Oak Harbor Subdivision Design Manual 2009

CITY OF OAK HARBOR

Subdivision Design ManualNOVEMBER, 2009

865 SE Barrington Drive • Oak Harbor • Washington

TABLE OF CONTENTS

Introduction...................................................................................................................3-5 What is the Subdivision Design Manual?....................................................3Purpose of the Design Manual.......................................................................3-4How to Use This Document..............................................................................4-5Subdivision Design Elements......................................................................................6Local Residential streets - Narrow Section.............................................7Local Residential streets - Wide Section....................................................8 Alternative Street Design......................................................................................9 Alternative Parking Designs.............................................................................10Local Residential Streets – Grid or Modified Grid...........................11Local Residential Streets - Limitations on Dead-Ends............12-13 Alleys...................................................................................................................................14 Access Easements - Shared Drives and Private Streets.....................15Lot Dimensions............................................................................................................16Block Size and Configuration.........................................................................17Corridor Buffers.......................................................................................................18Pedestrian/Bike Connections ...................................................................19-20Stormwater Ponds– Landscaping and Design................................21-22PRD Design Elements.....................................................................................................23Open Space – Active.............................................................................................24-25Non-Dominant Garages........................................................................................26 Alternating Front Setbacks...............................................................................27 Alley Loaded Buildings..........................................................................................28Superior Architecture...........................................................................................29Critical Area Integration...................................................................................30

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Introduction

What is the Subdivision Design Manual?

Since Oak Harbor was incorporated in1889, the growth and evolution of the cityhas been influenced by the way land hasbeen subdivided and developed. The com-munity’s streets and block patterns; openspaces and parks; sidewalks and trails;have all resulted to a great extent fromincremental changes through the subdivi-sion of land.In 2009, the City updated Chapter 19.31and Title 21 of the Oak Harbor MunicipalCode dealing with Planned ResidentialDevelopments (PRDs) and Subdivisions.The three principle goals of the code up-dates were: 1)to make residential develop-ments more sustainable, 2) to improve thecommunity’s livability; and 3) to developregulations that were easy to understandand administer. The design standards em-bodied in the code update achieve the firsttwo goals through regulations that ad-dress such aspects of subdivision layout asblock length, pedestrian connections, andopen space design. By presenting theseregulations with specificity in the Code,and providing the illustrations, photo-graphs, and descriptions in this Subdivi-sion Design Manual, the third goal is met.

THE SUBDIVISION DESIGN MANUALIS A VISUAL AND GRAPHIC EXPLA-NATION OF THE CODE

Purpose of the Design Manual

The Subdivision Design Manual is a visualand graphic explanation of the code. It’spurpose is to illustrate, not regulate.

THE ABILITY OF NEWSUBDIVISIONS TO DE-VELOP IN SUCH A WAYTHAT THEY ARE CONTEX-TUALLY SENSITIVE TOTHE EXISTING PATTERNSOF THE BUILT ENVIRON-MENT AND FACILITATEHEALTHY LIFESTYLES,ACTIVITIES, AND USES,THROUGH THE ARRANGE-MENT OF THE BUILTFORM.

THE FORMATTING OF THESUBDIVISION REGULATIONS ,AS PRESENTED IN THE MUNCI-PAL CODE AND SUBDIVISIONDESIGN MANUAL, IN SUCH AWAY THAT THEY ARE EASILYUNDERSTOOD BY THE COM-MUNITY, CITY STAFF, COUN-CIL, PLANNING COMMISSIONAND APPLICANTS ALIKE.

THE ABILITY OF NEWSUBDIVISION DEVEL-OPMENT TO MAINTAINTHE ENVIRONMENTALFUNCTIONS PRESENTON A PARTICULARPIECE OF LAND.

SUSTAINABILITYLIVABILITYREADABILITY