Township of Easttown, PA Article XIII Village of Berwyn Development Design Standards

[Added 8-19-2013 by Ord. No. 417-13]

§ 274-48 Development design standards.

The following development design standards should apply in all Village of Berwyn Districts:

A. Purpose. The purpose of this section is to establish consistent requirements that promote village design, pedestrian orientation, and the traditional character of the Village of Berwyn. Adherence to these standards will carry out the purposes of the district as set forth in § 455-20 of Chapter 455, Zoning. Principles guiding the administration of these standards are as follows:

(1) Buildings should be pedestrian-focused, with windows and doors on the front facades that are well-placed and in scale with the street zone.

(2) Emphasis should be provided at prominent locations to buildings:

(a) With prominent facades that terminate view lines; or

(b) Whose corners are at gateway locations; or

(c) That either surround or are surrounded by open space.

(3) Active ground-floor uses in buildings containing nonresidential components should have multiple entrances and distinctive entrance treatments. In multitenant buildings, each tenant or use should have its own separate entrance to ensure secure, proper and easy access for pedestrians at street level.

(4) Texture and variety of the building aesthetic should be provided through facade articulation and composition of architectural elements.

(5) Architectural expression should be provided in windows, doors, walls, and roofs.

(6) Pedestrian pathways and sidewalks should be provided that are safe and attractive.

(7) Street trees and shade trees should be employed to enhance development.

B. The following should apply to buildings containing mixed-use or nonresidential uses in the Village Business District and the Village Transition District:

(1) Facade articulation. Facade articulation is a series of small setbacks and projections in the overall street wall. Articulation breaks the scale of the building into an aggregate of smaller forms, introduces rhythm, and relates to the human scale, without detracting from the overall sense of a consistent street wall. All projects subject to the land development application process should comply with the following design standards:

(a) Main building facade should be designed to emphasize entryways, windows, corners, and vertical elements of the building facade, as well as other special elements.

(b) Depth of articulated elements may deviate up to five feet from the build-to line.

(2) Facade composition. Facade composition is the arrangement of materials and details to distinguish the components of the building, particularly its base and top. All projects subject to the land development application process should comply with the following standards:

(a) Building design should distinguish and emphasize the building's base and top and reinforce the scale of the street for the pedestrian.

(b) On corner lots, the facade facing the primary street should be the most prominent.

(c) No wall-mounted mechanical or service equipment should be placed on the primary building facade, and such equipment located on nonprimary building facades should be screened from view to the greatest extent feasible.

(d) All buildings should use cornices, canopies, balconies, awnings, and other visual devices to articulate the line between the ground level and upper levels.

(e) Building mass should be de-emphasized through the use of projecting and recess elements, such as porches, windows, and roof dormers, to reduce the overall bulk and volume, enhance the visual aesthetic, and promote a human-scale development pattern.

(3) Ground-floor facade. The ground floor is the primary zone of interaction for pedestrians on the street. All projects subject to the land development application process should comply with the following design standards:

(a) Main building entrances should face the street or public space and be oriented to the primary or dominant street if on a corner lot.

(b) For buildings with a facade or tenant space facing both a primary street and a side or rear parking lot, the main entrance should face the primary street. Secondary entrances should face the side or rear parking lot.

(c) Building lobbies and retail spaces should be clearly connected to the outdoor public space and visible from the street.

(d) For buildings with nonresidential uses on the ground floor, windows must be at street level and allow pedestrians to see activity within the building.

(e) For buildings with residential uses on the ground floor, privacy can be achieved by raising windows higher on the building facade, but by no more than half a level above the sidewalk.

(4) Architectural elements. Architectural elements are the unique details and component parts that, together, form the architectural style of buildings and structures.

(a) All projects subject to the land development application process should comply with the following standards:

[1] Windows and doors on primary building facades.

[a] Ground floor of primary front facade should contain between 65% to 70% clear windows and doors.

[b] Highly reflective glass, bronze glass, tinted glass, black glass, or smoked glass is prohibited.

[c] Windows and door openings on the ground floor of the primary building facade must occur in a ratio of at least 3:1 between openings and solid surfaces.

