17.50.040 Policies and procedures | McMinnville Municipal Code

17.50.040 Policies and procedures.

The following policies and procedures shall apply to lands within designated neighborhood activity centers:

A. The neighborhood activity center (NAC) is intended to facilitate the development of an activity center at the neighborhood scale. Neighborhoods are contiguous areas, generally containing approximately 600 to 1,500 dwellings, or approximately 1,500 to 3,500 people. The NAC should contain facilities vital to the day-to-day activity of a neighborhood (e.g., neighborhood grocery store, drugstore, church, coffee shop) located in close proximity to residential uses. The NAC should contain the neighborhood’s highest-density housing and link pedestrian, bike, and transit networks from adjacent residential areas to the NAC.

B. Approval of a neighborhood activity center concept plan that addresses the NAC planning requirements is required in locations that are not covered by an approved area plan or master plan. Approval of an NAC concept plan shall follow the approval steps for an area plan and master plan set forth in Comprehensive Plan Policies 187.80 and 187.90.

C. An approved neighborhood activity center concept plan and/or development plan is required prior to any development or redevelopment within these overlay areas. At a minimum, a concept plan shall encompass the entire land area within a designated activity center overlay that is proposed for development. The specific boundaries of the activity center shall be reviewed with city staff to determine an appropriate boundary.

The following chart should be used as a guiding principle for the NAC plan. Variances up to 20 percent will be allowed if the variance helps to achieve the purpose of the NAC as stated in Section 17.50.010.

	Average Area
Combined focus and support areas	40 to 80 acres
Support area	30 to 50 acres
Focus Area, Acreage
focus area total acreage	8 to 30 acres
focus area, commercial portion	2.5 to 10 acres
focus area, office portion	2.5 to 10 acres
focus area, institutional portion	1 to 10 acres
focus area, public space (park, plaza)	0.25 to 2.5 acres
Focus Area, Floor Space
total retail floor space, acceptable range	50,000 to 100,000 sq. ft.
total office floor space, acceptable range	25,000 to 100,000 sq. ft.
total institutional floor space, acceptable range	2,500 to 25,000 sq. ft.
max. size of largest nongrocery retailer	10,000 to 30,000 sq. ft.
max. size of grocery/supermarket	20,000 to 40,000 sq. ft.

D. A neighborhood activity center concept plan addresses the general density, mix of uses, and development patterns within an activity center. They are less detailed than the development plans required for full site plan or subdivision review. The intent is to provide sufficient information to determine consistency with the land use plan and this chapter.

1. An activity center concept plan shall, at a minimum, include the following:

a. Size and location of the land proposed for development as all or part of an activity center;

b. Proposed gross density of the activity center, including the maximum number of units and square footage of uses;

c. A general concept plan showing major and minor transportation corridors and pedestrian linkages throughout, including appropriate linkages between uses; and

d. Uses proposed for the activity center, including approximate total percentages of land area and general locations devoted to residential, office, commercial, and institutional uses. The plan should show how the mixing of uses is being achieved.

e. Information on how the plan meets the requirements of this chapter, the applicable McMinnville Comprehensive Plan Policies, McMinnville’s Great Neighborhood Principles, and other applicable implementing ordinances.

E. Approval of an activity center concept plan shall be based upon compliance with the following criteria where deemed appropriate (i.e., it may not be practical for some existing or partially built activity centers to achieve certain design standards). The guidelines under each criterion must be used to satisfy the criterion, or the applicant may propose an alternative approach, as approved by the city, that better achieves the intent of the guidelines.

1. Plan Consistency. The concept plan has been prepared consistent with the requirements of this chapter;

2. Compact Development. The site layout is compact, and enables future intensification of development and changes in land use over time.

i. Opportunities for shared parking are utilized in the proposal; and

ii. If the site contains more than one use, the site layout clusters buildings on the site to promote linked trips. A cluster is a group of buildings that are attached, oriented on adjacent street corners, or are close together such that a pedestrian need not walk across more than one double-loaded row of parking (not inclusive of sidewalks, pathways, landscaping, plazas, and other pedestrian facilities) between building entrances; or

iii. The proposal contains an equally good or superior way to achieve the above criteria.

3. Mixed Land Use. Where appropriate, land uses are mixed on site or are mixed in combination with adjacent uses (existing or planned); the combining of land uses should promote easy access among stores and services by pedestrians.

i. The proposal is a “mixed-use” development or contributes to a mixed-use district. For the purposes of this chapter, “mixed-use” means a combination of residential and commercial/industrial/civic uses, arranged vertically (in multiple stories of buildings) or horizontally (adjacent to one another); or

ii. The proposal is designed in such a way that it is well integrated with adjacent land uses. “Integrated” means that uses are within a comfortable walking distance (one-eighth mile) and are connected to each other with direct, convenient and attractive sidewalks and/or pathways; or

iii. The existing and planned land uses on, or in the vicinity of, the site make it impracticable to meet subsection (E)(3)(a)(i) or (ii) of this section; or

iv. The proposal contains an equally good or superior way to achieve the above criteria.

