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A. Streetscapes.

1. Define the Pedestrian Environment.

a. Intent. A building should provide a continuous, visually rich pedestrian experience along its ground-floor or second-floor street front where active uses are present.

b. Guidelines.

i. The most important part of a building to a pedestrian is its ground floor, which a person experiences walking past or entering the building. This “pedestrian experience zone” shall provide a sense of enclosure, and a continuous and comfortable street edge for the pedestrian. Ground-floor building transparency should foster interaction between the public and private realms;

ii. Provide windows that are transparent at the street level;

iii. Create visual interest on walls by using a variety of forms, colors, and compatible cladding materials;

iv. Façades should provide a varied pedestrian experience by using bays, columns, pilasters, or other articulation at the street level;

v. Weather protection should help to define the upper edge of the pedestrian experience zone. A change in materials and scale will further define this zone;

vi. Signs and lighting at the ground level should complement the pedestrian scale; and

vii. Provide building edges that maintain strong visual and physical connections to the sidewalk.

2. Protect Pedestrians from the Elements.

a. Intent. Provide pedestrians with protection from wind, sun, and rain while allowing light to filter through to the occupants below.

b. Guidelines.

i. Weather protection along the ground floor of buildings shall protect pedestrians from rain and provide shade in summer, but allow some daylight penetration;

ii. The design of weather protection shall be an integral component of the building façade;

iii. Weather protection shall be in proportion to the building and sidewalk, and not so large as to impact street trees, light fixtures, or other street furniture;

iv. Weather protection shall assist in providing a sense of enclosure for the pedestrian;

v. Use durable materials for weather protection;

vi. Awning and marquee designs shall be coordinated with building design;

vii. The minimum height for awnings or marquees is eight feet above finished grade, except as otherwise required in the International Building Code, as adopted and amended by the City of Bellevue;

viii. The maximum height for awnings or marquees is 12 feet above finished grade;

ix. Pavement below weather protection shall be constructed to provide for drainage;

x. Weather protection shall have a horizontal rather than a sloping orientation along the building elevation; and

xi. Weather protection shall follow the pattern of storefronts.

3. Create a Variety of Outdoor Spaces.

a. Intent. Provide comfortable and inviting outdoor spaces for a variety of activities during all hours and seasons.

b. Guidelines.

i. Outdoor gathering spaces should be inviting and maximize opportunities for use. They should be spatially well-defined, inviting, secure, and easy to maintain. They may be intimate and quiet or active and boisterous;

ii. All outdoor areas should work well for pedestrians and provide space for special events, as well as passive activities;

iii. Provide courtyards, squares, and plazas to enhance adjacent ground floor uses;

iv. Use buildings to surround green spaces and give the space visual definition. Vitality can be generated by active ground floor uses and programming within the space;

v. Use trees, shrubs, and plants to help define walkways, create transitions from open spaces to the street, and provide visual interest;

vi. Provide for outdoor spaces that can support active uses such as farmers’ markets, festivals, and community events;

vii. Provide structures, pavilions, and seating areas that are easily accessible and feel safe and secure during day and evening hours; and

viii. Provide pedestrian walkways and courtyards in residential or office development areas.

4. Provide Places for Stopping and Viewing.

a. Intent. People watching, socializing, and eating are restful and pleasurable activities for the pedestrian; providing special places where they can do these activities increases the pedestrian’s sense of enjoyment. Seating and resting places can add vitality to the urban environment. People will use available seating in open, well-designed areas, not in secluded or highly exposed areas.

b. Guidelines.

i. Use formal benches, movable seating, and informal seating areas such as wide steps, edges of landscaped planters and low walls;

ii. Provide more seating areas near active retail establishments especially outside eating and drinking establishments and near food vendors;

iii. Provide seating adjacent to sidewalks and pedestrian walkways;

iv. Create places for stopping and viewing adjacent to and within parks, squares, plazas, and courtyards;

v. Create a sense of separation from vehicular traffic; and

vi. Provide comfortable and inviting places where people can stop to sit, rest and visit.

5. Integrate Artistic Elements.

a. Intent. Artistic elements should complement the character of a site, building or Land Use District as a whole. Art enriches the development by making buildings and open spaces more engaging and memorable. Art is integral to creating a memorable experience for those who live, work, and visit Downtown, especially when the art is integrated into the design of the building or outdoor space. To maximize the opportunities for art on a site, applicants are encouraged to include artists on design teams.

b. Guidelines.

i. Use art to provide a conceptual framework to organize open spaces including plazas, open spaces, setbacks, and streetscapes;

ii. Use art to mark entryways, corners, gateways and view termini;

iii. Integrate art into building elements, including but not limited to: façades, canopies, lighting, etc.;

iv. Designate a location for the artwork that activates the public realm and is in scale with its location; and

v. Use materials and methods that will withstand public use and weathering if sited outdoors.

