We're approved! On June 1, 2022 the BV Basecamp project was approved by the Buena Vista Planning and Zoning Committee. The archived planning and zoning page for this project is here. The image below is a rendering of the street facing view from Arkansas St.
It's been a considerable journey since we started planning the BV Basecamp development a year ago. In this three part series, we'll cover the three major areas necessary to get us through the planning and zoning process (Architecture, Engineering, Landscape/Site and Public Improvements).
Architecture
The site plan provides the foundation for your work through the approval process. Below is a portion of the site plan for the BV Basecamp development.
Within most municipalities there are zoning ordinances indicating what is allowed to be built on a particular piece of property. Generally speaking what is allowed falls into two categories:
use by right -- as long as you conform with the design criteria, you can build for this purpose
special use permit -- a use allowed provided that the planning and zoning committee signs off on it in a public meeting
This property is zoned MU-2 (Mixed use 2). In the town of Buena Vista, this means you are permitted to build anything from office space to apartments to retail to light industrial (and several other things). We chose to proceed with a mix of local/remote workforce focused apartments with co-working office space to accommodate a variety of community housing needs.
In addition to what you can build, the town architectural standards adopted in the Uniform Development Code (UDC) guide how things look and indirectly how much they cost to build. In out initial submittal we ran into several challenges we did not fully anticipate. These things included:
street facing window boxing
structural offsets to avoid building plane alignment
addition of cantilevered balconies
additional site lighting
additional surface treatments to provide variability
additional non-functional windows to break up the wall plane
We were not terribly excited about the extensive rework of the plans to accommodate these elements but it is required by the code. While the cost of all of these changes is the topic for a different blog post, it is worth noting that all of these "beautiful" things are expensive to engineer, architect and create reducing the affordability of development.
Our overall writeup of compliance with these design standards is below (references are to the UDC 16.04 document):
4.5. Site and Building Design Standards – The BV Basecamp design incorporates Balconies, Bay or box windows, Relief in wall plane of twelve (12) inches or more, and Variations in materials. The balconies adjacent to the office space on the second floor provide outdoor workspace above the community and storage pods. In addition, the first level street facing pods are offset by more than two feet to accommodate the ADA access ramp to the community pod. The offices will have a total of 4 street facing box windows with one (1) inch thick trim (frame) protruding approximately 6 inches to articulate the visual expression of the openings. Wall plane relief of twelve (12) inches or more is incorporated in the 2nd Level Office Pod overhang of the Community Pod and Utility pods. And, lastly, in reference to Variation in materials, the Community Pod and Utility + Storage Pod, are wrapped in stained vertical wood slats, the Office Pod and the remaining pods throughout the site, the shipping container corrugated metal and frame are painted white; the window and door jamb and metal deck frame and railing are painted dark grey.
4.5.2.C - Building Mass and Form - The facade facing Arkansas street incorporates the following: 1) Balcony - a balcony associated with the east most office space is provided using materials consistent with the deck/balcony facilitating entry to the second floor office spaces; 2) Window Boxes with approximately 6” prominence and 1” frame with are incorporated in the office windows facing Arkansas St.; 3) Wall Plane relief of 12” or more is provided in two separate locations creating a prominent main entry feature beneath the second floor office structure. 4) a variety of tastefully curated materials is included within the street facing facade (Metal, Wood, Glass). 5) window and door trim with a reveal from the wall plane of greater than 3 inches is incorporated.
4.5.2.D - Roof Form - The roofline varies from flat surface to decked surface with prominent rail every 20-40 feet. The roof height varies every 40 feet or less. See sheet A3.6.
4.5.2.F - Multi-Building Developments - The development is organized around a central courtyard accented with a gas fire pit centered outdoor gathering place. Within the development, two other outdoor gathering spaces with community grills are incorporated. Off-street parking is provided behind the development and away from pedestrian traffic along Arkansas St. A birds-eye view of the site is provided in sheet L1 and several others.
In parts two and three of this sequence of planning and zoning related posts for the BV Basecamp project, we will discuss:
Engineering Elements
Civil
Structural
Electrical
Fire
Site Elements
Driveways and Access Circulation (UDC 16.04.4.2.3)
Pedestrian Circulation (UDC 16.04.4.2.5)
Parking (UDC 16.04.4.3)
Landscaping (UDC 16.04.4.4)
Exterior Lighting (UDC 16.04.4.6)