)	7 ft 6 inches (7)	7 ft 6 inches	7 ft 6 inches	7 ft 6 inches
Base height (4)	35 ft	35 ft	35 ft 45 ft (14)	35 ft 45 ft (14)
Maximum impervious surface: percentage (5)	30%	55%	70%	75%

B. Development Conditions.

(1) This maximum density may be achieved only through the application of residential density incentives in accordance with Chapter 18.90 CMC or transfers of density credits in accordance with Chapter 18.95 CMC, or any combination of density incentive or density transfer. Maximum density may only be exceeded in accordance with CMC 18.90.040(6)(1)(g).

(2) Also see CMC 18.30.060.

(3) These standards may be modified under the provisions for zero-lot-line and townhouse developments.

(4) Height limits may be increased if portions of the structure that exceed the base height limit provide one additional foot of street and interior setback for each foot above the base height limit, but the maximum height may not exceed 75 feet. Netting or fencing and support structures for the netting or fencing used to contain golf balls in the operation of golf courses or golf driving ranges are exempt from the additional interior setback requirements but the maximum height shall not exceed 75 feet.

(5) Applies to each individual lot. Impervious surface area standards for:

(a) Regional uses shall be established at the time of permit review;

(b) Nonresidential uses in residential zones shall comply with CMC 18.30.140 and 18.30.250;

(c) Individual lots in the R-4 through R-6 zones that are less than 9,076 square feet in area shall be subject to the applicable provisions of the nearest comparable R-6 or R-8 zone; and

(d) A lot may be increased beyond the total amount permitted in this chapter subject to approval of a conditional use permit.

(6) Mobile home parks shall be allowed a base density of six dwelling units per acre.

(7) The standards of the R-4 zone shall apply if a lot is less than 15,000 square feet in area.

(8) At least 20 linear feet of driveway shall be provided between any garage, carport or other fenced parking area and the street property line or back of sidewalk if any portion of the sidewalk has been included in an easement. The linear distance shall be measured along the center line of the driveway from the access point to such garage, carport or fenced area to the street property line.

(9) For purposes of calculating minimum density, the applicant may request that the minimum density factor be modified based upon the weighted average slope of the net buildable area of the site in accordance with CMC 18.30.100.

(10) These lot size minimums are for purposes of lot averaging, and do not apply to lot clustering proposals.

(11) The base height to be used only for projects as follows:

(a) In R-6 and R-8 zones, a building with a footprint built on slopes exceeding a 15 percent finished grade.

(12) Density applies only to dwelling units and not to sleeping units.

(13) Vehicle access points from garages, carports or fenced parking areas shall be set back from the property line on which a joint use driveway is located to provide a straight line length of at least 26 feet as measured from the center line of the garage, carport or fenced parking area, from the access point to the opposite side of the joint use driveway.

(14)(a) All subdivisions and short subdivisions in the R-1 zone shall be required to be clustered if the property is located within or contains:

(i) A floodplain;

(ii) A critical aquifer recharge area;

(iii) A regionally or locally significant resource area;

(iv) Existing or planned public parks or trails, or connections to such facilities;

(v) A Class I or II stream or wetland;

(vi) A steep slope; or

(vii) A “greenbelt/urban separator” or “wildlife corridor” area designated by the comprehensive plan or a community plan.

(b) The development shall be clustered away from sensitive areas or the axis of designated corridors such as urban separators or the wildlife habitat network to the extent possible and the open space shall be placed in a separate tract that includes at least 50 percent of the site. Open space tracts shall be permanent and shall be dedicated to a homeowners’ association or other suitable organization, as determined by the Director, and meet the requirements in CMC 18.35.040. On-site sensitive area and buffers, wildlife habitat networks, required habitat and buffers for protected species and designated urban separators shall be placed within the open space tract to the extent possible. Passive recreation (with no development of recreational facilities) and natural-surface pedestrian and equestrian trails are acceptable uses within the open space tract.

(15) See CMC 18.30.090.