6. Orient Lighting toward Sidewalks and Public Spaces.

a. Intent. Pedestrian-scaled lighting should be used to highlight sidewalks, bike racks and lockers, street trees, and other features, and harmonize with other visual elements in the subarea.

b. Guidelines.

i. Pedestrian-scaled lighting should be provided along pedestrian walkways and public open spaces;

ii. Lighting should be compatible among projects within neighborhoods to accentuate their unique character;

iii. Fixtures should be visually compatible so as not to overpower or dominate the streetscape;

iv. Lighting may also be used to highlight trees and similar features within public and private plazas, courtyards, walkways, and other similar outdoor areas and to create an inviting and safe ambiance;

v. Use lighting to highlight landscape areas;

vi. Integrate and conceal fixtures into the design of buildings or landscape walls, handrails, and stairways;

vii. Install foot lighting that illuminates walkways and stairs;

viii. Use energy-efficient lighting, such as LED;

ix. Direct bollard lighting downward toward walking surfaces;

x. Provide festive lighting along signature streets on buildings and trees; and

xi. Decorative lighting may be used in open spaces to make the area more welcoming.

7. Orient Hanging and Blade Signs to Pedestrians.

a. Intent. Signs may provide an address, identify a place of business, locate residential buildings or generally offer directions and information. Their function shall be architecturally compatible with and contribute to the character of the surrounding area. Hanging signs should be oriented to the pedestrian and highly visible from the sidewalk. Hanging signs can contribute significantly to a positive retail and pedestrian environment and reinforce a sense of place. Signs shall comply with the provisions of the Chapter 22.10B BCC (Sign Code).

b. Guidelines.

i. Signs should not overwhelm the streetscape. They should be compatible with and complement the building’s architecture, including its awnings, canopies, lighting, and street furniture;

ii. Sign lighting should be integrated into the façade of the building;

iii. Signs should be constructed of high-quality materials and finishes;

iv. Signs should be attached to the building in a durable fashion; and

v. Signs should be constructed of individual, three-dimensional letters, as opposed to one single box with cutout flat letters.

8. Build Compatible Parking Structures.

a. Intent. Use design elements to enhance the compatibility of parking garages and integrated structured parking with the urban streetscape.

b. Standards and Guidelines.

i. Where adjacent to a right-of-way, a minimum of 20 feet of the first and second floors measured from the façade inward shall be habitable for commercial activity. The following rights-of-way are excluded from this requirement:

(1) 114th Ave NE;

(2) Through-block pedestrian connections;

(3) Main Street between 112th Ave NE and 114th Ave NE;

(4) NE 2nd Street between 112th Ave NE and 114th Ave NE;

(5) NE 4th Street between 112th Ave NE and 114th Ave NE; and

(6) NE 6th Street between 112th Ave NE and 114th Ave NE;

ii. Parking garages and integrated structured parking shall be designed so that their streetscape interface has a consistent aesthetic through massing and use of materials complementing the vision for the area;

iii. On a streetscape, openings shall be glazed when adjacent to right-of-way or adjacent to through-block pedestrian connections above the second floor, except when the openings are adjacent to the freeway, in which case the openings shall be glazed on floor levels above the adjacent freeway;

iv. Openings shall be provided adjacent to interior property lines to avoid blank walls and shall be glazed to function as windows;

v. Parking garage floors shall be horizontal to accommodate adaptive reuse;

vi. Stairways, elevators, and parking entries and exits shall occur at mid-block;

vii. Design a single auto exit/entry control point to minimize number and width of driveway openings (entry and exit points may be separated) and potential conflicts;

viii. Design shall include vertical expression of building structure that provides continuity with the surrounding development;

ix. Profiles of parking structure floors shall be concealed and not visible to the public through façade treatments and materiality while providing openings consistent with residential and nonresidential buildings;

x. Parking garages and structured parking should be designed to be compatible with the urban streetscape;

xi. Sill heights and parapets shall be sufficient to screen view of automobiles;

xii. Rhythm and spacing of openings should reflect a typical commercial or residential development; and

xiii. Where glazing is required, the applicant may elect to provide a maximum of 25 percent of the openings of the total perimeter wall area of each level as unglazed or the minimum required openings percentage for natural ventilation established by the applicable International Building Code Section 406.5.2, as amended by the Bellevue Building Code, whichever is greater, to ensure the natural ventilation of the garage.

B. Right-of-Way Designations. Introduction: The Right-of-Way Designations provide design guidelines for the streetscape organized by Downtown streets. These designations are a representation of the Downtown vision for the future, rather than what currently exists. The designations create a hierarchy of rights-of-way reflecting the intensity of pedestrian activity. The “A” Rights-of-Way are those streets that have the highest amount of pedestrian activity, while the “D” Rights-of-Way would have a smaller amount of pedestrian activity. These guidelines are intended to provide activity, enclosure, and protection on the sidewalk for the pedestrian.

