U.S. Highway 377 North Overlay District 1. General Purpose and Description The purpose of the U.S. Highway 377 North Overlay District is to implement the recommendations within the U.S. Highway 377 North Corridor Plan. The regulations and standards of this overlay district are reflective of the high visibility and traffic volumes of the corridor. They are intended to create unique site design, building architecture, and streetscape that enhance the overall image of the corridor while remaining compatible with adjacent developed and planned residential neighborhoods. a. Boundary The U.S. Highway 377 North Overlay District encompasses land parcels on the east side of U.S. Highway 377 from Johnson Road north to the southern rights-of-way line of Marshall Ridge Parkway. The boundary of the District is shown in Figure 1. b. Subdistricts The U.S. Highway 377 North Overlay District contains two subdistricts Johnson Road and Marshall Ridge. The common boundary between the two subdistricts is the northern property line of the lots that front a private driveway. This common boundary is approximately 1945 feet north of Johnson Road. The Marshall Ridge Subdistrict includes all properties north of the common boundary as shown in Figure 2, and the Johnson Road Subdistrict consists of all properties south of the common boundary as shown in Figure 3. 2. Permitted Uses The U.S. Highway 377 North Overlay District amends the permissible uses of the base or underlying Commercial or Light Industrial zoning districts. Permissible uses within the U.S. Highway 377 North Overlay District are allowed in the same manner, by right or with approval of a Specific Use Permit, as in the underlying zoning district except as noted in a., b., and c. below. a. The following uses are prohibited within the U.S. 377 North Overlay District: Cemetery or Mausoleum (new or expansion); Driving School; Family Home/Group Home; Fraternal Clubs, Lodges, Sororities and Fraternities, etc.; Freight or Truck Terminal Yard; Heavy Machinery Sales and Service; Heavy Vehicle Storage; Metal Recycling Collection Center; Monuments and Headstone Sales with Outside Storage; Newspaper Printing; Portable Building Sales with Outside Storage; Veterinarian Office with Outside Pens; and Wholesale Distribution Center and Warehousing.
b. The following additional uses are permitted by right within the U.S. 377 North Overlay District: none Department Store, Grocery Store or Food Market, Minor Medical Emergency Clinics, Public Parking Garage, and/or Drive-Through/Drive-In Restaurant allowed by right in Commercial? c. The following additional uses are permitted with approval of a Specific Use Permit within the U.S. 377 North Overlay District: none 3. General Standards The standards within this section apply to both the Johnson Road and the Marshall Ridge subdistricts. a. Access Management In addition to the Design and Technical Construction Standards in Article Twelve of this Ordinance, the following shall apply: i. Each site must have access to a median opening via private drive aisles, private streets, or public streets. The Director of Public Works may waive this requirement if topography, hydrology, or existing buildings or improvements make access to a median opening impractical. ii. In the event that access to a median opening is not available, each site must have two points of access. One or both points of access may be off-site. b. Parking i. Parking for all uses shall be provided in accordance with Section 9.02 of this Ordinance; however, for developments with multiple uses with dissimilar parking demand characteristics, smaller parking ratios may be considered at the time of site plan approval. The minimum number of spaces shall be determined by a study following the procedures of the Urban Land Institute or Institute of Traffic Engineers parking reduction guidelines. ii. The maximum allowable number of off-street parking spaces shall be the minimum number of required off-street parking spaces plus ten percent (10%). Parking spaces in excess of the maximum allowable number of parking spaces may be provided in accordance with the one of the following conditions:
1. The parking in excess of maximum is constructed to mitigate storm water runoff. At a minimum, permeable paving and grassy swales/buffer strips, to convey storm water runoff from parking area to point of collection, shall be used to provide filtration and infiltration of storm water. 2. Additional landscaping is provided to mitigate the negative aesthetics of large fields of parking. In addition to the required landscape area and landscape improvements in Section 9.03 of this Ordinance and in c. below, additional landscape areas and landscape improvements are provided as follows: a. For each parking space constructed in excess of maximum, additional landscape area at the rate of seven (7) square feet per parking space shall be provided. b. One additional canopy tree shall be provided for each three parking spaces constructed in excess of maximum. The additional trees and landscape area shall be distributed in landscape areas within parking areas or adjacent to buildings and not in the landscape buffer. 3. No storm water mitigation measures or additional landscaping is required if excess parking is in elevated or below-grade parking structures. Parking structures are subject to area, yard, and bulk requirements of this Ordinance. c. Landscape Requirements In addition to the required landscape area and landscape improvements in Section 9.03 of this Ordinance, the following shall apply: i. For buildings fronting thoroughfares with four (4) or more lanes, as classified on the current Comprehensive Thoroughfare Plan, the required thirty-foot (30 ) landscape buffer adjacent to the thoroughfare may be reduced to twenty feet (20 ) provided that overhead electrical and communication utilities are placed underground and provided that no parking or drive aisles are between the buildings and the thoroughfares. Corresponding, the required plant materials may be reduced by one-third (1/3) within the front landscape buffer.