(16) All subdivisions and short subdivisions in R-1 zone shall have a maximum impervious surface area of eight percent of the gross acreage of the plat. Distribution of the allowable impervious area among the platted lots shall be recorded on the face of the plat. Impervious surface of roads need not be counted towards the allowable impervious area. Where both lot- and plat-specific impervious limits apply, the more restrictive shall be required.

(17) Upon approval of a conditional use permit, senior housing can be increased to a maximum density of six units in the R-4 zone and 12 units in the R-6 zone. (Ord. 60-03 § 2; Ord. 57-03 § 2; Ord. 42-02 § 2 (21A.12.030))

18.30.040 Densities and dimensions – Resource and commercial/industrial zones.

A.  Table.

	ZONES
	RESOURCE	COMMERCIAL/INDUSTRIAL
STANDARDS	M	CC	CN	CD	CR	I
Base density: dwelling unit/acre (5)		8 du/ac (1)	8 du/ac (1)	40 du/ac (1)	40 du/ac (1)
Maximum density: dwelling unit/acre (5)		12 du/ac (2)	12 du/ac (2)	50 du/ac (2)	50 du/ac (2)
Minimum street setback	(6)	0 ft (3)	0 ft (3)	0 ft (3)	0 ft (3)	25 ft
Minimum interior setback	(6)	20 ft (4) (8)	20 ft (4) (8)	25 ft (4)	25 ft (4)	20 ft (4)
Base height (9)	35 ft	35 ft	35 ft (10)	45 ft	45 ft	45 ft
Maximum impervious surface: percentage (7)		85%	85%	85%	90%	90%
Maximum building size (gross square feet)		30,000 sf	5,000 sf (11) (12)	No limits on building size	No limits on building size	NA

B. Development Conditions.

(1) These densities are allowed only through the application of mixed-use/integrated development standards. Except for senior housing, no less than 60 percent of the ground floor of a mixed-use/integrated project shall be established for commercial use.

(2) These densities may only be achieved through the application of residential density incentives or transfer of density credits in mixed-use developments.

(3) Gas station pump islands shall be placed no closer than 15 feet to any property line. Gas islands and their associated canopy structures may not be placed on a street corner in accord with the requirements of the design manual.

(4) Required on property lines adjoining residential zones.

(5) The floor-to-lot ratio for mixed-use developments shall conform to Chapter 18.35 CMC.

(6) See CMC 18.60.060 for setback requirements in the mineral zone.

(7) The impervious surface area for any lot may be increased beyond the total amount permitted in this chapter subject to approval of a conditional use permit.

(8) Required on property lines adjoining residential zones unless a stand-alone townhouse development is proposed to be located adjacent to property upon which an existing townhouse development is located.

(9) Structures in excess of the base height limitation may be increased upon approval of a conditional use permit.

(10) Structures within 150 feet of R-zoned lands shall have sloped roofs with a pitch at least as steep as that of the roofs of the closest single-family structure.

(11) The maximum footprint of any structure is 5,000 square feet. A building’s gross floor area may exceed this figure if the structure includes second or third floors.

(12) The total area of the collective footprints of all structures on a site may not exceed 10,000 square feet per acre of lot area. (Ord. 06-06 § 2; Ord. 42-02 § 2 (21A.12.040))

18.30.045 Downtown building form and site design standards.

(1) Purpose and Intent. The purpose of these form and design regulations is to promote commercial and residential development that is pedestrian-oriented and human in scale, breaks up the apparent mass of large structures, fosters a coherent visual environment, and creates a sense of place. Further purposes are to assure that permit applicants make appropriate improvements to the City-adopted roadway and intersection grid and continued development of a pedestrian network that provides safe and functional access within the downtown area and linked to surrounding neighborhoods and regional trails.

The intent of these regulations is to achieve development that is consistent with the principles described in the comprehensive plan, the Covington Design Manual, the Covington Design and Construction Standards and Specifications and the City’s Vision Statement.

(2) Table of Building Form Regulations.

