25planningcityentryways.pdf

(1)

Marion

F. Clark

This

articledescribestheplanninganddesign pro-cess used by the City of Raleigh to create and implement a plan to enhance the visual and natural resources ofone ofthe city's entryways.

The

plan blends land use, transportation, and visual resource recommendationsin ordertoclear up strip develop-ment,expandthe industriallandusebase,andimprove transportationalongthe corridor.

During the pasttwenty years,the Cityof Raleigh has experiencedacontinuous streamofdemographic andeconomicgrowth. Thisgrowthispartially

attribut-abletothe closeproximity ofthe ResearchTriangle Park,

which

providesanabundantsourceofindustrial

and governmental research

employment

opportuni-ties. These service sector

employment

opportunities

attract residents

who

are interested in the amenities offered by municipalities in the region.

The

City of Raleigh, withplentiful naturalandculturalresources, has absorbed

much

ofthe growth brought by the ResearchTrianglePark.

As

aresult,asleepy southern

citycenteredpredominantlyonstategovernmenthas been transformed intoa thrivingmunicipality faced with

new

environmental,economic, andinfrastructure concerns.

The

city leaders and citizenry have been dedicatedto

accommodating

growthwhile retaining thecharmofthesouthernculturalandnatural heritage.

In 1989, the Raleigh City Council responded toa groundswell ofpublicdismayatthe visual and

func-Marion F. Clark, ASLA, receivedherBachelor of Land-scapeArchitecturedegreefromLouisianaStateUniversity

in 1981.She hasworkedasaregisteredLandscape

Archi-tect inprivatepracticeandforthepastseven years inthe City ofRaleigh Planning Department. She is currently

workingon a Master of Regional Planning degreeatthe Universityof North CarolinaatChapelHill.

tionalcondition ofthe

highway

corridorsaroundthe

city.

They

directed theplanning stafftoundertakea studyofthemajorcorridorsofthecity.

The

goalofthe study

was

to determine the best possible

way

to

integrateefficienttransportation, effective land use, and valuablevisualandnaturalresourcesintocorridors capableofprojecting a positiveimage ofthe city as a pleasantplaceto liveandwork.

The

five

highway

corridors selected forstudywere U.S.70

W,

U.S. 401N,U.S. 401 S,U.S. 1 N, andU.S.

64 E.

The

firstcorridoraddressedinfull

was

U.S.64 E, which served as aprototype fortheother corridor

studies.

The

U.S.64

E

studyproducedan inventoryof existingconditions,a

new

legisla-tion. This

was

thefirstplanconductedinthe citythat

includedavisualresourceelement.

The

chargefromtheCityCouncilforU.S.64

E was

tocleanupstripdevelopment,promotehigher density housing, and broaden the industrial land base while increasingcapacityandprovidingcontrolled accessin

the transportationsystem.

The

fourmile longprojectis

located justoutside the centralcoreofRaleighandis

bounded

on the east and west by

two

Interstate freeways which circumscribe the city.

The

visual resource reconnaissance and recommendations are limitedto

3000

feetonbothsidesofthehighway.

The

Design Process

Visual Resource Inventory

(2)

26

CAROLINA

PLANNING

thevisualqualitiesandrestrictionsoftheexistingland forms.

The

westernend ofthecorridoratthe intersec-tionof1-440 beginsinwetlandsandislowinelevation.

The

rollingPiedmonthillsgiverisetoaridge,dominant at the halfway point of the corridor and subsiding gradually intothe

Neuse

River nearthe easternedge ofthe project.Wetlands

abound

adjacenttothe

Neuse

River, on the southeast section ofthe corridorstudy area.

A

vegetation inventoryandanalysis

was

developed

todeterminevegetativepatternsandthe relative

eco-nomic

value ofexisting vegetation. Stands oftrees

were

classified and valued by chronological occur-renceinsuccessionalorder. Forinstance,the25to50 yearoldpinegrowthsareconsideredlessvaluable than a standofmature bottomland

hardwoods

which

may

be over one hundred years old.

Specimen

trees of unusualsizeor specieswerealso indicated.Clustersof mature

hardwoods

emerged

as a pattern along the lengthofthecorridoronbothsides.Thesesmallgroups oftrees, typically oaks or pecans, were planted by farmers intheprevious centurytoprotectfarmsteads fromtheheatofthe

summer

andthe northerlywinds ofwinter.

Anotherinventory item

was

the figureground

rela-tionship,orthe solidsandvoidsofthespace surround-ing thehighway. This revealedthe location, density, andpatternof development, openspaceandvistas,and majortree stands.

The

western halfofthecorridorhas the distinct character of commercial strip develop-ment.Smallbuildingssurrounded byparkinglotsand

massiveparkinglotsframing shoppingcenters speckle the landscape.

