Regional Employment Center
Open Spaces & Natural Resources Compact development patterns and intensities envisioned for a Regional Employment Center places less emphasis on preservation of the natural landscape, and prioritizes the provision of a variety of formal public spaces for community-gathering. A wide variety of public spaces may provide gathering and recreational opportunities. Open spaces may include, but are not limited to, parks, athletic fields, plazas, squares, common greens, and activated alleyways and streetscapes, all of which should be linked through a network of safe and convenient pedestrian and bicycle facilities. Public gathering spaces should include fun, entertaining features like public art, sculpture, interactive streetscape elements, fountains, or seating areas. Sustainable development techniques should be incorporated into landscape and stormwater features, and impervious surface should be reduced to the extent possible. Grading of topography and clearing of vegetation may be necessary in some areas to achieve the higher density and compact development patterns desired for a Regional Employment Center. Lot Size & Building Placement Redevelopment and new development should be in more compact patterns, with parking located 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 employment center of the development: a main street, park, square, or plaza. Buildings should front the center or corridor on all sides and be pulled close to the street with wide sidewalks in front. Large, medium, or small buildings may radiate from the center or corridor based on the employment center size and type, but all should 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 redeveloped Regional Employment Centers should incorporate a pattern of small blocks and a hierarchy of walkable streets. Vehicle access and circulation should be oriented away from adjacent neighborhoods. Parking should be satisfied using on-street parking, structured parking, and shared rear-lot parking strategies located toward the interior of blocks. Formal and informal on-street parking should be provided throughout the Regional Employment 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 four (4) blocks in any direction to ensure an integrated mix of land uses and intensities in the Regional Employment 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 Regional Employment Center should support all modes of transportation, and accommodate safe and efficient pedestrian or bicycle movements throughout the area and to adjacent neighborhoods. To the extent possible, Centers should be located along corridors served by transit (or with the potential to be). Transit connections between Neighborhood Activity Centers, Community Activity Centers, and Regional Employment 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 Regional Employment 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. In limited cases, surface parking lots may be used as a transition between two (2) non-residential uses unless an exaggerated buffer with landscaping is provided that also serves as a public space. . Non-residential uses in the identified employment center should accommodate 500,000 or more building square feet — forty-five (45) acres or more depending on site features that may limit development potential. Small-scale retail and office space should be incorporated into new development with multiple anchor businesses (usually a corporate headquarters, higher education facility, hotel, medical research facility, or advanced manufacturing uses). Building Types & Massing Buildings may be two (2) to six (6) stories tall, with larger buildings located in the employment center of the development, and shorter buildings at the edges to transition from adjacent smaller-scale development. Regional Employment Centers also provide opportunities for innovative and iconic buildings. Small-scale retail and office space should be incorporated with larger buildings in new development. Building types should mix uses horizontally and vertically, and should include civic, retail, restaurant, entertainment, or residential uses to support the concentration of office or industrial uses. Apartments or condominiums may be stacked over ground floor retail or offices. Housing types in and around the Regional Employment Center may include townhouses, duplexes, triplexes, quadplexes, apartments, condominiums, or accessory dwelling units. One (1) or more buildings may accommodate live-work units.
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Fuquay-Varina Land Use Plan
Chapter 3: Character Area Typology
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