CHAPTER FIVE COMMUNITY DESIGN

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1 CHAPTER FIVE COMMUNITY DESIGN

2 CHAPTER FIVE - COMMUNITY DESIGN Assumptions Frazier Park and Lebec have historically developed according to different patterns of spatial form. While both communities are primarily "bedroom" and weekender type communities, there are many permanent residents that require convenient services and daily commercial necessities. Frazier Park has more of a traditional rural main street for commercial services, while Lebec's commercial pattern has been primarily influenced by the traveling demands of the public along Interstate 5. Both communities have a rural residential character adjacent to the commercial areas. Frazier Park is a relatively compact rural community in comparison to Lebec. The residential areas are adjacent to the Frazier Park town center with the exception of along the north side of Cuddy Creek, just south of the town center reserved for light industry. The residential units are located on small platted lots, with many constraints for development. Constraints include water availability in the trail, size of the lot in correlation with adequate wastewater disposal, slope, geologic hazards and drainage. The majority of dwelling units are on private unimproved dirt trails that vary significantly in width and terrain. Most trails have dwelling units with shallow setbacks, making on-site parking for more than one vehicle difficult, and many residents rely on parking within the unpaved trail easement. Commercial development occurs primarily in downtown Frazier Park and in the Lebec Highway Commercial area. The Frazier Park area is an older, established area, with limited infill opportunities, and provides most of the needed daily services such as grocery stores, hardware, some restaurants and services. The district has several buildings with an alpine character. Some of the newest structures provide small parking lots in front of the structures, but are mostly devoid of trees and landscaping. Landscaping in the town center is mostly native trees and vegetation and in the leftover spaces not required for structures or parking. For the most part, landscaping has not been planned, or a requirement in the town center. The streetscape consists of buildings with shallow setbacks, no sidewalk, parking within the local street right-of-way, no curb, gutter and no general streetscape amenities. Overhead utilities exist along the corridor. Parking is a problem in downtown Frazier Park. Most Frazier Park / Lebec Specific Plan 5-1

3 businesses rely on parking within the public right-of-way or very small parking lots with an inadequate number of spaces, especially during tourism activities and weekends. The parking issue is compounded in winter, during heavy snowfall, where the mounds of snow along the right-of-way preclude on street parking for days at a time. A comprehensive plan for parking should be established which meets the local demands, and overflow demands during the busier periods of the year. This plan may include a specific streetscape design and small, satellite public parking lots. Existing gateways to the town center include Frazier Mountain Park Road at Mt. Pinos Way and at Monterey Trail. The Mt. Pinos/Frazier Mountain Park Road has a welcome sign set in an unimproved, natural environment. Both locations pose numerous design opportunities to improve the gateway aesthetics as shown in Figure 4-2 of the Background Report. Improved gateways will enhance the viability of downtown businesses and to draw tourists into the town center to shop. The existing gateways are not a part of an overall theme or concept, and are similar in nature to a billboard advertisement. The Lebec commercial area primarily caters to tourism and through traffic along Interstate 5. Most recent growth has been in the Lebec portion of the Plan Area. The commercial area has grown as a result of the through traffic demands along Interstate 5. The intersection provides commercial land uses typically found along interstates such as a motel, truck stop, gas stations and fast food restaurants. The area does not provide as many essential daily services for residents as found in Frazier Park (e.g. grocery store, hardware, etc.). It is likely that the number highway commercial businesses will grow as traffic increases along the freeway during the next 20-years. Similarly, because there is an abundance of commercial land available in the Lebec portion of the Plan Area, it is likely that any larger scale commercial development to meet local needs will take place at this location and not in Frazier Park. The highway commercial is visible from the freeway, and pole signs dominate the viewshed and the back of businesses turned toward the freeway. Opportunities exist along the freeway setbacks to enhance the aesthetics of the community as viewed from the interstate including provisions regulating pole and pylon type signage. Frazier Park / Lebec Specific Plan 5-2

