In reviewing a site plan, the Commission shall
consider the following design guidelines:
A.
Exterior lighting.
(1)
Lighting may be used which serves security, safety
and operational needs but which does not directly or indirectly produce
deleterious effects on abutting properties or which would impair the
vision of a vehicle operator on adjacent roadways. Lighting fixtures
must be shielded or hooded so that the lighting elements are not exposed
to normal view by motorists, pedestrians, or from adjacent dwellings
and so that they do not unnecessarily light the night sky.
(2)
All exterior lighting, except security lighting, must
be turned off between 11:00 p.m. and 6:00 a.m. unless located on the
site of a commercial or industrial use which is open for business
during that period.
(3)
Wiring to light poles and standards must be underground.
(4)
Building facades may be illuminated with soft lighting
of low intensity that does not draw inordinate attention to the building.
The light source for the building facade illumination must be concealed.
(5)
Building entrances may be illuminated using recessed
lighting in overhangs and soffits, or by use of spotlighting focused
on the building entrances with the light source concealed. Direct
lighting of limited exterior building areas is permitted when necessary
for security purposes.
B.
Buffering of adjacent uses.
(1)
The development must provide for the buffering of
adjacent uses where there is a transition from one type of use to
another use and for the screening of mechanical equipment and service
and storage areas. The buffer may be provided by distance, landscaping,
fencing, changes in grade, and/or a combination of these or other
techniques.
(2)
Buffering must be designed to provide a year-round
visual screen in order to minimize adverse impacts. It may consist
of fencing, evergreens, berms, rocks, boulders, mounds, or a combination
thereof.
(3)
A development must provide sufficient buffering when
topographical or other barriers do not provide reasonable screening
and where there is a need to buffer the activities of the planned
use from adjoining properties.
(4)
The width of the buffer may vary depending on the
character of the area.
C.
Noise. The development must control noise levels such
that it will not create a nuisance for neighboring properties.
D.
Storage of materials.
(1)
Exposed nonresidential storage areas, and exposed
machinery, must have sufficient setbacks and screening to provide
a visual buffer sufficient to minimize their impact on abutting residential
uses and users of public streets.
(2)
All dumpsters or similar large collection receptacles
for trash or other wastes must be located on level surfaces, which
are paved, or a durable and dust-free surface as approved by the Commission.
Where the dumpster or receptacle is located in a yard which abuts
a residential or institutional use or a public street, it must be
screened by fencing or landscaping.
(3)
Where a potential safety hazard to children is likely
to arise, physical screening sufficient to deter small children from
entering the premises must be provided and maintained in good condition.
E.
Landscaping. Landscaping shall be provided in accordance
with the terms of the City Code of Taneytown.
F.
Building placement. The site design should avoid creating
a building surrounded by a parking lot. Where two or more buildings
are proposed, the buildings should be grouped and linked with sidewalks;
tree planting should be used to provide shade and break up the scale
of the site. Plantings should be provided along the building edge,
particularly where building facades consist of long or unbroken walls.
G.
Building entrances.
(1)
The main entrance to the building should be oriented
to the street unless the parking layout or the grouping of the buildings
justifies another approach, and should be clearly identified as such
through building and site design, landscaping, and/or signage.
(2)
At building entrance areas and drop-off areas, site
furnishings such as benches and sitting walls and, if appropriate,
bicycle racks shall be encouraged. Additional plantings may be desirable
at these points to identify the building entrance and to complement
the pedestrian activity at this point.
H.
Sidewalks. Where an existing or planned public sidewalk
is interrupted by a proposed project driveway, the sidewalk material
must continue to be maintained across the driveway, or the driveway
must be painted to distinguish it as a sidewalk. Further, if street
trees exist on an adjacent property, street trees must be planted,
in a like manner, on the new site.
I.
Parking.
(1)
Within developed areas, parking lots should be located
to the side or rear of the building. The use of shared parking, shared
driveways and the cross-connection of parking lots is encouraged.
(2)
Parking areas should be designed and landscaped to
create a pedestrian-friendly environment. A landscaped border must
be created around parking lots. Any parking lot containing 10 or more
parking spaces should include one or more landscaped islands within
the interior of the tot. There should be at least one island for every
20 spaces. Landscaping must screen the parking area from adjacent
residential uses and from the street.
J.
Landscaped roadside buffers. Whenever the area between
the street and the front of the building is used for parking or vehicle
movement, a vegetated buffer strip must be established along the edge
of the road right-of-way. This buffer strip must soften the appearance
of the site from the road and must create defined points of access
to and egress from the site.
K.
Building orientation. New buildings within a developed
area should be compatible with the neighborhood such that they reflect
the overall building bulk, square footage, dimensions, and placement
of the building on the lot. The visual impact of a building shall
be measured by its relationship to other buildings on the lot, and
design of the front of the building.
L.
Building scale. For new buildings that are proposed
in developed areas where their scale and other features may be significantly
different from that which already exists in the immediate neighborhood,
care must be taken to design the new building or structure so that
it is compatible with its neighbors. This may include making the building
appear small, using traditional materials, styles and/or proportions.
M.
Design of drive-through facilities. Any use that provides
drive-through service must be located and designed to minimize the
impact on neighboring properties and traffic circulation. Communication
systems must not be audible on adjacent properties in residential
use. Vehicular access to the drive-through shall be through a separate
lane that prevents vehicle queuing within normal parking areas. Adequate
queuing space must be provided to prevent any vehicles from having
to wait on a public street, within the entry from the street, or within
designated parking areas. The drive-through must not interfere with
any sidewalk or bicycle path.
