10. Urban Design
The Totem Lake Business District is comprised of distinct areas separated by built features, such as I-405, NE 124th Street and other major corridors. Urban design policies seek to establish visual connections between these areas, create effective transitions within and around the district, and provide a collective identity for Totem Lake.
The urban design policies provide the broad rationale and vision for the future design character of the Totem Lake Business District. More specific considerations are provided in the subarea sections, and specific implementing direction based on these policies is provided in the Design Guidelines for Totem Lake. Future development will be reviewed by the City to ensure compliance with the Design Guidelines.
Goal TL-21: Ensure that public and private development contributes to a coherent and attractive identity for the business district.
Policy TL-21.1: Ensure that public improvements contribute to a clear identity for the business district.
Public infrastructure, consisting primarily of public rights-of-way, is a significant land use in the Totem Lake Business District. Public improvements such as streets, trails, community facilities, parks and public facilities should be designed and constructed in a manner that makes a positive contribution to the character of the district. High quality materials, the use of public art, and other measures to reflect and enhance the identity of the Totem Lake Business District should be incorporated in public infrastructure design and construction.
Policy TL-21.2: Encourage private development to help build the overall character of the Totem Lake Business District.
Private development in the Totem Lake Business District should promote a sense of community identity and continuity. Design measures to achieve this goal should address important elements of design, such as human and architectural scale, breaking up of building mass, attention to building details and pedestrian connections and orientation.
Design measures should also recognize the differing needs and character of the various areas of the district. For example, design standards in the business district’s core, which support intensive development and a high level of transit and pedestrian activity, are somewhat different from those in the balance of the district. Please refer to the Business District Core goals and policies for design measures that address this area.
Policy TL-21.3: Minimize the appearance of parking areas through location and shared facilities.
Parking lots are typically unsightly, break the links between buildings and destroy the continuity of the streetfront. Whenever possible, parking lots should be located at the rear of buildings. When this is not possible, landscaping should be used to break up and screen parking lots.
To minimize the area needed for parking, efforts should be made to share parking between facilities. Uses that have parking requirements at different times of the day should pool resources and develop plans for joint use. Adjoining parking lots shall not have unnecessary obstructions to through access, such as curbs or small changes in grade.
Policy TL-21.4: Establish standards to ensure that signs communicate effectively and complement the character of the area.
Signs should be an integral part of a building’s façade. The location, architectural style, and mounting of signs should conform with a building’s architecture and should not cover up or conflict with prominent architectural features. A sign’s design and mounting should be appropriate for the setting and allow the sign to be easily read.
Goal TL-22: Develop gateway features that strengthen the character and identity of the Business District.
Policy TL-22.1: Identify and create gateways that are integrated with the transportation system, including the Cross Kirkland Corridor and other bicycle and pedestrian connections. Use public and private efforts to establish gateway features such as artwork, signage, landscape features and structures at the locations identified in Figure TL-10.
Gateways to the business district provide an important first impression of the area’s character and quality. An existing gateway sign is located on NE 124th Street near the center of the business district near 124th Avenue NE. Other locations for gateways to the business district are shown in Figure TL-10.
At some locations, private development should install gateway features as part of future development. In other instances, public investment in such features is necessary.
Goal TL-23: Develop a new landscaped boulevard, or “Circulator” that provides a green visual connection between the subareas of the business district through enhanced landscape and public amenities.
Policy TL-23.1: Create a landscaped boulevard that generally follows the alignment shown in Figure TL-10.
The purpose of the landscaped boulevard is to provide a softened landscaped border around the I-405 interchange at NE 124th Street and to visually connect the five subareas of the business district. Creation of the boulevard uses existing rights-of-way, such as Totem Lake Boulevard, 120th Avenue NE and 116th Avenue NE to the greatest extent possible.
The alignment shown in Figure TL-10 is the preferred, but not the only possible alignment. Future opportunities to achieve the purpose of the boulevard on slightly different alignments should be considered and developed as appropriate.
Figure TL-10: Totem Lake Urban Design
Policy TL-23.2: Develop standards for the landscaped boulevard to include wide sidewalks, extensive greenery and other public amenities.
