Community Activity Center
Open Spaces & Natural Resources New Community Activity Centers should be sensitive to existing natural resources, including tree stands and natural drainage ways. Mass grading may be necessary in some cases to provide higher density or compact development patterns targeted for the Center. Open space elements in new Community Activity Centers may include common greens, small parks, playgrounds, squares, plazas, and community gardens along with trails, greenways, or “activated” streets that connect them. Existing surface parking lots or other impervious surface is encouraged to redevelop as open space to the maximum extent possible. Lot Size & Building Placement Redevelopment and new development should be in more compact patterns, with parking relocated to the rear of buildings that are oriented toward the street. Front setbacks are variable, but in new development, especially closest to the center, they should be as small as possible. Side and rear setbacks are variable. It is imperative that a discernible center or corridor be included in the non-residential portion of a Community Activity Center: a main street, park, square, or plaza. Often times an anchor business for the Community Activity Center — grocery store, bookstore, school, etc. — will front the center or corridor. Buildings should front the center or corridor on all sides and be pulled close to the street with wide sidewalks in front. Small- scale, compact businesses should radiate from the center or corridor and include public gathering places for the community in multiple locations. Large building footprints should be broken up with alleyways or breezeways to facilitate shorter walking distances. Street & Block Pattern New or improved Community Activity Centers should incorporate a pattern of small blocks and a hierarchy of walkable streets, which sometimes build off the driveway location or drive aisles of surface parking lots for existing Suburban Commercial areas that are redeveloped. Parking should be satisfied using on-street parking, structured parking, and shared rear-lot parking strategies located toward the interior of blocks (and hidden from public streets by buildings). Formal and informal on-street parking should be provided throughout the Activity Center. The mix of different housing types or non-residential building types on a block or series of blocks should be frequent and widespread. Generally speaking, blocks with the same housing type or non-residential building type should not extend more than two (2) to five (5) blocks in any direction to ensure an integrated mix of land uses and intensities in the Activity Center. Exceptions to this standard may be appropriate on a case-by-case basis for a very limited number of irregular shaped parcels.
Transportation Considerations Development in a Community Activity Center should support all modes of transportation, and accommodate safe and efficient pedestrian or bicycle movements throughout the area and to adjacent neighborhoods. Centers should be located along corridors served by transit (or with the potential to be). Transit connections between all categories of activity centers in Fuquay-Varina is encouraged. Streets should have seating areas, bike racks, and other facilities for pedestrians and bicyclists. Curb and gutter infrastructure and formal or informal street tree planting should be used in new development. The transition between residential and non-residential uses in a Community Activity Center should emphasize compatible building types, heights, footprints, architectural elements, and materials. Similar building types should face each other on a public street to protect the character of the streetscape. Land use transitions are preferred in alleyways, the abutment of two (2) rear yards, or across a large common green. Surface parking lots should not be used as a transition between residential and non-residential uses unless an exaggerated buffer with landscaping is provided that also serves as a public space. Building Types & Massing Buildings may stand up to five (5) stories tall in the development core and two (2) to three (3) stories in areas where the Center transitions to residential uses. Residential units or office space may be found above storefronts in the core of the development. Apartment or condominium buildings should not extend more than two (2) consecutive blocks in any direction unless ground floor retail is included. Housing types in and around the Community Activity Center may include single dwelling homes on small lots, townhouses, duplexes, triplexes, quadplexes, apartments, condominiums, or accessory dwelling units. One (1) or more buildings may accommodate live-work units. Non-residential uses in the core of a Community Activity Center should accommodate 100,000 to 250,000 building square feet — approximately fifteen (15) to forty-five (45) acres depending on site features that may limit development potential. Small-scale retail and office space should be incorporated into new development with at least one (1) anchor business (usually a grocery store).
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Fuquay-Varina Land Use Plan
Chapter 3: Character Area Typology
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