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20.20.525 Mechanical equipment.
A. Applicability. The requirements of this section shall be imposed for all new development, and construction or placement of new mechanical equipment on existing buildings, and each time a project requires a discretionary land use permit approval. Mechanical equipment should be installed so as not to detract from the appearance of the building or development.
B. Design Objectives. The following objectives apply to the type and placement of mechanical equipment proposed:
1. To the maximum extent reasonable and consistent with site design objectives, mechanical equipment should be located at or below grade rather than mounted on the roof of a structure.
2. Where the equipment must be located on the roof, it should be consolidated to the maximum extent reasonable rather than scattered.
3. Exposed mechanical equipment should be visually screened by a solid, nonreflective visual barrier that equals or exceeds the height of the mechanical equipment.
C. Implementation.
1. Mechanical equipment located at or below grade may be placed within a required rear or side setback area unless that setback is in a single-family residential land use district, directly abuts a residential land use district, or that setback is within a critical area, critical area buffer, or critical area structure setback required by Part 20.25H LUC.
2. Mechanical equipment associated with new single-family residential homes and homes adding more than 1,000 gross square feet in single-family residential land use districts shall be located in the rear yard or, if placed in the side yard outside of the side structure setback, shall provide sound screening to attenuate noise impacts. Mechanical equipment located in the rear yard shall not be placed less than five feet from any property line.
3. Mechanical equipment located at or below grade will not be included for purposes of calculating lot coverage.
4. Mechanical equipment shall be visually screened by a solid, nonreflective visual barrier that equals or exceeds the height of the mechanical equipment; provided, that the function of a large satellite dish antenna or an antenna array may not be compromised by the screening requirement. The barrier may be provided by any of the following:
a. Architectural features, such as parapets or mechanical penthouses;
b. Walls or solid fencing, of a height at least as high as the equipment it screens;
c. Vegetation and/or a combination of vegetation and view-obscuring fencing, of a type and size which will provide a dense visual barrier at least as high as the equipment it screens within two years from the time of planting; or
d. The natural topography of the site or the adjoining property or right-of-way.
5. Where screening from above is required, mechanical equipment shall be screened by incorporating one of the following measures:
a. A solid nonreflective roof. The roof may incorporate nonreflective louvers, vents or similar penetrations to provide necessary ventilation or exhaust of the equipment being screened; or
b. Painting of the equipment to match or approximate the color of the background against which the equipment is viewed.
6. For development which requires approval of a discretionary land use permit, the City may modify the screening requirements of subsections C.4 and C.5 of this section subject to the criteria set forth in subsection C.7 of this section.
7. The Director may approve alternative screening measures not meeting the specific requirements of subsection C.4 or C.5 of this section if the applicant demonstrates that:
a. The proposed alternative screening measures will achieve the design objectives of subsection B of this section and produce an equal or better result than the requirements of subsection C.4 or C.5 of this section; or
b. When screening of mechanical equipment on an existing roof is required:
i. The existing roof structure cannot safely support the required screening, or
ii. The integrity of the existing roof will be so compromised by the required screening as to adversely affect any existing warranty of the performance of the roof. (Ord. 5896, 8-3-09, § 2; Ord. 5683, 6-26-06, § 14; Ord. 5460, 8-4-03, § 4; Ord. 5086, 8-3-98, § 4; Ord. 4973, 3-3-97, § 401; Ord. 4816, 11-27-95, § 501; Ord. 4654, 6-6-94, § 32; Ord. 3775, 5-26-87, § 16; Ord. 3498, 5-28-85, § 24; Ord. 3293, 9-19-83, § 1)