A well-designed landscape plan will create a hospitable environment for both the pedestrian and driver by reducing scale, providing shade and seasonal variety and reducing noise levels. Elements that should be included in the landscaped boulevard include a widened and meandering planting area, continuous and clustered tree plantings, and clustered shrubbery and seasonal color in a variety of texture, color and shape. Other features, such as lighting, directional signs, benches, varying pavement textures and public art would further enhance the route.
Where Totem Lake Boulevard abuts the lake, the Master Plan for Totem Lake Park calls for a boulevard, designed to leverage the existing street edge with Totem Lake, a new median, and integrating the storm water wetland to the west of the street into one experience. In addition to the improved parkway-like character, the redesign of the street is intended to improve bicycle and pedestrian facilities including new wider sidewalks.
Goal TL-24: Provide interconnected streetscape improvements throughout the business district that contribute to a sense of neighborhood identity and enhance visual quality.
Policy TL-24.1: Establish a street tree plan for the business district.
The repetition of trees bordering streets can unify the landscape of an area. Trees add color, texture, and form to the urban environment. A strong street tree-planting scheme should establish community identity and provide a respite from the weather and the built environment.
Large, deciduous trees planted on each side of the street should bring visual continuity to the neighborhood, particularly on major entry arterials, such as NE 124th Street, NE 132nd Street, NE 116th Street, 124th Avenue NE, Totem Lake Boulevard and 120th Avenue NE. Many of these streets are currently fully or partially planted with street trees.
Policy TL-24.2: Develop an Urban Design and Amenities Plan for the Totem Lake Business District that provides guidance to create an identity for the business district and includes the following:
● Specific standards to contribute to placemaking for both public and private development.
● A plan for locations and types of amenities desired in the district, to include at a minimum:
○ Street and park lights
○ Benches
○ Planters
○ Waste receptacles
○ Public art
○ Directional signs
● A plan for a system for linkages, such as paths and wayfinding elements, integrated with parks, plazas, community centers, recreation and open spaces to create an interconnected system of public spaces.
● Concepts for improved intersections and streetscapes, including specific improvements to be installed within the Circulator.
● Locations for and techniques to highlight connections to the Cross Kirkland Corridor, consistent with the CKC Master Plan.
The quality and character of public improvements are critical components of the business district’s image. Standards for public improvements will assist in the development of a coordinated streetscape that will unify the business district.
Currently, the gateway signs on NE 124th Street are the primary public amenity in the district. Expansion of these features, through both public and private measures, will help knit the district together visually and functionally.
Policy TL-24.3: Encourage place-making and a dynamic public realm by integrating publicly accessible plazas, open spaces and other gathering places with development in public and private projects.
Policy TL-24.4: Establish a lighting plan for the business district.
A coordinated plan for lighting throughout the district can contribute to the area’s identity. Fixtures which create a signature in style and placement throughout the streetscape and in public spaces can help to unify and upgrade the visual character of the area. Careful attention to lighting in pedestrian-oriented districts can also improve the perception of safety for pedestrians. A lighting plan should also include techniques to address impacts between dissimilar uses, such as instances in which vehicle dealerships abut residential uses.
Goal TL-25: Provide effective transitions between the light industrial, commercial and higher density multifamily uses in the business district and single-family residential areas surrounding the district.
Policy TL-25.1: Provide for site and building development requirements and other regulations that address transition areas to protect nearby residential neighborhoods.
Where commercial development adjoins established residential areas, the commercial use should incorporate site and building design features to soften its visual and physical impact and ensure that it is a positive element to the nearby residential neighborhood.
Techniques used could include limits on height, building bulk and placement, and lighting; setbacks of taller buildings away from residential neighborhoods; requirements for landscaping; noise control and other appropriate measures. Transitional regulations should include provisions for greenbelts, buffers or other site and building design features that will ensure a compatible relationship between commercial and residential development.
The City should ensure that policies for residential development contained in the plans for neighborhoods that abut the Totem Lake Business District include measures to address potential conflicts between these residential uses and the commercial development in Totem Lake.
Policy TL-25.2: Where new residential development occurs near or within existing light industry/office areas, provide architectural techniques and vegetative buffers to minimize future conflicts between uses.