C harting O ur F uture A Land Use Initiative
Commercial/Office This Character Type includes small and large scale commercial and office buildings that includes commercial, retail, service, hospitality, medical/health services, hospitals, research facilities, and office uses. Small scale commercial/office buildings will provide commercial nodes along transportation/transit corridors and may, in some instances, function as a transition between higher density uses and single family neighborhoods while also providing neighborhood shops and services for residential neighborhoods within a half mile radius. Maker spaces and other similar non-industrial uses are also appropriate in this Character Type. Larger scale commercial and office buildings near future/existing transit and I-40 may be appropriate for larger employment focused development and may not have a strong relationship to or serve nearby residential neighborhoods.
Parks and Green/Gathering Spaces This Character Type accounts for natural features and gathering places within the Focus Areas, protects current open spaces while enhancing the connectivity of natural places, provides open space in proximity to residential uses, increases the tree canopy in Town, and provides places for community members to interact and connect. In some Focus Areas, there are areas designated as parks and green space that have existing development. The intent is for those areas to transition back to natural areas over time. Green space also contributes to a more natural treatment of stormwater, when appropriate, within Focus Areas. [Note: Green/gathering spaces, integrated within other Character Types, is appropriate, highly encouraged, and anticipated.]
Character Type Principles:
Character Type Principles:
Helps preserve and enhance existing community amenities and provides options for new amenities such as community gardens Includes connectivity where possible to existing or planned linear green infrastructure, including bike and pedestrian paths and greenways Planned as part of an overall system of transportation, stormwater management, environmental restoration, and/or preservation of sensitive areas Accessible to neighborhoods of all income levels with accessibility provisions for disabled populations Creates gathering places that are designed to provide places for unintentional connections. These spaces may be plazas or green spaces but should provide respite and/or activities appropriate to the neighborhood and the surrounding context
Typically located at primary commercial intersections and along major transportation corridors providing retail space, offices, and other services Provides a logical transition in scale and character between residential uses and major thoroughfares Includes wide pedestrian zone, appropriate bike facilities, ample street tree plantings, and coordinated site furnishings Building entrances front primary streets to activate the pedestrian experience Parking integrated within or behind buildings and accessed from side/rear streets or alleys Avoids long, uninterrupted, and monotonous building facades to add visual interest to the street Street level facades should include prominent entrances, defined window bays, and windows/glazing that allows views into the ground level spaces Consider stepping back the building above the third or fourth story to frame the public space rather than overwhelm it Define the building base by slight changes in building materials, colors, or textures
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Town of Chapel Hill |
| December 2020
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