17.25.030 Development standards.
A. Table 17.25-2 identifies development standards in the commercial, office, and industrial districts. Additional standards, criteria, and regulations for parking, various uses and activities, signage, and recycling and trash collection areas are established in Chapters 17.100 through 17.360 SMC.
B. General Project Layout and Design Criteria. The following criteria apply to commercial uses with three or more storefronts or 15,000 square feet or larger in the CO, CG, CD, M, CM, and OLM zones:
1. The development shall be human-scale and pedestrian-friendly, with the site plan focused on pedestrian access and architecture.
2. The development shall be oriented toward the street frontages and primary pedestrian access points, rather than the parking lot. Safe and convenient pedestrian access shall be provided throughout the development, with access and connections provided to existing and planned sidewalks and bicycle routes.
3. Development shall not resemble a typical strip commercial development. Strip commercial development is characterized by uses that are one store deep, buildings are arranged in a linear fashion rather than clustered, and site design that emphasizes automobile access and parking.
4. Off-street parking shall be distributed to the rear of buildings, except in unusual circumstances when parking to the side will be considered.
C. Residential Development.
1. Residential uses in the commercial, office, and industrial districts shall be permitted as mixed-use projects, with ground-floor nonresidential uses located along the primary street frontages.
2. Residential uses permitted as mixed-use projects shall be located on upper floors above nonresidential uses or, if located on the ground floor, shall be located along side street frontages behind commercial or office uses. Access to the residential use may be located on the primary street frontage; provided, that the access is 25 percent or less of the building width along that frontage. This subsection does not apply to deed-restricted affordable housing projects.
3. In nonresidential zoning districts, residential uses permitted in the R7 zone that are not part of a mixed-use project are allowed as a conditionally permitted use subject to the findings that the project will not create substantial adverse effects on commercial uses or street-front vitality and that the project will be compatible with nearby uses and development. (Ord. 1111, 2018)