[d] Windows above the ground floor of the primary building facade must be clear and occur in a ratio of 1:1 along the horizontal width of the facade to result in a pattern of solid-wall buildings with punched windows.

[e] Individual windows in upper stories of the primary front facade should be vertically aligned with the location of windows and doors on the ground level, to the extent feasible.

[f] In buildings with nonresidential uses on the ground level, the maximum sill height above the adjacent sidewalk elevation should be two feet or lower.

[g] Window heads should be eight feet to 12 feet above sidewalk level.

[h] The top of display window(s) in the primary front facade should be at least as high as the door height.

[2] Windows and doors on secondary building facades. Any building wall with less than 25% of clear windows should be articulated by two or more of the following methods:

[a] Details in masonry courses.

[b] Blank window openings trimmed with frames, sills, and lintels.

[c] Where the building is occupied by a commercial use, recessed or projecting window cases.

[3] Exterior wall materials.

[a] There should be one dominant material. Dominant materials could include brick, stone, wood, hardiplank, fiber cement siding or approved similar material.

[b] The number of secondary materials should be minimized and used above the ground floor. Secondary materials could include stucco, vinyl siding, or any of the dominant materials.

[4] Roofs.

[a] Tops of buildings must express the roofline and have either pitched roofs with overhanging eaves or flat roofs with articulated parapets and cornices.

[b] Fascias, dormers, and gables or similar architectural features should be employed to provide visual interest.

[c] Pitched roofs should have a minimum slope of 4:12.

[d] Pitched roof material may include:

[i] Slate, either natural or man-made.

[ii] Shingle, either wood or asphalt composition.

[iii] Metal formed to resemble standing seams or other similar materials.

[e] Corrugated plastic or metal roofs are prohibited.

[f] All rooftop mechanical equipment should be screened visually and acoustically. Such screening should be integrated into the architectural design of the building.

(b) The Board of Supervisors may approve the use of architectural standards and designs that differ from those set forth in this subsection if the applicant demonstrates to the satisfaction of the Board that such standards and designs are consistent with the legislative intent of this article and of this subsection.

C. The following specific standards should apply to new residential development or redevelopment activities that are subject to the land development application process in the Village Transition District and the Village Residential District:

(1) The front facade of the principal building on a lot should face onto a public street.

(2) Porches, pent roofs, roof overhangs, hooded front doors, or other similar architectural elements should define the front entrance to new residences.

(3) Garages should be set back a minimum of 10 feet from the building line of the primary facade of the principal building. The minimum side and rear yard setback for garages should be 10 feet, unless buildings are attached.

(4) Portions of steps, outside stairways, and/or entrance platforms extending beyond the build-to line or into side or rear yard areas should not comprise an area larger than 32 square feet, nor should they be located any closer than three feet from any property line.

D. Structured parking facilities (parking garages). Structured parking facilities in the Village of Berwyn Districts should abide by the following standards:

(1) The primary building facade of parking structures should include architectural design elements that emulate pedestrian-scaled residential, commercial or mixed-use buildings. This appearance can be achieved either by integrating structured parking within or behind actual residential, commercial or mixed-use structures, or by the construction of building facades on parking structures that employ the same dominant and secondary building materials included herein for such buildings. Such building materials should include elements that resemble actual windows and be arranged accordingly on the building facade.

(2) Vehicles in structured parking facilities should not be visible from the street.

(3) Automobile access to parking structures must be gained from an interior driveway or secondary road frontage and not through the primary building facade.

E. Parking lot screening and greening standards. All parking and loading areas fronting public streets or sidewalks and all parking and loading areas abutting residential districts or uses in the Village of Berwyn Districts (VB, VT, and VR) should abide by the standards contained in § 274-43L of this chapter.

F. Historic resource protection shall be in accordance with the provisions of:

[Added 11-21-2022 by Ord. No. 453-22]

(1) Chapter 13, Article IV;

(2) Article XVIII, § 455-132, Definitions;

(3) Article VIII, § 455-44A through F; and

(4) Section 274-48F. Design standards for historic resource protection in the Village of Berwyn, consisting of six sheets, dated September 12, 2022, and any updates thereto.[1]

[1] Editor's Note: Said design standards are included as an attachment to this chapter.