master plan update - City of Boca Raton

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SECTION CFRAMEWORKSdesign guidelinesAddison Mizner described one of hisdesign principles as follows: “Florida isflat as a pancake. You must build witha strong skyline to give your buildingcharacter.” This is evident in his drawingsfor Boca Raton and in the towersand fanciful roofscapes of his buildings.He would not be pleased with theresults of the present system of designguidelines. The combination of a rigidheight limit, standardized setbacks, andmarket pressure to maximize developmentwithin the standard envelope createdby the guidelines have resulted in aseries of large, bulky buildings of similarform. They have been described as havinga crew-cut look. The resulting skylinecould also be described as flat as apancake.During the public process, therewere widely varied views about buildingheight. On the one hand, there weresome who felt that no building should begreater than two stories, and others whofelt that buildings needed to be muchtaller to create the sense of a downtown.But most people felt that there wassomething wrong with the uniformityand lack of variety that is leading to aless personal character for Downtown.Therefore, in order to fulfill thevision for Downtown and create thequality of environment represented inthe images of the Master Plan Update,revisions to the current design guidelinesfor Downtown need to be made.We recommend that height bedefined by the number of stories ratherthan a fixed number of feet. The fixeddimension has led to squat floor-to-floorheights and makes it nearly impossibleto have the type of elements that areessential to creating the skyline Miznerwould have wanted. A full revision ofthe guidelines is beyond the scope ofthis Master Plan Update, but we suggesta more three-dimensional approach toresolving this issue. Pattern Books ratherthan Design Guidelines are often helpfulbecause they provide actual patternsrather than abstract formulas.We suggest an approach that beginswith the scale of the street. The presentdesign guidelines have the same setbackand height requirements, irrespectiveof where the site is or what the scaleof the street might be. We recommendthat large-scale, through-streets havemore vertical facades with taller buildingsvisible from the street. This can bean effective means of taming traffic. Ifdrivers feel that they are driving throughan ‘urban room’ they will slow down inways and places where they typically donot if the space feels suburban. Smallscaleintimate streets are often best if thebuildings that are visible from the streetare two to four stories in height. Thepresent guidelines result in a buildingdensity. By revising the setback requirements,we are suggesting that the existingamount of building be redistributed.In some cases, it may be desirable to permitparts of the buildings to be higherthan the present limit in exchange formore public open space and more complexbuilding forms. Each of the fourstreet types described previously shouldhave its own design guideline provisions.50'30' 20'6'14' 10'Diagrams of current design guidelinesThe four cross-sections and axonometricdiagrams on pages 35 and 36illustrate one way in which this could beaccomplished. In each case, the amountof development permitted would bebased on the current guidelines, but thephysical configuration would be modified.The red line in the section drawingrepresents the setback and height limitscalled for by the present guidelines.The plan on page 37 indicates thelocation for each type of street. Thiscreates a framework for determiningthe forms of buildings that will create adifferent character as appropriate for thescale of the space.34
TYPE ALARGE-SCALE STREETS WITHHEAVY THROUGH TRAFFICThe present building setbacks are onlysix feet from the property line. However,the sidewalk design standards call for aminimum 26-foot setback from the curbline. To achieve this, many buildings willneed more than six feet in setback. Furthermore,we suggest that the standardscall for physical improvements to thepublic right-of-way that could includelandscape or structural elements such asthe trellis system illustrated at PalmettoPark Road and Federal Highway. Thesection illustrates a facade rising 6 storiesat the first setback line with higherfloors slightly stepped back above that.This would create an appropriate scaleurban space for wide, heavily traveledstreets, such as Federal Highway andPalmetto Park Road west of FederalHighway.CurrentSetbackLine26' 7'7' 30'Cross-section of the proposed guidelines underType A. Note: dashed red line denotes existingsetback criteriaThree dimensional diagram of a section of thedevelopmentTYPE BLARGE-SCALE STREETS WITHLESS THROUGH TRAFFICThe minimum setback from the curbshould be 26 feet, but the height of thebuilding at that facade line should be amaximum of 5 stories with higher floorsset back as described. The minimumsetback from the curb should also be 26feet, but the height of the building at thefacade line should a minimum of 4 storiestall. Higher floors would be set backfurther than those on Type A streets.CurrentSetbackLine26'15' 15' 30'Cross-section of the proposed guidelines underType BThree dimensional diagram of a section of thedevelopment35
Page 1: august 27 2007downtown boca ratonma
Page 5: CONTENTSSECTION A: INTRODUCTIONUpda
Page 8 and 9: SECTION AINTRODUCTIONupdating the v
Page 11 and 12: A great deal of common groundexists
Page 13 and 14: WEAKNESSESThe red dots, or worst pl
Page 15 and 16: Plaza Real SouthMizner BoulevardDES
Page 17: SUMMARY OF KEYMESSAGES TO DATE»»
Page 20 and 21: SECTION BGENERAL RECOMMENDATIONSpla
Page 22 and 23: SECTION BGENERAL RECOMMENDATIONSthe
Page 24 and 25: SECTION BGENERAL RECOMMENDATIONSA v
Page 27 and 28: frameworks
Page 29 and 30: Plaza Real Real South SouthMizner B
Page 31 and 32: TYPE A12' 8' 6' 7' 11' 11'11' 11' 7
Page 33 and 34: Federal HighwayFederal Highway is,
Page 35 and 36: Existing plan (left) and section (r
Page 37 and 38: Mizner BoulevardBoulevardSIDEWALK I
Page 39: Mizner BoulevardBoulevardTRANSIT IN
Page 43 and 44: Plaza Real Real South SouthMizner B
Page 45 and 46: Massing: photo of Boca Raton Resort
Page 47: PUBLIC SPACEIMPROVEMENTSTo create w
Page 50 and 51: SECTION DQUARTERSquartersSuccessful
Page 52 and 53: SECTION DQUARTERSMIZNER PARKMizner
Page 54 and 55: SECTION DQUARTERSFederal HighwayPLA
Page 56 and 57: SECTION DQUARTERSPALMETTO PARK EAST
Page 58 and 59: SECTION EINITIATIVESinitiativesIn o
Page 60 and 61: SECTION EINITIATIVESINITIATIVE 1:CE
Page 62 and 63: SECTION EINITIATIVESINITIATIVE 2: N
Page 64 and 65: SECTION EINITIATIVESALTERNATIVE PRO
Page 66 and 67: SECTION EINITIATIVESINITIATIVE 3:CI
Page 68 and 69: SECTION EINITIATIVESINITIATIVE 4: E
Page 71 and 72: implementation
Page 73: TRANSPORTATIONA series of approache

master plan update - City of Boca Raton

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