NEIGHBORHOOD DISTRICTS SEVEN MAIN DISTRICTS Neighborhood Districts While the Development Plan provides a broad-scale overview of the neighborhood, this section focuses on uses and relationships at the district scale. The neighborhood is divided into seven main districts: Mixed-Use Center Faculty and Staff Housing Area I Faculty and Staff Housing Area II Faculty and Staff Housing Area III Student Housing Area I Student Housing Area II Student Housing Area III Each description highlights the character and feel of the district, as well as proposed land uses, adjacencies and relationships. Specific guidelines for buildings and spaces in the neighborhood are outlined in Typical Design Characteristics, which follows this section. UC DAVIS NEIGHBORHOOD MASTER PLAN
NEIGHBORHOOD DISTRICTS MIXED- USE CENTER Mixed-Use Center The Mixed-Use Center is the neighborhood's focal point. Situated in the heart of the neighborhood, it includes a range of uses and amenities for students, faculty, staff and members of the greater Davis community. The Mixed-Use Center is an active, vital area where all people feel welcome and experience a distinct civic character. M I X E D USE C E N T E R USES The Mixed-Use Center is comprised of a range of neighborhood-serving commercial, office, service and residential uses, as well as other community-oriented and civic uses. Ground-floor commercial shops and services (approximately,000 square feet) include uses such as a café, laundromat, bike repair shop, or similar convenience retail. Residential uses include apartments on the upper floors of buildings. Community-oriented and civic uses include amenities such as a daycare center, senior center and library branch. B U I L D I N G S Mixed-Use Center buildings, including CEC structures and mixed-use buildings surrounding the Village Square, create active pedestrian streetfronts, and are organized around and oriented to the Village Square. Buildings are three to four stories in height, with front and side setbacks of at least 0' to accommodate outdoor dining, gathering spots, and ample sidewalk spaces for pedestrians. Ground floors contain neighborhood shops, classrooms and office uses, while upper stories are typically apartments only. C E N T R A L L O C A T I O N The Mixed-Use Center is the hub of neighborhood activity. It is centrally located and enjoys close proximity to all major land uses and amenities, including the Transit Green, recreation fields, pedestrian and bicycle connections, transit links, and Student, Faculty and Staff Housing. Village Square The heart of the Mixed-Use Center is the Village Square. This attractive green space -- approximately -. acres in size -- is a place for gathering, relaxation and recreation for residents and visitors alike. In addition, this space provides a venue for various community activities and special events. The Village Square also serves as the culmination of a green entryway into the neighborhood from Hutchison Drive to the south. Pedestrian Realm The Mixed-Use Center should provide an attractive and comfortable environment for pedestrians. Wide sidewalks ( - 0') promote activity and public interaction by allowing people to stop and talk, sit and read a book, or visit with friends. Outdoor dining also helps animate this environment. In addition, street trees, generous landscaping, public art, benches, tree-shaded sitting areas, attractive light fixtures, fountains, and banners are provided to create an appealing pedestrian-oriented environment. Bicycle and Pedestrian Paths Bicycle and pedestrian pathways provide an off-street travel network connecting the Mixed-Use Center area to adjacent neighborhood districts, open space amenities, and trails and facilities both on campus and in the local community. Additionally, these pathways allow direct access to the Central Campus via a bike route along Hutchison Drive and a trail leading to the existing bicycle/pedestrian bridge over State Route. Community Education Center The Community Education Center (CEC) provides approximately 0,000 square feet of facilities for the Los Rios Community College District and other campusaffiliated educational programs (including high school satellite programs provided in partnership with the Davis Joint Unified School District). Food services and other CEC amenities are provided in the Mixed-Use Center area, helping to activate the pedestrian environment. In addition, people using the CEC have direct access to the open space and gathering areas in the Village Square and its surrounding buildings. UC DAVIS NEIGHBORHOOD MASTER PLAN
NEIGHBORHOOD DISTRICTS MIXED- USE CENTER Transit Stops Transit stops at the northwest corner of the Village Square (near the entrance to the Transit Green) and at the CEC provide residents and visitors with access to neighborhood districts, the Central Campus, and the greater community. 7 Parking 8 Street parking and small surface lots within the Mixed- Use Center meet the parking needs of employees, businesses, residents, and visitors to the area. Many of these spaces are provided on the eastern side of the Mixed- Use Center and along access streets surrounding the Village Square. A decked parking structure east of the CEC serves the educational facility as well as stores, services and student apartments. Some parking is also provided on the western side of the Mixed-Use Center and near the recreation fields. Hutchison Drive 9 7 Mixed-Use Center Housing 8 Recreation Fields 9 Heidrick Western Center for Agricultural Equipment Residences in the Mixed-Use Center enhance the vitality of the area s small convenience stores and the public life of the Village Square. Housing is located above groundfloor commercial, civic and office uses. Buildings, three to four stories in height, are designed to create a strong visual enclosure around the Village Square. Housing entries and lobbies open onto the street, adding to the activity and life of the public spaces, streets, sidewalks and the Square. Recreation Fields are located in close proximity to the Village Square and provide sports venues for students and community residents. The sports fields are lighted for evening play for soccer, football, baseball, softball, basketball and volleyball. The fields are slightly lower in elevation than the surrounding spaces, allowing for flood drainage retention during big storms. A small recreational center, with meeting rooms, restrooms and a storage area, physically encloses the southwest corner of the Village Square. The existing Heidrick Western Center for Agricultural Equipment will continue to operate in its present location off of Hutchison Drive. Improvements to the site and facility will help integrate the Center into the neighborhood entry and Mixed-Use Center. Classroom space within the Western Center could also be integrated with the CEC as a joint-use facility. Landscape screening along the north and east property lines will help buffer residential uses in the neighborhood. UC DAVIS NEIGHBORHOOD MASTER PLAN