Figure 20.25A.170.B. 

1. Grand Connection/High Streets – “A” Rights-of-Way.

a. Intent. Rights-of-way designated “A” shall have the highest orientation to pedestrians. This shall be achieved by emphasizing the design relationship between the first level of the structure and the horizontal space between the structure and the curb line. This relationship shall emphasize, to the greatest extent possible, both the physical and visual access into and from the structure, as well as the amenities and features of the outside pedestrian space. In order to achieve the intended level of vitality, design diversity, and people activity on an “A” right-of-way, Active Uses shall be provided for in the design.

b. Standards and Guidelines.

i. Transparency: 75 percent minimum;

ii. Weather Protection: 75 percent minimum, six feet deep. When a building is adjacent to two or more rights-of-way, weather protection shall be provided for the two rights-of-way with the highest pedestrian orientation. Refer to subsection A.2 of this section for more guidelines on weather protection;

iii. Points of Interest. Every 30 linear feet of the façade, maximum;

iv. Vehicular Parking. No surface parking or vehicle access shall be allowed directly between sidewalk and main pedestrian entrance; and

v. One hundred percent of the street wall abutting the build-to line shall incorporate Active Uses.

2. Commercial Streets – “B” Rights-of-Way.

a. Rights-of-way designated “B” shall have moderate to heavy orientation to pedestrians. This shall be achieved by developing the design so that there is a close relationship between exterior and internal activities with respect to both physical and visual access. Design attention shall be given to sidewalk-related activities and amenities. “B” rights-of-way are to provide a diverse and active connection between the Active Use dominated “A” rights-of-way, and the other Downtown rights-of-way.

b. Standards and Guidelines.

i. Transparency: 75 percent minimum;

ii. Weather Protection: 75 percent minimum, six feet deep minimum. When a building is adjacent to two or more rights-of-way, weather protection shall be provided for the two rights-of-way with the highest pedestrian orientation. Refer to subsection A.2 of this section for more guidelines on weather protection;

iii. Points of Interest: Every 60 linear feet of the façade, maximum;

iv. Vehicular Parking: No surface parking or vehicle access directly between perimeter sidewalk and main pedestrian entrance; and

v. One hundred percent of the street wall shall incorporate Active Uses and Service Uses, at least 50 percent of which shall be Active Uses.

3. Mixed Streets – “C” Rights-of-Way.

a. Intent. Rights-of-way designated “C” shall have a moderate orientation to pedestrians. This shall be achieved by designing some relationship between exterior and interior activities with respect to visual access. Design attention shall be given to sidewalk-related activities and amenities. “C” rights-of-way are to provide a major pedestrian connection between the core area and residential areas surrounding Downtown.

b. Standards and Guidelines.

i. Transparency. 75 percent;

ii. Weather Protection:. 75 percent. When a building is adjacent to two or more rights-of-way, weather protection shall be provided for the two rights-of-way with the highest pedestrian orientation. Refer to subsection A.2 of this section for more guidelines on weather protection;

iii. Points of Interest. Every 75 linear feet of façade, maximum;

iv. Vehicular Parking:. No surface parking or vehicle access directly between perimeter sidewalk and main pedestrian entrance; and

v. Fifty percent of street wall shall incorporate Active Uses or Service Uses.

4. Neighborhood Streets – “D” Rights-of-Way.

a. Intent. Rights-of-way designated “D” shall have low to moderate orientation to pedestrians and shall complement residential uses. This shall be achieved by designing some relationship between exterior and interior activities with respect to visual access and by incorporating landscape features that soften the urban edge. Design attention shall be given to sidewalk-related activities and amenities that complement these areas’ residential character and moderate the urban environment, while providing attractive visual access for pedestrians and other passersby.

b. Standards and Guidelines.

i. Transparency. Blank walls and inactive uses may occupy no more than 25 percent of the façade;

ii. Weather Protection. 50 percent. When a building is adjacent to two or more rights-of-way, weather protection shall be provided for the two rights-of-way with the highest pedestrian orientation. Refer to subsection A.2 of this section for more guidelines on weather protection;

iii. Points of Interest. Every 90 linear feet of façade, maximum; and

iv. Vehicular Parking. No surface parking or vehicle access directly between perimeter sidewalk and main pedestrian entrance.

