Sec. 27-185. Development design approval and procedures. (a) Design approval; when required; submission of application. (1) Required. Any property owner or agent thereof proposing to erect a building or structure in the central business district, including erection of surface parking lots, for which building permit applications are submitted after the effective date of the ordinance from which this article was derived shall obtain design approval for the building or structure by complying with the provisions of this section and the CBD development design regulations. Any building or structure within the central business district which undergoes major renovation and which has been designated as a landmark or included in a designated historic district under section 27-114 of this chapter shall be governed by the provisions of sections 27-111 through 27-118, and the provisions of this article shall apply only to the extent that they do not conflict with sections 27-111 through 27-118. Notwithstanding the applicability of the foregoing paragraph, any property owner or agent proposing solely to erect a fence structure on unimproved property in the central business district, shall not be required to obtain design approval by complying with the CBD development design regulations, rather, erection solely of the fence structure shall be governed by the provisions of section 27-186(h), Fence regulations. Erection of all other fence structures shall be subject to the foregoing paragraph as well as section 27-186(h), Fence regulations. (2) Submission of application. a. CBD-1. For parcels zoned CBD-1, an application for design approval shall be submitted to the urban design manager or designee at the same time as an application for commercial site plan review as required by Chapter 5 of this Code. b. CBD-2. For parcels zoned CBD-2 or the subject of a CBD-2 rezoning petition, an application for design approval shall be submitted to the urban design manager or designee at the same time as a petition for city council rezoning site plan approval is submitted to the land development coordination office; provided, however, for proposed structures of one hundred twenty (120) feet or less, an application for design approval shall be submitted to the urban design manager or designee at the same time as an application for commercial site plan review as required by Chapter 5 of this Code. (b) Review procedure. (1) Pre-application conference. Any property owner or agent thereof required to obtain design approval shall schedule a pre-application conference with the urban design manager and the public art manager prior to submission of an application for design approval. In order to assist in discussing the basic scope of the project, the property owner shall submit a sketch plan containing the following: a. General development design details; b. Whether public art is to be placed on-site, off-site or whether a fee-in-lieu is to be paid; c. The physical description of the public open space, location, size and access; d. A description of the intended public use or character of the public open space; e. A description of the type of landscaping, paving, street furniture and activity elements to be incorporated into the public open space; f. If required, riverwalk design. The urban design manager shall review the CBD development design regulations with the applicant and determine in checklist form which standards, guidelines and regulations will be
applicable to the project. If public art is required as part of the proposed development, the urban design manager shall refer the applicant to the public art manager for review of the proposed public art. (2) Submission requirements. All applications for design approval shall contain the following items: a. A general information cover letter stating the property owner's name and address, the applicant's name and address, the names and addresses of any authorized agents and the street address and legal description of the subject property; b. A general location map indicating the location of the proposed site relative to the downtown area (map size optional); c. A context map indicating the location of the proposed site and the location of all building and street rights-of-way within three hundred (300) feet of the proposed site perimeter. The context map shall also contain the following information regarding surrounding buildings: 1. Visual survey of land uses with brief title of type business at ground floor; 2. Nearby buildings which are of significant architectural or historical significance; 3. Solid-void space relationships, i.e., open space, parking lots in relationship to building areas; 4. Number of stories of each building and approximate building height; 5. Photographs of each side of the city block on which the proposed site is located and photographs of all adjacent sites or structures facing the proposed site; photographs shall be standard three-and-one-half-inch by four-and-one-half-inch color prints displayed and labeled, mounting all photographs to paper or cardboard. d. A detailed site plan and street level floor plan containing the following information: 1. North arrow and scale; 2. Property line boundaries and dimensions; 3. Adjacent street rights-of-way with number of traffic lanes denoted and direction of traffic flow; 4. Vehicle and pedestrian circulation, including ingress, egress, loading, unloading and parking; 5. Typical floor plan with major use categories as necessary to describe all levels of building; 6. Street-level floor plan designating all grade changes and indicating the various uses of spaces; 7. If required, riverwalk floor plan illustrating pedestrian access and movement. e. Building design plans containing drawings of the building or structure including the following: 1. Exterior elevations in color (using any color medium such as markers or colored pencils, etc.) of all sides of the project at a scale no smaller than 1/16" = 1'0" (include any existing structures abutting the proposed project on the same street wall). 2. Sections of the structure as necessary to adequately describe shapes and the relationship of spaces (scale no smaller than 1/16" = 1'0", except if such scale is not practical due to the magnitude of the project, a scale agreed to by the city may be acceptable); 3. Color character sketches depicting exterior highlights or the flavor of the project are encouraged;
