Professional Documents
Culture Documents
NOVEMBER, 2009
Introduction................................................................................................................... 3-5
What is the Subdivision Design Manual?.................................................... 3
Purpose of the Design Manual ....................................................................... 3-4
How to Use This Document .............................................................................. 4-5
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Introduction Cont’d...
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Introduction Cont’d...
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SUBDIVISION DESIGN ELEMENTS
2009
C I T Y O F O A K H A R B O R
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SUBDIVISION DESIGN ELEMENTS
Figure 1 - Rendering showing a narrow street section with two 10’ travel lanes and one 8’ lane
of on-street parking. Landscape strips and sidewalks are on both sides of the street.
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SUBDIVISION DESIGN ELEMENTS
The intent behind providing a wide street is to Table 21.50 - 1 requires the following essential ele-
offer a choice in residential street design. Wide ments for wide streets:
street sections allow more on-street parking to
be made available to residents and visitors. • Two 10’ travel lanes and either two 8’ parking
lanes or an 8’ parking lane on one side and 4’
bike lanes on both sides for a total of 36’ from
face-of-curb to face-of-curb width (Figure 2)
• 5’ wide sidewalk/path and 5’ wide landscape
strip on each side of the street (Figure 2)
• 60’ right-of-way width (Figure 2)
Figure 2 - Wide street section with two 10’ travel lanes and two 8’ lanes of on-street parking. Landscape strips
and sidewalks measuring 5’ each on both sides of the street.
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SUBDIVISION DESIGN ELEMENTS
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SUBDIVISION DESIGN ELEMENTS
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SUBDIVISION DESIGN ELEMENTS
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SUBDIVISION DESIGN ELEMENTS
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SUBDIVISION DESIGN ELEMENTS
Eyebrow
cul-de-sac
Closed cul-de-sac
Figure 11- Example of a closed cul-de-sac with a land- Figure 12- Example of an eyebrow cul-de-sac that pro-
scape strip in the center. vides a landscape island and sufficient access to all lots.
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SUBDIVISION DESIGN ELEMENTS
Alleys
OHMC Reference: 21.50.090
What are Alleys?
An alley is a right-of-way that allows secondary
vehicular access to residential, commercial, and Benefits of Alleys
industrial property. Alleys may either be pub-
licly dedicated and maintained or privately
owned and maintained. • Pedestrian-Oriented Design
The code now encourages using alleys in resi- • Increased Safety By Reducing
dential subdivisions for their design and access Driveway Conflicts on Arterials
benefits. Alleys help minimize the number of and Collectors
driveway accesses onto arterials and collectors
and preserve the functionality of these streets. • Improved Service Access
Perhaps more importantly, alleys “hide” vehicu-
lar access, placing it behind the building and
emphasizing the more attractive features of a
building’s architecture, such as porches and
front entrances (Figure 16).
Examples of Alleys
Figure 15 - Figure 16
Aerial photo Houses that
showing alley- emphasize
loaded single- the front
family homes façade ar-
and town- chitecture.
homes in a Garages
subdivision. are in the
rear of the
house ac-
cessed from
an alley.
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SUBDIVISION DESIGN ELEMENTS
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SUBDIVISION DESIGN ELEMENTS
Lot Dimensions
OHMC Reference: 21.50.100
Minimum Lot Dimensions
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SUBDIVISION DESIGN ELEMENTS
Corridor Buffers
OHMC Reference: 21.60.180
What is a Corridor Buffer? - 21.60.200
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SUBDIVISION DESIGN ELEMENTS
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SUBDIVISION DESIGN ELEMENTS
Figure 36 Figure 37
Land- Fencing
scaped that is
perimeter designed
around to allow
pond with visual
mix of access to
ground- the pond.
cover
plants and
shrubs.
Figure 38 Figure 39
Example Example
of an ex- of a pond
posed that is
aggregate made
wall. This into a
is illustra- neighbor-
tive of hood
natural amenity
materials and in-
that may cludes a
be used in trail.
pond de-
sign.
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PRD DESIGN ELEMENTS
2009
C I T Y O F O A K H A R B O R
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PRD DESIGN ELEMENTS
The code intends that active open space be visi- • High Quality neighborhood
ble, useable, and accessible to residents of design
PRDs. Staff analysis done in 2008 shows that
some open spaces in Oak Harbor lack these
qualities. In response to this, the code now re-
quires that more amenities be provided within
active open space in the form of an activity cen- Examples of Active Open Space Design
ter, benches, lighting, and trash receptacles.
Figure 41
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PRD DESIGN ELEMENTS
Figure 42
Figure 43
Seating pro-
Up to 50% of
vided in an open
stormwater
space for people
ponds may
to rest, read, or
count as open
watch the activ-
space within a
ity around them.
PRD, provided
it meets the re-
quirements of
19.31.120(8).
Figure 44 Figure 45
Active open Trash receptacle in open
space that is space that is of high qual-
highly visible ity design.
and accessible,
because it has
street frontage
and a pedes-
trian connec-
tion.
Figure 46
Example of mini-
mum open space
size in comparison
to residential lot
dimensions.
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PRD DESIGN ELEMENTS
Non-Dominant Garages
OHMC Reference: 19.31.190(3)(a-c)
What are Non-Dominant
Garages?
PRD’s allow applicants the flexibility to vary Benefits of Non-dominant
from zoning standards. Applicants commonly Garages
request smaller lots and reduced setbacks in
PRDs. On these lots, garages can become the
focal point of the subdivision, leading to poor • Improved, pedestrian-
urban design and auto-dominated, rather than oriented streetscape.
people-centric, design. The PRD criteria in
19.31.190 therefore, emphasize the front en- • Sense of place
trances of residential buildings, which are more
attractive than the garage. This regulation is
• More Eyes on the street,
meant to refocus the residential streetscape on
quality design and pedestrian-scaled architec- Helping Promote Safety
ture.
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PRD DESIGN ELEMENTS
Superior Architecture
OHMC Reference: 19.31.190(7)
What is Superior Architecture?
PRD’s are required to meet either the criteria
for superior architecture (summarized below in Benefits of Superior
code requirements) or the criteria for optional Architecture
site design elements per 19.31.190(8). Superior
architecture is building design with articulation
and visual distinction. It can occur through a • Encourages Quality
variety of methods ranging from changing and Neighborhood Design
varying the materials used on the exterior to de-
emphasizing garages on residences. • Helps create a sense of place
for residents
Superior design works in conjunction with al-
ternating setbacks, non-dominating garages,
and alley loaded buildings to create visually in- • Promotes pedestrian ori-
teresting residential design. Collectively, they ented design
address the problem of monotonous neighbor-
hood designs that are built without any distin-
guishing characteristics. Examples of Superior Architecture
Figure 54 Figure 55
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PRD DESIGN ELEMENTS
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