5. Perimeter Streets – “E” Rights-of-Way.

a. Intent. Rights-of-way designated “E” may have a lower volume of pedestrians. Such rights-of-way are intended to provide a visual buffer between Downtown and surrounding residential neighborhoods. Emphasis shall be placed on how the street is viewed from outside the Downtown. These streets shall provide a graceful transition to adjacent residential Land Use Districts outside of Downtown.

b. Standards and Guidelines.

i. Transparency. Blank walls and inactive uses may occupy 25 percent of the façade;

ii. Weather Protection. At entries;

iii. Points of Interest. Every 90 linear feet of façade, maximum; and

iv. Vehicular Parking. No surface parking or vehicle access directly between perimeter sidewalk and main pedestrian entrance.

C. Alleys with Addresses.

1. Intent. Alleys with Addresses act as active through-block connections and are faced with a mix of Active Uses and residential uses. Alleys with Addresses shall have a high orientation to pedestrians with any vehicular activity being secondary to the pedestrian. This is achieved by emphasizing the relationship between the vertical street wall and the ground plane devoted to through-block access and the public right-of-way. This relationship should emphasize, to the greatest extent possible, both physical and visual access into and from the structure at frequent intervals, as well as the amenities and features of the outside pedestrian space. To achieve the intended level of vitality, design diversity, and pedestrian activity on an Alley with an Address, retail restaurant, and other commercial entries shall be provided for in the design. Ground floor live/work units and residential units with stoops can also help to bring life to the paths with multiple entrances and meaningful transparency along the building frontage.

2. Standards.

a. At least one entire side of the Alley with an Address shall comply with guidelines i. through v. for Grand Connection/High Streets – “A” rights-of-way found in subsection B.1.b of this section.

b. Minimum dimension for an alley with an address shall be 20 feet wide exclusive of drive lane widths.

c. Alleys with addresses shall be open to the public 24 hours a day and seven days a week. Signs shall be posted in clear view stating the Alley with an Address is open to the public during these hours.

d. Each tenant space shall have an exterior entrance facing the alley and be addressed off the alley.

3. Guidelines.

a. Materials and design elements such as paving, lighting, landscaping, and signage should incorporate design elements of the adjacent right-of-way to identify it as part of the public realm.

b. An Alley with an Address may be covered in some areas but should not be predominantly enclosed.

c. Access from the public right-of-way should be encouraged and enhanced by multiple clear points of entry that identify the alley as a public space. Access through the site should form a clear circulation logic with the street grid.

d. Wayfinding, signage, symbols, and lighting should identify the alley as a public space.

e. Design of the ground-level and upper-level retail should relate to the alley and be distinct from the rest of the building. This can be achieved through the use of common architectural style, building materials, articulation, and color.

f. Variation should be incorporated into the design by including dimensional and level changes at both the ground plane and building walls.

g. Pedestrian-oriented lighting should be provided that is compatible with the landscape design, improves safety and minimizes glare. Design should be high quality, and materials should be durable and convey a sense of permanence.

h. Landscaping should be used to animate and soften the space. The use of art and water is also encouraged.

i. Alley design should not incorporate loading, refuse handling, parking, and other building and site service uses at the ground level façade, though such activities may be conducted in an Alley when reasonable alternatives are not available. Operational procedures should encourage the above-referenced activities after normal business hours.

j. Provide complete project design for all phases within a project limit to ensure coordinated design and construction across multiple phases.

D. Upper-Level Active Uses.

1. Intent. Upper-level active uses are intended to activate the ground-level pedestrian environment. This is accomplished through extensive visual access to the upper level from the exterior, convenient and frequent access from the street or Alley with an Address, clear line of sight from grade, and visibility of ongoing activity within the upper-level active use. An upper-level active use should be designed and managed so as to draw the attention and interest of the pedestrian to the upper level and to increase opportunities for interaction and movement between the ground and upper levels. To achieve the intended level of vitality, design diversity, and human activity at the upper-level active use, the following characteristics shall be provided in the design.

2. Standards.

a. Points of physical vertical access between the ground level and upper levels shall be located no more than 150 feet apart to facilitate frequent pedestrian access to upper-level active uses.

b. Each tenant space shall have an exterior entrance.

c. Floor area and building façades directly below upper-level active uses shall comply with standards and guidelines i. through v. for Grand Connection/High Streets – “A” rights-of-way found in subsection B.1.b of this section.

d. Visual access shall not be impaired by small, enclosed display windows, window coverings and tinted or reflective glazing.

3. Guidelines.

a. Architectural treatment of the upper-level active use space should read as part of the ground level and be distinct from the architectural treatment of the building above.

b. Extensive visual access into the upper-level retail space should be available from the sidewalk or the alley with an address with frequent clear lines of sight from grade.

c. Lighting and signage should be used to enliven and draw attention to upper-level arcade or balcony, or directly through ground level retail for a multilevel single tenant. (Ord. 6643, 1-24-22, § 7; Ord. 6580, 6-21-21, §§ 17 – 20; Ord. 6377, 10-16-17, § 2)