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26 Aesthetics, Community Character, and the Law cials who could afford to resist the temptation of large tax revenues the su- perstoresmightgenerate.generate. The city decided to focus on requiring a basic level of architectural variety, compatible scale, pedestrian and bicycle ac- cess, and mitigation of negative impacts. The resulting regulations apply to new"large"retail establishments(i.e., any one or a collection of retail establishments in a single building, occu- pying more than 25,000 gross square feet of lot area, or an addition to an existing large retail establishment that would increase the gross square feet of floor area by 50 percent). They include both "standards," which are mandatory, and "guidelines," which are not mandatory but are provided in order to educate planners,design consultants,developers and local staff about the design objectives. The standards are not intended to limit cre- ativity;rather,the city hopes they will serve as a useful tool for design pro- fessionals to engage in site-specific design in context. The standards and guidelines address the following issues. Architectural Character. To prevent blank, windowless, faceless fa- cades,the standards: • forbid uninterrupted length of any facade in excess of 100 feet(by requiring recesses,projections,windows,awnings,and arcades); • require that smaller retail stores that are part of a larger principal building have display windows and separate outside entrances; • direct the use of a repeating pattern of change in color,texture,and material modules; • dictate variations in roof lines;and • require that each principal building have a clearly defined,highly visible customer entrance with distinguishing features such as canopies or porticos. Color and Materials. To ensure higher-quality development, the standards- The standards are not intended • require predominant exterior materials to be of high quality,such to limit creativity;rather,the as brick,wood,sandstone,or other native stone; city hopes they will serve as a useful tool for design • require facade colors to be of "low reflectance, subtle, neutral, or professionals to engage in site- earth tone colors," and prohibit the use of high-intensity or metal- specific design in context. lic colors;and • P rohibit the use of neon tubing as an accent material. Relationship to Surrounding Community.To ensure that superstores are compatible with surrounding streets and commercial and residen- tial development, the standards require: • all facades visible from adjoining properties and/or public streets to contribute to the pleasing scale of features of the building and encourage community integration by featuring characteristics sim- ilar to a front facade; • all sides of a principal building that directly face abutting public streets to include at least one customer entrance; • minimum setbacks for any building facades of 35 feet, within which a six-foot earth berm planted with evergreen trees must be included if the facade faces adjacent residential uses; • loading docks,trash collection,and other outdoor storage and ac- tivity areas to be incorporated into the overall design of the build- ing and the landscaping,so that the visual and acoustic impacts are fully contained;and • the provision of community and public spaces such as water fea- tures,clock towers,or patio seating areas.