4 There has been no uniformity to a theme or development concept in the Plan Area, and the commercial lots have developed over time independently, without regard for relationship to the overall intersection and gateway aesthetics. No improved gateways currently exist to the community. Opportunities exist for gateway enhancements at the points of ingress/egress to Interstate 5, and along Lebec Road and along the Frazier Mountain Park frontage road. Issues This Chapter of the Specific Plan presents development objectives and policies that will coordinate the shape and form of future development in the planning area. These standards are directly related to the goals, objectives and policies presented in this plan, can be summarized as follows: Designs shall facilitate walking and bicycling; Designs should respect the integrity of the natural mountain environment; Designs should be in scale and harmony with a small town; The planting of natural vegetation should be maximized; Parking lots shall be shaded and screened by landscaping from the street; and Parking should be located toward the side or rear of buildings. Community Design Goals, Objectives and Policies GOAL 5.A OBJECTIVE 5.A.1 POLICIES The following set of goals has been identified by the community as desirable, and are specifically related to Community Design: Well-planned development that creates a sense of place and incorporates Frazier Park and Lebec's unique rural mountain setting. Specific community design objectives include addressing the following policies: a. Subdivisions shall be designed to maximize connectivity with the surrounding developments, and provide multiple routes between destinations. A modified grid pattern to suit the terrain is favored over heavy use of cul-de-sacs. Frazier Park / Lebec Specific Plan 5-3

5 Cul-de-sacs should not be used unless needed to allow for more efficient utilization of oddly shaped parcels. b. New subdivisions and development projects consisting of residential parcels less than one-half acre shall be required to meet Type B Subdivision Standards as specified in the Kern County Land Division Ordinance, except where existing private trail access easements currently exist where Alternative Trail Section shall apply as shown in Figure 6-2 of this Plan. c. All residences shall be designed to blend in with the natural mountain environment. Preservation and planting of natural vegetation along with conserving slopes and ground cover are required to the greatest extent feasible. d. Development projects are encouraged to emphasize the use of natural materials, sufficient windows, roofing materials furthering the aesthetic qualities of the natural mountain environment, earth tones and subtle colors in building construction, and will attempt to ensure fences and walls provide continuity with structure design. e. Commercial development standards are divided into the following specific plan areas: 1) Frazier Park Town Center; and, 2) Lebec Road/Frazier Mountain Park Road Commercial. Frazier Park Town Center (Boundaries shown in Figure 1-1) 1. Architectural Design: The architectural and streetscape in the Frazier Park Town Center shall be natural mountain materials (e.g. stone, wood, timber, exposed beams, etc.). Commercial development in the Town Center area should use these styles and material types as a foundation for design. 2. Pedestrian streetscape elements shall comply with Figure 5-1 and 5-2 for Mount Pinos Way and Monterey Trail that maximizes the use of the existing public right-of-way and provides enhanced pedestrian Frazier Park / Lebec Specific Plan 5-4

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8 amenities. Where it is not possible to provide on street parking on both sides of Mount Pinos Way due to inadequate setbacks, parking should be provided on only one side of the street in favor of a continuous sidewalk on both sides of the street. A no parking ordinance shall be passed whereby no parking signs shall be posted on one side of the street and street trees should be planted where possible. Other streetscape amenities should include occasional benches and pedestrian oriented street lighting consistent with the desired theme. 3. Public parking lots should be provided within the Town Center area within a short walking distance to businesses along Mount Pinos Way and Monterey Trail. Public parking lots will eliminate the need for every small parcel to provide on site parking, and will maximize the buildable lot area in the commercial core. 4. For all types of uses, parking lots shall be located to the side or rear of buildings when feasible. When located adjacent to a street, parking lots shall be separated from the street by a minimum five-foot wide landscaping buffer strip featuring a combination of trees, shrubs and turf. Additional screening elements such as trellises, arbors, berms, rock outcrops, decorative walls, etc. are also encouraged. Commercial parking lots shall include direct connections to an overall pedestrian walkway system. 5. Commercial buildings shall be designed to have display window features that articulate facades such as exposed beam porches and entries. Buildings should front on Mt. Pinos Way and Monterey Trail. Buildings and display windows should be oriented toward the street and incorporate pedestrian features such as porches or arcades to shelter pedestrians from inclement weather. Where possible, building frontage areas shall feature pedestrian elements, including seating areas, patios, tables, plazas and landscaping. 6. Facade Articulation: Commercial buildings with large blank walls facing public right-of-way are Frazier Park / Lebec Specific Plan 5-7

