City of Bellingham Municipal Code

20.25.060 - LARGE RETAIL FACILITY DESIGN

A. The standards contained in this section are minimum standards and shall not be construed to limit the City's ability to apply more restrictive standards as may be authorized by other provisions of the Bellingham Municipal Code, including but not limited to the Planned Development provisions of BMC 20.38.

B. Specific Standards.

1. Buildings.

a. Facades greater than 100' in length, measured horizontally, shall incorporate wall plane projects or recesses having a depth of at least 3% of the length of the facade and extending at least 20% of the length of the facade. No uninterrupted length of any facade shall exceed 100 horizontal feet. Facades that have no customer entrance, are only visible from service areas and are screened from abutting properties and customer parking are exempt from this requirement. (See Figure 25-3).

b. Facades that face public streets shall have arcades, display windows, entry areas, awnings or other such features along no less than 60% of their horizontal length. (See Figure 25-3)

c. Small Retail Stores. Where large retail establishments contain additional, separately owned stores with separate, exterior customer entrances, the street level facade of such stores shall be transparent between the height of 3' and 8' above the walkway grade for no less than 60% of the horizontal length of the building facade of such additional stores.

d. Detail Features. Building facades must include a repeating pattern that includes no less than three of the elements listed below. At least one of the elements shall repeat horizontally. All elements shall repeat at intervals of not more than 30', either horizontally or vertically.

i. Color change;

ii. Texture change;

iii. Material module change;

iv. An expression of architectural or structural bays through a change in plane no less than 12" in width, such as an offset, reveal or projecting rib. (See Figure 25-4)

e. Parapets, mansard or other sloping roofs shall be used to conceal flat roofs and rooftop equipment such as HVAC units from public view. The average height of such parapets shall not exceed 15% of the height of the supporting wall and such parapets shall not at any point exceed 1/3 of the height of the supporting wall. (See Figure 25-5).

f. Rooflines shall be varied with a change in height at least every 100 linear feet.

g. Materials and colors.

i. Predominant exterior building materials shall be high quality materials, including, but not limited to, brick, standstone, other native stone and tinted and textured concrete masonry. Materials shall have a low level of reflectivity.

ii. Facade colors shall be low reflectance. The use of high-intensity colors, metallic colors, black or fluorescent colors shall be prohibited.

iii. Building trim and accent areas may feature brighter colors, including primary colors, but neon tubing shall not be an acceptable feature for building trim or accent areas.

iv. Exterior building materials shall not include smooth-faced concrete block, smooth-face tilt-up concrete panels or prefabricated steel panels.

h. Entryways.

i. Each large retail establishment on a site shall have clearly defined, highly visible customer entrances. All public entrances shall feature no less than three of the following:

(1) Canopies or porticos;

(2) Overhangs;

(3) Recesses/Projections;

(4) Arcades;

(5) Raised cornices parapets over the door;

(6) Peaked roof forms;

(7) Arches;

(8) Outdoor patios;

(9) Display windows;

(10) Architectural details such as tile work and moldings which are integrated into the building structure and design;

(11) Integral planters or wing walls that incorporate landscaped areas and/or places for sitting.

ii. Where additional stores will be located in the large retail establishment, each such store shall have at least one exterior customer entrance, which shall confirm to the above requirements.

iii. All sides of a building that face an abutting street, customer parking or public park or plaza shall have at least one customer entrance providing ingress and egress with at least double width doors. Where a building faces two or more abutting streets, this requirement shall apply to a minimum of two such sides of the building, including the primary street. A corner entrance may count as serving two building sides.

If additional stores will be located in the building, each store shall have at least one customer entrance that conforms to this requirement.

a. A planting bed with a minimum width of 10' shall be located between parking lots and the street right of way. The Director may require this width be increased to address specific site and street characteristics.

b. Landscaping shall be used along site boundaries as required to screen blank walls, service and loading areas and open parking.

c. An evergreen or mixture of evergreen and deciduous vegetation designed to be maintained at a height of at least 2.5' and not more than 3.5' is required along the street frontage of any open parking lot.

d. Surface parking lots shall provide internal landscaping at the rate of a minimum of 10 square feet of landscaped area per parking stall. This is a minimum requirement and may be increased to meet other criteria contained in this Title. The landscaping shall include at least one shrub for every 20 square feet of landscaped area and one shrub per enclosed bed. One tree shall be required for every 10 open parking spaces. Vegetation ground cover shall be provided for all landscaped areas that will provide 90% coverage within 2 years. Landscaping designs shall include evergreen materials.

e. Drought tolerant materials shall be used for all plantings unless an irrigation system is provided. A two-year maintenance bond or other financial guarantee acceptable to the City shall be provided in the amount of 50% of the value of the landscaping materials and installation.