ii. The required canopy trees for landscape buffers adjacent to thoroughfares shall not be placed in a linear arrangement with consistent spacing, but shall be in a random, free-form and/or clustered arrangement. iii. Up to one-half (1/2) of the required canopy trees for landscape buffers adjacent to thoroughfares and parking lot landscaping may be substituted with ornamental trees at a ratio of two ornamental trees for each canopy tree. Ornamental trees shall be a minimum of eight feet (8 ) in height at the time of planting. iv. Ornamental grasses may be used instead of shrubs for required foundation plantings. Similarly, ornamental grasses may be used for required parking lot screening provided the variety of the ornamental grass can satisfy the mature height and coverage requirements for such screening. Acceptable ornamental grasses are adapted or native ornamental grasses with low or medium water demand as listed for the North Central Texas region in the Texas Smartscape plant database. v. Buffalo grass or other native turf grasses with a mature height of twelve inches (12 ) or less may be used for up to fifty percent (50%) of the total turf area. vi. Masonry screening walls, three feet (3 ) in height, may be used in place of or supplement the required parking lot screening. 4. Johnson Road Subdistrict Standards The standards within this section apply to only the Johnson Road Subdistrict. Buildings and sites shall be developed in accordance with the standards of the Main Street Subdistrict of the Old Town Keller Overlay District except as follows: a. Development Standards Site orientation and layout, size of lot, size of yards, and building heights shall be in accordance with the standards of the underlying Commercial or Light Industrial zoning districts rather than the standards of the Main Street Subdistrict. For buildings fronting thoroughfares with four (4) or more lanes, as classified on the current Comprehensive Thoroughfare Plan, the front building setback may be reduced to twenty feet (20 ) provided that overhead electrical and communication utilities are placed underground and provided that no parking or drive aisles are between the buildings and the thoroughfares. b. Design Standards
Architectural requirements shall be in accordance with the Main Street Subdistrict. c. Landscaping, Lighting, Street Furniture, and Sidewalk Requirements Landscaping shall be in accordance with C. of the General Standards above. Streetlights and lights for off-street parking shall be in accordance with the Main Street Subdistrict standards. No street furniture is required. Sidewalks shall be in accordance with the Design and Technical Construction Standards in Article Twelve of this Ordinance. d. Signage Requirements Signs shall be in accordance with Section 9.04 of this Ordinance. 5. Marshall Ridge Subdistrict Standards The standards within this section apply to only the Marshall Ridge Subdistrict. a. Development Standards Site orientation and layout, size of lot, size of yards, and building heights shall be in accordance with the standards of the underlying Retail, Commercial, or Light Industrial zoning districts. For buildings fronting thoroughfares with four (4) or more lanes, as classified on the current Comprehensive Thoroughfare Plan, the front building setback may be reduced to twenty feet (20 ) provided that overhead electrical and communication utilities are placed underground and provided that no parking or drive aisles are between the buildings and the thoroughfares. b. Design Standards The purpose of these design standards is that buildings and sites should reflect a modern, contemporary interpretation of Prairie Style architecture. The overall building forms, materials, and colors of Prairie Style architecture should be maintained; however, bold colors, metal finishes, and building ornamentation may be utilized as noted below. i. Architectural Character 1. Buildings shall have a long and low building form with strong horizontal lines. Windows in geometric shapes and/or glass storefront may be arranged in ribbons to emphasize the horizontality of the overall building design.
