DOMINION BOULEVARD CORRIDOR STUDY | Chesapeake, Virginia
16 | Summary
Summary | 17
BUILDING BULK AND FORM CONCEPTS
Regional and Place Sensitive Design
.Buildings should be designed to take advantage of local climate, building practices and
regional culture.
Vertical Mixing of Land Uses within Buildings
Vertically mixed use buildings in the Focal Areas (the walkable mixed use areas and
commercial areas associated with Areas 3 and 6 in particular) is highly encouraged with
multi-story buildings that have retail or office on the ground floors and office or residential
uses on the upper floors.
Buildings Address the Street and Public Spaces
Buildings in the Focal Areas should address the street and public spaces with doors,
windows, porches and stoops creating a link with the public pedestrian environment.
Transparency at Street Level
Commercial buildings (retail, office and light industrial) and mixed use buildings should have
50% transparency on the ground floor building elevation that fronts on the public realm.
Identifiable Floors
Multistory commercial buildings and vertically mixed use buildings of 4-5 stories should have
an identifiable ground floor sized appropriately for retail at between 16 ft. and 20 ft., upper
stories that have balconies and windows and a top.
Consistent Building Edge at Street
Buildings in the Focal Areas should meet the sidewalk environment without a setback and
create a consistent building edge along the sidewalk.
Corner Lots
Buildings located on the corner of two streets should address both streets.
Building Length
Individual commercial buildings should generally be 90 feet long or less.
Rhythmic Pedestrian Scaled Facade
Individual commercial buildings in the Focal Areas should use a rhythm of approximately 30
feet in width to create variations in the architecture at the street level to something more in
scale with the pedestrian.
Highlighted Entry
The front door of commercial buildings should be highlighted and distinguished with
architectural details, awnings, furniture, lighting, signage and landscape.
Shade and Comfort
Awnings and other devices that provide shade and protection from the weather should adorn
the ground floor elevation of buildings that front onto public sidewalks.
High Density Residential Oriented to the Street
High density residential buildings in the Focal Areas should be oriented so that doors have
direct access to the street. High density residential buildings should be minimally set back
from the sidewalk environment and promote a consistent building edge along the street.
High density residential buildings should include stoops and porches along the ground floor
elevation to create relationship to the street.
Medium Density Residential Oriented to the Street
Medium density and low density residential buildings should front the street and include
doors that have direct access to the sidewalk. Homes in the medium density residential
and low density residential neighborhoods should have consistent setbacks or build to lines
that create a strong relationship between the building, stoop and front porch with the street.
Medium density and low density buildings should include porches and stoops at the ground
floor elevation to create a relationship to the street.
Parking and Service Areas
Parking for medium density residential and low density residential buildings should be
primarily accessed from alleys located behind the buildings. Yard areas for medium and
low density residential buildings should be kept minimal. Service areas should be located
behind the building and screened appropriately.
Low Density Residential Oriented to the Street
Like the other residential types, low density residential should also be oriented to the
street with appropriate building setbacks. Parking for low density residential can be
accommodated in the front of the lot, so long as the garage is oriented to open to the side.
Agricultural Lot Clusters
The City should encourage agricultural lot clusters to be organized so as to reduce the
amount of infrastructure service and land area required for each cluster. They are intended
to be dense pockets of charming houses that mimic, in spirit, clusters of agricultural
buildings. The effective density of each cluster, when measuring the perimeter of the
cluster, should not exceed 4 du/acre; however, the overall density should not exceed 1
dwelling unit per acre. It is encouraged that cars be parked in detached garages, sheds,
or shared “parking barns”, ideally, to foster an “un-suburban” appearance. It is also
encouraged that roads be designed like country lanes. The architecture and landscape
should be inspired by the rural and agricultural context, using designs that are appropriate
for the climate of the region. Ideally, small vegetable gardens will service each cluster,
bringing the appearance and function of agriculture into the cluster.