4. Safety. Strategies to enhance public safety and deter crime shall be incorporated into the design of the building and associated parking areas. These include adequate lighting, increasing visibility of pedestrian areas and other techniques commonly known as “Crime Prevention Through Environmental Design.”

5. Pedestrian Circulation.



a. Public sidewalks shall be provided along all public streets.

b. Continuous internal pedestrian walkways shall be provided from the public sidewalk or right-of-way to the principal customer entrance of all large retail establishments on the site. The walkways shall have a minimum width of 6', exclusive of vehicle overhang area. At a minimum, walkways shall connect focal points of pedestrian activity such as, but not limited to, transit stops, street crossings, building and store entry points, and shall feature adjoining landscaped areas that include trees, shrubs, benches, flower beds, ground covers or other such materials for no less than 50% of the length of the walkway.

c. Sidewalks shall be provided along the full length of the building along any facade featuring a customer entrance, and along any facade abutting public parking areas. The sidewalk shall have a minimum width of 6', exclusive of vehicle bumper overhang area. Such sidewalks shall be located at least 6' from the facade of the building to provide planting beds for foundation landscaping, except where features such as arcades or entryways are part of the facade.

d. Awnings, canopies, marquees, arcades, building overhangs or similar forms of pedestrian weather protection, at least 4.5' wide shall be provided over a pedestrian walkway along at least 80% of any façade with a customer entrance. Such weather protection shall be at least 8' above the sidewalk. If placed more than 8' above the walkway, the weather protection shall be at least an additional 6" in width for each additional foot of height, or portion thereof.

e. All internal pedestrian walkways shall be distinguished from driving surfaces through a change in material. Durable, low maintenance surface materials such as pavers, bricks or scored concrete shall be used to enhance pedestrian safety and comfort, as well as the attractiveness of the walkways.

f. Walkways shall be designed for pedestrian safety and shall avoid or mitigate vehicle and pedestrian route conflicts through lighting, bollards and other features.

g. Cart corrals shall not encroach on walkways.

h. Bike racks shall be located in a well-lighted area close to building entrances.

a. All outdoor lighting shall be sized and directed to avoid adverse impact and spillover onto adjacent properties. Upward directed lighting is prohibited. Outside parking lot lighting shall not be less than one foot candle per IES minimum lighting standards at the property line, and shall be designed to minimize glare and spillover onto adjacent properties. Building and aesthetic lighting must be shielded to prevent direct glare and/or light trespass in excess of one foot candle at the property line.

b. Night lighting shall be provided for all pedestrian walkways.

c. All exterior lighting shall utilize cutoff shields or otherwise be designed to conceal the light source from adjoining uses and streets.

d. The maximum height of light poles in parking lots abutting residential zones shall not exceed 18'.

a. Blinking, animated, moving or changeable copy signs (reader or electronic message boards) are prohibited.

b. Signs on the building shall not extend above the parapet or roof line. Parapet walls may not be erected for the sole purpose of extending sign heights and when they are not in character with the rest of the building or complex.

c. Signs shall be designed and located to minimize impacts on residential uses. Signs shall not be located on any wall, canopy or building façade facing abutting Residential zones.

d. Sign area on buildings shall be proportional to the façade and not dominate it. Signs on the primary building façade shall not exceed 7% of the façade’s total area and signs on other facades shall not exceed 3% of the façade’s total area.

a. Areas for outdoor storage, truck parking, trash collection or compaction, loading, or similar uses shall not be visible from public or private streets.

b. No service areas for outdoor storage, trash collection or compaction, loading or similar uses shall be located within 20' of any public or private street, public sidewalk, or internal pedestrian way.

c. Service functions shall be incorporated into the overall design of the building and the landscaping so that the visual and acoustic impacts of these functions are fully contained and out of view from adjacent properties and the public streets. Screening materials shall be consistent with the principal materials of the building and landscape.

d. Mechanical or HAVAC equipment shall not be installed at ground level along any portion of a building facing a public or internal street unless there is no reasonable alternative. Fencing or landscaping shall be installed to screen ground level equipment.

e. Non-enclosed areas for the storage and sale of seasonal inventory shall be permanently defined and screened with walls and/or fences. Screening materials shall be consistent with the principal materials of the building. If non-enclosed areas are to be covered or roofed, materials shall be used that are consistent with those used on the building.

[Ord. 2007-02-011]