4. Exterior perspective in color at the pedestrian level (this drawing may be a sketch perspective rendered in sufficient detail using any color medium such as markers or colored pencil, etc.); 5. Designation of building materials, finishes and colors (outline specifications only); 6. Designation of all handicap ramps, including areas where the sidewalk intersects driveways and garages. f. A streetscape plan indicating the streetscape and landscape plan proposed containing the following information: 1. North arrow and scale of not less than 1" = 30' (if such scale is not practical due to the magnitude of the project, a scale agreed to by the city may be acceptable); 2. Sidewalk width, paving materials (surface and base), paving patterns and system, curbing materials; 3. Location and dimension of proposed driveways, handicap ramps, ingress and egress points and curbs; 4. Existing vegetation to be saved (identified by name, quantity and size) and method of protection during construction; 5. Proposed planting areas, plants proposed, including type plant or tree (botanical or common name), number of plants or trees, height and spread, spacing and caliper or gallon size; 6. Tree grates; 7. Tree lighting and utility lines; 8. Irrigation system; 9. If required, riverwalk streetscape and landscape plan including the location, dimension, description and type of seating, planters, tables, fountains, public art and other street furniture to be included. g. A public art plan containing the following information shall be submitted (when required) to the public art manager: 1. A detailed site plan indicating the proposed location of the public art; 2. The percent cost of the public art, including proof thereof, figured by the following formula: P=(AC/PC)*100 Where: TABLE INSET: P = Percent public art cost AC = Cost of public art PC = Total cost of project as identified on building permits job value 3. A representation of the proposed artwork. The representation may include an illustration, character sketch, model, photograph or other means of visually conveying the proposed public artwork, in accordance with the definition of "public art" contained in Chapter 4 of the City of Tampa Code of Ordinances. If, for any reason, the public art manager is unable to approve the proposed public art based on the public art definition as noted above, the representation shall be referred to the public arts committee. The public arts committee shall make a determination as to compliance with the definition of public art. The public art committee shall not review the artistic expression or merit of the
representation. The public arts committee shall transmit its review findings in writing within sixty (60) days to the public art manager and urban design manager. The property owner shall pay a fee, to be established by resolution, for the review conducted or commissioned by the public arts committee. h. A public open space plan containing the following information: 1. A detailed site plan of the public open space showing: i. The dimensions of the public open space (see section 27-186(e)(2)a. for design options); ii. Computation of percent open space; iii. A landscape plan; and iv. The location, dimension, description and type of seating, planters, tables, fountains, public art and other street furniture to be included in the public open space. 2. A pedestrian-level perspective sketch, in color, of the proposed public open space. (3) Review of design approval application. a. Review. The Natural Resources Coordinator shall review applications for design approval for compliance with the provisions of this article. The Natural Resources Coordinator shall also review applications for compliance with the provisions of the public open space and streetscape regulations. (c) Approval, denial and appeals. Design approval and denial shall be conducted as follows: (1) CBD-1 and nonzoning site plan projects. When property is zoned CBD-1 or is zoned CBD-2 and does not require city council zoning site plan approval in order to build and design approval is required for a project, review for design approval shall be conducted concurrent with commercial site plan review required by Chapter 5 of this Code. Approval or denial shall be reported to the applicant in writing. If denied, the reasons for denial shall also be reported to the applicant in writing. The applicant shall be given a reasonable opportunity to address the reasons for denial and resubmit the application. If an application is denied after resubmittal, the applicant may appeal the denial to the city council, who shall make the final determination as to whether the application complies with the provisions of this section. All appeals shall be filed within fourteen (14) days of the date of final denial. No formal notice requirements shall be required for the appeal to the city council. (2) CBD-2 projects. When CBD-2 zoning site plan approval is required or requested for a project, review for design approval shall be conducted simultaneously with the CBD-2 zoning site plan review. Review time frames, communications of approval and/or denial and resubmittals shall be in accordance with the procedures for the CBD-2 rezoning site plan review process. The Natural Resources Coordinator, in coordination with the urban forester or designee, may approve alternate locations for required streetscapes provided the streetscape plan for the proposed alternate location meets or exceeds the required streetscape in the required location. (d) Final review of materials, finishes and colors. Prior to application for a building permit, the applicant shall submit to the urban design manager or designee, final designations of ranges of building materials, finishes and colors. The urban design manager or designee shall review the final designations within thirty (30) days. Approvals, denials and appeals shall be in accord with the provisions of subsection (c)(1) above.
(e) Review and issuance of building permits, construction, inspections and certificate of occupancy release. Upon approval of an application for CBD development design and prior to issuance of any building permit for any property subject to the requirements of this article, the urban design manager or designee shall review the permit application to ensure it is consistent with design approval. No building permit shall be issued for property subject to the requirements of this article unless consistent with design approval. Construction on property subject to the requirements of this article shall only take place consistent with design approval. The urban design manager or designee shall be permitted on site to conduct periodic inspections to ensure construction is consistent with the approved application. Furthermore, the developer shall be required to submit design and construction documents to the urban design manager or designee for review and approval at the following stages of completion: thirty (30) percent, sixty (60) percent, and ninety (90) percent of the overall project. Upon passage of final inspection, the city shall release all holds on the certificate of occupancy; provided, further, the installation of the public art on site shall be completed before a certificate of occupancy is granted. However, the city may allow additional time, up to a period of one (1) year, for the installation and completion of the artwork on site. Upon granting of an extension, a performance bond or letter of credit in an amount equal to the cost of the artwork to be installed on site shall be posted to ensure completion and installation. A second extension of up to a period of one (1) additional year may be allowed under certain exceptional circumstances. Exception status is awarded on the basis of an approved time-line for installation of on-site artwork. Additional extensions may only be granted by city council approval.