9 discouraged. Where practical, walls facing street frontages shall be designed so that at least 50 percent of the wall is transparent (features picture windows that allow a view of merchandise or activities). Doors should always face the street. Where windows are not practical, other elements such as trellises, porches, or other architectural features designed to promote visual interest shall be employed. Rooflines shall be pitched to prevent snowfall accumulation and be frequently articulated with changes in elevation or protruding elements such as gables. 7. All signage in the Frazier Park Town Center shall be wall mounted size, in proportion to the building and pedestrian in scale. Monument signs may be allowed if set in landscape planters that are equal to twice the sign face area. All monument signs shall be set in landscaping, and be flood-lit only, and not internally lit. All monument signs shall be consistent in design and materials with the established theme. The cumulative square footage of permanent signage shall not exceed 50 square feet per business. h. Lebec Road/Frazier Mountain Park Road Commercial; (Boundaries shown in Figure 1-2) Projects developed in the Lebec Road and Frazier Mountain Park Road Commercial areas shall comply with design features expressed in the following policies: 1. Architectural Design: The commercial design concept for the Lebec is to blend the buildings in to the natural mountain environment emphasizing the use of natural vegetation, shrubbery and rock outcrops. The context and character of the structures should be in character and scale with the small town rural mountain environment. 2. Figure 5-3 illustrates a conceptual plan for the Frazier Mountain Park Frontage Road and the Lebec commercial area. The Frazier Mountain Park Road portion of the Plan illustrates shared access easements designed with landscaping. The Lebec Road commercial area situates buildings in a clustered Frazier Park / Lebec Specific Plan 5-8

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11 manner to facilitate pedestrian rather than vehicular travel. The right-of-way along Lebec Road provides shared access easements, a landscaped setback with sidewalks and landscaping. Shade trees, benches and pedestrian oriented street lighting consistent with the desired theme are a requirement. 3. On-Site Parking Lot Design Standards: For all types of uses on-site parking is a requirement per County Zoning Standards. On-site parking access should be provided with shared access easements unless it is not feasible to do so. When located adjacent to, or within view of a street, parking lots shall be separated from the street by a minimum ten-foot wide landscaping buffer strip featuring a combination of trees, shrubs and turf. Additional screening elements such as trellises, arbors, berms, rock outcrops, decorative walls, etc. are also encouraged. 4. Commercial buildings with large blank walls are discouraged. Where practical, walls facing street frontages shall be designed so that at least 35 percent of the wall is transparent (features picture windows that allow a view of merchandise or activities). Where long blank walls are unavoidable, they should be articulated by changes in wall plane elevation at least three feet every fifty to seventy five feet. Buildings should have at least five feet of landscaping with some shrubbery and trees adjacent to the building in planters to reduce the mass of larger structures. Where windows are not practical, other elements such as trellises, porches, or other architectural features designed to promote visual interest shall be employed. i. Park, open space and gateway standards Projects developed along the Cuddy Creek Multi-Purpose Trail shall comply with design features expressed in the following policies: 1. The Cuddy Creek Primary Flood Zone area should be utilized for recreation and open space. If structures are provided adjacent to the trail open space area, the structure shall have one side oriented toward the trail that includes windows and doors (fenestration). The open space shall include a walking/biking path, Frazier Park / Lebec Specific Plan 5-10

12 landscaping and may also provide an equestrian trail. 2. The Multi-Purpose Trail location is shown in Figure 5-4. Projects developed along this designation shall feature attractively designed buildings with abundant landscaping that promotes a positive entryway image for Frazier Park and Lebec. Parking areas shall be well landscaped and screened from Frazier Mountain Park Road and Lebec Road to the extent possible. Signs shall should be monument style and in scale with the site they serve. A twenty-foot landscape easement shall should be provided along the multi-purpose trail. No structures or vehicular areas may project into the landscape easement with the exception of approved streets and driveway access points. Lots with access to the multi-purpose trail shall should be considered "double-frontage" lots for the purpose of setbacks and landscape standards. 3. Gateway locations as depicted in Figure 5-4 and I-5 shall be aesthetically treated and include trees, shrubs, and theme materials at each corner of the intersection. COMMUNITY DESIGN IMPLEMENTATION PROGRAMS 1. Frazier Park/Lebec Specific Plan and Kern County General Plan. 2. Kern County Zoning Ordinance. COMMUNITY DESIGN MAP PROVISIONS Not Applicable. Frazier Park / Lebec Specific Plan 5-11

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