2. Buildings shall contain or incorporate a minimum of two of the following Prairie Style architectural elements: arcades, towers, foundation planter boxes, freestanding low masonry walls, mansard roofs, overhanging eaves, porticos, or awnings or canopies. 3. Buildings shall have horizontal and vertical articulations. Changes in planes or material texture, windows and glass storefront, and/or use of architectural elements in 2. above may be used to create articulations. ii. Building Materials 1. The building materials for a minimum of ninety percent (90%) of the area of each building façade excluding the area of windows, storefront and/or other glass areas shall be: natural clay brick, integrally-colored split-face concrete masonry units, ceramic tile, glass block, native or manufactured stone, rough-sawn or hewn wood, wood logs, fibercement materials, or cement or synthetic (EFIS) stucco. The remaining ten percent (10%) of each façade area may be any material allowed by building codes. 2. Integrally-colored split-face concrete masonry units, fiber-cement materials, or cement or synthetic (EFIS) stucco shall not be used on more than fifty percent (50%) of each building façade area excluding the area of windows, storefront, and/or other glass. 3. Window and storefront glass shall be clear or tinted. The use of reflective glass is not allowed. 4. Roof or mansard roof materials, visible from public or private streets and drive aisles, shall be standing seam metal, or metal, stone, clay, or concrete roof tiles. 5. Awning and canopies shall be metal, glass, fiberglass, or fabric. Plastic or similar materials for awnings and canopies are not allowed. iii. Building Exterior Colors The natural materials used in Prairie Style architecture established a color palette of primarily earthen tones. A minimum of seventy percent (70%) of the exterior building colors shall be grey, green, beige, tan, orange, red, rust, brown
or other earth tone colors. The remaining exterior building colors may be nonearth tone colors or metallic finishes. c. Landscaping, Lighting, Street Furniture, and Sidewalk Requirements i. Landscaping Landscaping shall be in accordance with C. of the General Standards above. ii. Lighting 1. Streetlight lighting shall be Sternberg Prairie lighting with either single arm or double arms. Streetlights shall be installed along all public streets at street corners, drive approaches, and between drive approaches and street corners at a spacing of not more than eighty feet (80 ) on center. 2. Parking lot lighting, where used, shall be the same as streetlight lighting. 3. Decorative building-mounted lighting shall be Sternberg 520 Tinley fixtures. 4. For required lighting in 1., 2., and 3. above, other light standards and fixtures of similar Prairie, Mission, or Arts and Crafts styles may be used if found to be consistent with the design of this overlay district at the time of site plan review. 5. Canopies and awnings shall not be backlit. iii. Street furniture is encouraged at building entrances and along walks. Street furniture, if used, shall be Prairie, Mission, or Arts and Crafts styles. iv. Sidewalks shall be in accordance with the Design and Technical Construction Standards in Article Twelve of this Ordinance. d. Signage Requirements Signs shall be in accordance with Section 9.04 of this Ordinance. 6. Site Plan/Design Review Required
A detailed site plan as outlined in this Ordinance shall be submitted for any new building or addition to existing buildings within the U.S. Highway 377 North Overlay District. Design review shall be a part of the site plan review process. The purpose of the design review is to ensure that buildings and sites are in conformance with site and architectural standards of this overlay district. 7. Variances to Standards When special conditions exist that prevent strict compliance with the regulations in Section 3, General Standards, Section 4, Johnson Road Subdistrict Standards, and/or Section 5, Marshall Ridge Subdistrict Standards, the City Council, upon recommendation from the Planning and Zoning Commission, may authorize a variance or deviation from these regulations. The process for requesting a variance shall be in accordance with Article Two, Section 2.08 Procedures for Variances from the Regulations of the Ordinance. 8. Illustrations a. Insert map of overall overlay district b. Insert map of subdistricts c. Examples of Prairie Style light standards and streetscape furniture