Table 1

STANDARDS	DOWNTOWN (DN) ZONES
	1	2, 10*	3, 4, 5*, 6	7A	7B	7C	8	9
Maximum number of floors	6	4	3	3	3	2	4	4
Maximum building height	90 feet	60 feet	45 feet	45 feet	45 feet	30 feet	60 feet	60 feet
Maximum impervious surface percentage	95%	80%	85%	85%	50%	50%	80%	80%
Maximum building footprint	77,000 sq. ft.	77,000 sq. ft.	177,000 sq. ft.	77,000 sq. ft.	5,000 sq. ft.	5,000 sq. ft.	77,000 sq. ft.	130,000 sq. ft.
Minimum setback from street wall	0	0	0	0	0	20	0	0
Multifamily residential density**	36 du/a	No limit	24 du/a	12 du/a	36 du/a	8 du/a	36 du/a	36 du/a
Residential density (if ground floor is retail use)	No limit	No limit	No limit	No limit	24 du/a	8 du/a	No limit	No limit

*    These standards apply only to non-single-family uses in DN-5 and DN-10 zones. Otherwise, see R-8 zone standards.

**    Single-family detached, townhouse and cottages are not permitted in all zones. Please see use charts in CMC 18.25.105 for permitted uses.

(3) Definitions.

(a) “Articulate” means to give emphasis to or distinctly identify a particular building element. An articulated facade would be the emphasis of elements on the face of a wall including a change in setback, materials, texture, color, roof pitch, or height.

(b) “Berm” means an earthen mound designed to provide visual interest on a site, screen undesirable views, reduce noise or provide a buffer from adjoining uses.

(c) “Building height” means the height of a structure measured from the average finished grade at a point five feet from the average building face to the finished roof surface; excluding parapets, equipment rooms, equipment enclosures, equipment penthouses, towers, window washing equipment, stairway penthouses and similar areas.

(d) “Buffer” means an area provided to reduce impacts between two different land uses. Buffers are intended to mitigate undesirable views, noises or glare. Buffers typically consist of plant materials, walls, fences, and/or significant land area to separate uses.

(e) “Development proposal site” means the legal boundaries of the parcel or parcels of land for which an applicant has or should have applied for authority from the City of Covington to carry out a development proposal.

(f) “Facade” means the portion of any exterior elevation of the building extending from grade to the top of the parapet, wall or eaves and extending the entire length of the building.

(g) “Gable roof” means a triangular wall section at the end of a pitched roof, bounded by the two roof slopes. See Figure 1.

(h) “Hip roof” means a roof without gables. See Figure 1.

Figure 1

(i) “Mass” means the physical volume or bulk of a solid body. Mass describes three-dimensional forms, the simplest of which are cubes, boxes (or “rectangular solids”), cylinders, pyramids and cones. During the design process, massing is one of many aspects of form considered by an architect or designer and can be the result of both exterior and interior design considerations. Architectural massing can be used to identify a building entry, denote a stairway or simply create visual depth to soften the visual mass of the overall structure.

(j) “Parapet” means the portion of a wall that extends above the roofline.

(k) “Pedestrian walkway” means a surfaced walkway, separate from the traveled portion of a right-of-way or parking lot/driving aisle.

(1) “Primary pedestrian street” means any public street except Covington Way, Wax Road, 180th Ave. SE, SR 18, SR 516, and the portion of 168th Ave. SE south of SR 516.

(m) “Public street” means any public or private road or access easement intended to provide public access to any lot/development, but excluding any service road or internal driving aisles (e.g., within parking lots).

(n) “Rhythm (horizontal, vertical)” means the regular or harmonious recurrence of lines, shapes, forms, elements or colors, usually within a proportional system. See Figure 2.

Figure 2

(o) “Scale (human)” means the size or proportion of a building element or space relative to the structural or functional dimension of the human body.

(p) “Street wall” means the frontage of a development proposal site that abuts a public street.

(4) General Standards That Apply in All Downtown Zones.