4. Pedestrian Access, Safety and Comfort. All portions of the development are accessible by a direct, convenient, attractive, safe, and comfortable system of pedestrian facilities, and the development provides appropriate pedestrian amenities. The design of buildings supports a safe and attractive pedestrian environment.

i. Commercial building(s) shall have at least one primary entrance facing abutting streets;

ii. In any zone, pedestrian facilities, as described below, connect the development to adjacent land uses and provide connections through the development to the public street right-of-way;

iii. Sidewalks and/or plazas are provided with weather protection (e.g., awnings/canopies), and a street furnishing zone on both sides of every public and private street. Appropriate pedestrian amenities (e.g., street tree well cut-outs, and space for outdoor seating, bus waiting areas, trash cans, newspaper vending machines, mail boxes, sidewalk displays, public art, etc.) are provided in the street furnishing zone;

iv. Parking and vehicle drives are located away from building entrances, and not between a building entrance and the street, except as may be allowed when a direct pedestrian connection is provided from the sidewalk to the building entrance;

v. Surface parking is oriented behind or to the side of a building when possible and shall be screened from the sidewalk by low walls, fences or hedges; for corner lots, buildings should generally be located and oriented to the corner portion of the lot, with parking to the rear or interior side;

vi. Landscape buffering is provided between parking lots and all adjacent sidewalks; or

vii. The proposal contains an equally good or superior way to achieve the above criteria.

5. Street Connections. The development is part of a connected street system that serves vehicles, pedestrians and bicycles.

i. Public or private streets connect the development to adjacent neighborhoods;

ii. No block face shall have a length greater than 500 feet without a dedicated alley or pathway providing through access;

iii. The long axis of the street shall have appropriate termination with either a public monument, specifically designed building facade, or a gateway to the ensuing space;

iv. Public streets are preferred over private streets to accommodate through traffic;

v. The proposal implements all planned street connections, as designated by the city’s Master plan; or

vi. The proposal contains an equally good or superior way to achieve the above criteria.

6. Parking and Land Use Efficiency. All of the following methods are used whenever possible to minimize the amount of land developed as surface parking:

i. Shared Parking. “Shared parking” means that multiple uses share one or more parking facilities. Parking demands must “peak” during different times of the day;

ii. Credit for On-Street Parking. The amount of required off-street parking shall be reduced by one off-street parking space for every on-street parking space adjacent to the development. On-street parking shall follow the established configuration of existing on-street parking, subject to city standards, except that angled parking may be allowed for some streets, as approved by the city. The configuration of the on-street parking and allowable credit toward off-street parking requirements shall be addressed during site/design review. The city shall maintain a written record of credits granted per each use;

iii. Reduce or Waive Minimum Off-Street Parking Standards. The applicant may request a reduction to or waiver of parking standards based on a parking impact study. The study allows the applicant to propose a reduced parking standard based on estimated peak use; reductions due to easy pedestrian accessibility; availability of transit service; and adjacent on-street parking. The parking study is subject to review and approval or modification by the city;

iv. Maximum Parking Ratio. Surface parking shall not exceed 110 percent of the minimum parking requirement for the subject land use(s). Exemptions to the standard can be approved through site/design review for developments that provide parking structures, shared parking, valet parking spaces, market rate parking, or similarly managed parking facilities.

7. Creating and Protecting Public Spaces. The proposal provides usable public space, and recognizes and responds appropriately to existing or planned public spaces (e.g., parks, civic buildings and spaces, transit stops, sidewalks, plazas, and similar spaces). Public spaces are “public” when they are within view of a street or other public space, accessible by pedestrians, and can be occupied by people. All developments shall meet or exceed the following guidelines:

i. The development does not diminish the safety, function, comfort or attraction of an existing public space, as described below.

(A)“Safety” means both pedestrian safety near vehicles, and safety related to crime prevention; and

(B)The “function” of a public space may include transportation, in the case of the sidewalk; recreation and socialization, in the case of a plaza or park; and

(C)“Comfort” means the ability of a public space to reasonably accommodate expected uses; and

(D)“Attraction” relates to the reason people use the public space; and/or

ii. The proposal contains an equally good or superior way to achieve the above criteria. A superior design may enhance an existing public space and/or create a superior public space(s).

8. Human-Scaled Building Design. Building facades are designed to a human scale for aesthetic appeal, pedestrian comfort, and compatibility with the design character of the neighborhood.

i. Existing architectural character of the neighborhood/district, which may or may not be an appropriate guide for new development or redevelopment;

ii. The continuity of the building sizes;

iii. How the street-level and upper-level architectural detailing is treated;

iv. Roof forms;

v. Rhythm of windows and doors; and

vi. General relationship of buildings to public spaces such as streets, plazas, other open space, and public parking.

9. General Use and Design Standards. The proposal complies with the following guidelines:

i. The entire activity center land area shall be divided into blocks, streets and lots and optional open space areas.

ii. Similar land categories shall generally front across streets. Dissimilar categories shall abut at rear lot lines. Corner lots which front on streets of dissimilar use shall be set back the same as the adjacent use with the lesser setback.

iii. Any commercial use which encourages patrons to remain in their automobiles while receiving goods or services, except service stations and banks; storage or warehousing facilities; auto sales; or retail uses that exceed 10,000 square feet in size (except grocery stores, which may be a maximum of 50,000 square feet in size) shall be prohibited. All commercial uses shall be conducted within completely enclosed buildings unless otherwise specified, except for sidewalk and pedestrian oriented uses, such as outdoor dining or sidewalk merchandise sales.

iv. All streets shall terminate at other streets within the neighborhood and connect to existing and projected through streets outside the development. (Ord. 5098 §1 (Appx. E), 2020).