NEIGHBORHOOD DISTRICTS FACULTY AND STAFF HOUSING AREA I Faculty and Staff Housing Area I Housing for faculty and staff members is a key component of the neighborhood. Faculty and Staff Area I, located in the northeast portion of the site, is an attractive and livable residential district. The area has single-family detached homes and townhouses, cottage units, garden apartments, tree-lined streets, buffers, pedestrian and bicycle greenways, pocket parks, and an Elementary School and park. The district also has quick pedestrian, bicycle and auto connections to the Mixed-Use Center and other campus destinations. H O U S I N G Faculty and Staff Housing Area I contains a range of housing types in a setting that is denser than typical single-family housing development. Larger single-family detached homes line the district's "Main Street", providing an attractive, open connection to the Mixed-Use Center to the south. Smaller single-family detached homes line the streets to the east and west of this area. Approximately 0 percent of the homes have detached cottage/garage units in the rear of the lot. These units are accessed by alleyways. Townhouses are located along the southern edge of the district. Apartment units are located at the eastern edge of the area, south of the Elementary School. PARKS, GREENWAYS AND BUFFERS The district includes a variety of open spaces, parks and recreation areas. It also contains naturalized buffer areas and swales that facilitate drainage and foster habitat for plants and animals. The Transit Green, Elementary School Park, a pocket park, greenways and other small park spaces provide communityoriented open space. Greenways bordering the east and west sides of the area include drainage channels alongside pedestrian and bicycle paths. Main Street Houses Larger homes on larger lots front Main Street. These homes have large setbacks and park strips, allowing for double rows of shade trees along the street. Small cottages, "in-law" or "grad flat" units and garages are accessed from the rear alleyway. Homes are oriented to optimize southern exposure in winter and take advantage of delta breezes in summer. Townhouses and Apartments Street Front Homes and Rear Lot Cottages The district s streets and homes foster a pedestrianfriendly environment with narrow tree-lined roadways, decks, front porches, and entries opening onto the public spaces. Building setbacks are -', providing a closer relationship to the sidewalk and "eyes on the street". Buildings are designed in a range of styles and sizes to accommodate a mix of income groups and family sizes. Neighborhood Pocket Parks C O N N E C T I O N S Direct, efficient pedestrian and bicycle connections link the district north to the City of Davis, south and west to the Mixed-Use Center and Transit Green, and east to the Central Campus via the pedestrian/bicycle bridge over SR. Automobile connections along "Main Street" connect the district south to the Mixed- Use Center and Central Campus (via Hutchison Drive). High-density housing types include townhouses, small-lot and zero-lot homes, and apartments. This provides for a range of family sizes and income levels. Townhouses or row houses are attached two- to three-story homes. Apartments have a range of unit sizes. Each building facing the street reinforces the small town character of the neighborhood with large entry porches, seating and gathering places facing the street. Small neighborhood pocket parks are nestled throughout the neighborhood. These small greens provide small children's play areas, outdoor public gathering places and open space for the families living immediately within a two block walking distance. Pocket parks provide for recreational activities such as tot-lots, picnicking, and informal games and gatherings. Each pocket park is designed with seating, pedestrian furniture, lighting and paths. UC DAVIS NEIGHBORHOOD MASTER PLAN
NEIGHBORHOOD DISTRICTS FACULTY AND STAFF HOUSING AREA I Russell Boulevard 8 7 Elementary School and Park 7 Alleys and Interior Parking 8 Courts Ponds A neighborhood Elementary School and Park are located in the northeast corner of the site. The school is designed to accommodate neighborhood children. Access to the school and park is provided via Main Street along a local neighborhood collector street. Small 0 -wide back alleyways and interior parking courts provide visitor and homeowner parking. Alleys and parking courts are well landscaped and lighted, and they provide for entries to rear cottages. Unit entries face onto the alleyways and parking courts to create a safe, pedestrian-scaled setting. Alleys and parking courts are designed for slow moving traffic and provide additional spaces for outdoor play and informal neighborhood activities and gatherings. Drainage ponds and surface drainage swales accommodate surface runoff during storms. These areas allow stormwater to percolate down into the groundwater table, lessening off-site drainage impacts. Drainage ponds are integrated into the neighborhood open space system and provide habitat area and a visual amenity for residents. Bike paths, pedestrian trails and jogging paths surround the ponds. Landscaping, furniture, seating, picnic tables, outdoor lighting and public art are integrated into the open space system. UC DAVIS NEIGHBORHOOD MASTER PLAN 7