(a) Building Design Standards.

(i) Blank Walls. No blank wall that faces a public street, public plaza or walkway shall exceed 50 feet in length.

(ii) Building Exterior Wall Materials. Exterior wall surfaces may be brick, masonry, painted concrete, wood, glass or painted metal; provided, that metal facia may not exceed 10 percent of the area of any building facade. Corrugated or ribbed metal siding is not a permitted material for wall surfaces. Standing seam metal roofs are permitted.

(iii) Building Setbacks. Building setbacks shall be minimized in accordance with the standards set forth in Table 1 above. The fourth story, and any story above the fourth story, of any building shall be set back at a 45-degree angle measured at the intersection of the floor plane of the fourth story and the street wall. See Figure 3.

Figure 3

(iv) Doorways Facing Streets. A new building or remodel shall provide doorways facing the street by which it is addressed, at grade level or slightly elevated.

(v) Facade Articulation. Buildings shall be articulated with projections, recesses, covered doorways, balconies, covered box or bay windows and/or other similar features, dividing large facades into human-scaled proportions. Any facade over 100 feet in linear length which faces a public street shall incorporate wall projections or recesses at least three feet deep and with a minimum of 20 contiguous feet within each 100 feet of facade length, and shall extend over 20 percent of the face. See Figure 4.

Figure 4

(vi) Front Yards. Building design, in conjunction with site design, shall include structured elements to mark the transition from the public street to doorways. Examples of such elements are porches, pediments, pergolas, low walls or fencing, railings, pedestrian light fixtures and hedges.

(vii) Overhead Pedestrian Weather Protection. That facade of every building in which the building’s primary exterior entrance is located shall include overhead pedestrian weather protection along at least 70 percent of the facade. Any marquee, awning, building projection or other permanent structural element that is at least six feet wide, as measured from the facade of the appurtenant building and which is at least 10 feet above the finished grade of the pedestrian walkway adjacent to the building.

Figure 5

Figure 6

Figure 7

(viii) Relationship of Doorways to Streets. If the street is a primary pedestrian street, then such doorways shall be principal entrances with sidewalk access to the street. Otherwise, such doorways may be secondary (e.g., for patio or deck access only).

(ix) Rooflines. Roofs shall demonstrate a common sense recognition of the climate by utilizing appropriate pitch, drainage and materials. Rooflines shall be varied with a change in height every 100 linear feet in building length, and be used to denote building elements and functions such as entrances, arcades, and porches.

(x) Rooftop Mechanical. All rooftop mechanical shall be screened. Acceptable methods are: (A) a high parapet; (B) sloped roof form that is part of the architecture of the building; or (C) opaque screening surrounding individual rooftop appurtenances. In all cases, the screen shall be at least as high as the equipment being screened and provide adequate space to meet code requirements for operation and maintenance.

(xi) Vertical Differentiation. Any building with more than two stories must be articulated with a distinct bottom, top, and middle. See Figure 8.

Figure 8

(b) Site Design Standards.

(i) Common Areas and Plazas. On-site common areas equal to 10 percent of the gross floor areas shall be provided. Common areas shall include trash receptacles, casual seating, and other amenities that promote and attract pedestrian seating and activity. Amenities include public art, water features, colonnades, and pergolas.

(ii) Lighting. Maximum height of parking lot light standards is 30 feet. Placement and illumination shall be designed such that illumination is provided throughout the parking lot without emitting glare beyond the site. Bollard lighting or similar shall be provided along all primary pedestrian walkways.

(iii) Internal Pedestrian Linkages. Continuous internal pedestrian walkways, at least eight feet of clear width, shall be provided from the public sidewalk or right-of-way to the principal customer entrance of all principal buildings on the site. Landscaping shall be provided along at least one side of the walkway. Where such walkways cross vehicular driving surfaces, they shall be distinguished by the use of durable, low maintenance surface materials such as pavers, bricks, or scored and pigmented concrete to enhance pedestrian safety and comfort.

Figure 9