A

required buildingsetbackof 50feet

drivesthisdevelopment form bycausing developersto

pushbuildings

away

fromtheroadandplaceparking

lotsvisibletopatronsinfrontofthedevelopment.

The

spatialedge ofthe

highway

createdbythe originaltree linehasbeen

moved

back300 ^eetandreplaced with the shreddedspacesofstripdevelopment.

The

east-ern halfofthe corridor is largely undeveloped and heavilywooded.

The

last inventory item to be

mapped

was

the circulation system. Greenways, bikeways,

highway

mediancuts,and drivewayaprons

were

recorded.

The

number

andfrequencyofdriveways

was

much

greater onthesouthsideofthe corridor.Thiscorrespondedto

the smaller buildings and greater fragmentation of spaces seen in the figure ground analysis.

Conve-niencestores,gasstations,andautorepairshops

were

thedominantlandusesonthesouthside,locatedforthe convenienceof

homeward

bound

shoppers.

The

north side ofthe corridor

was

developedwith larger retail

andcommercialusessuch asshoppingplazas.

Visual Resource Plan Design

Recommendations

The

findings from the visual resource inventory were synthesized withthe recommendations forthe landuseandtransportationplanstodesignthe visual resource

component

ofthecorridorplan.

The

landuse

component

made

recommendationsto retain industrial

zoningandcreatehighdensity residentialdevelopment abutting the

highway

next to the

Neuse

River.

The

transportation plan,inaneffort toseparatehighspeed throughtrafficfrom localizedtraffic,proposeda sys-tem ofparallelcollectors.Thesecollectors aresmaller service roads, placed not betweenthe

highway

and development,butbehindthefirstlayerof development.

Recommendations

were

made

toinstalltrafficsignals

in major intersections andto restrict driveways and entrances along the corridor.

The

specific visual resource planrecommendationsare listedbelow.

m

mmmmm»imm^mn'i

mii

mt

Ktfm

Ufii0»i»mma

mt

y

_I.-*.

viewsheds

Viewshedstobeprotectedinthecorridor

1.

Median

plant-ings:

To

providea unified street-scape and accent the status of the corridor as a

ma-jor entryway into

Raleigh, the

me-dian

should

be plantedwitha con-tinuous planting design.

2. Focal points:

Two

smallslivers

(3)

landwereidentifiedwitiiintiieexistingright-of-way ontiienorthsideofthecorridoras possiblesitesfor

publicart,special architectural treatment, or

plant-ing.

3 Highpointsandgoodviews:Highpointsof develop-able landwereidentifiedas

good

potentialsitesfor intensedevelopment. Thesesites have strong

vis-ibilityfromthecorridorandshould showcasehigh qualityresidentialorcommercialdevelopment.

Good

views and vistasto be preserved werealso identi-fiedalongthe corridor.

4. Tree preservation:

The

clusters of mature

hard-woods

identifiedshould be preservedas

homage

to

the homesteads they once protected. Although Raleighdoesnot yethavethestateenabiing

legisla-tion torequiretreepreservation, incentivesshould be created to encourage preservation ofthe valu-able trees.

5.

Neuse

RiverDevelopment: Obscured viewstothe

Neuse

River should be opened up to display the natural beautyofthe area. Wetlands on the south sideofthecorridoradjacenttothe river should be preserved.

A

riverwalkshould be designedonthe north side ofthe

highway

for the enjoyment and recreationofresidentsand visitors.

6. Special Street Yards:

Two

new

special types of

streetyardsweredesigned forthestreetscape plan. Street yards are

were

exempted

fromtheapplicationofstreetyards inordertoopenthespacefora

more dynamic

spatial

experienceandtoprovidegreatervisibilityforthe most economicallyviable properties.

The

firstofthetwo

new

typesofstreetyardsisthe bufferstreetyard which

was

placedon residential_ly and industriallyzonedproperty. Thisstreetyard

was

designedtocreatea

parkway

feelingonthe corridor side and an effective buffer for the residential and

industrialusesbyscreening outthedeleterious effects of high

volume

trafficwith plants.Parking should be locatedbetweenthe

roadway

andstructure,butshould be screened from the road. This street yard uses a varied plant material palette including shade,

under-story,andevergreentreesandshrubstocreate adense buffer.

The

connectivestreetyardisdesignedtobe placed withretail andcommercial development. This street

yard should act to connect the spaces between the buildingsalongthecorridorwithplantmaterialsand providea better definition ofthe corridor edge.

The

cumulative impact ofthis street yard should guide

traffictosaferturning

movements

atthe intersections and focus attention for the traveler

more

clearly on individual developments. Building setbacks are

re-laxedwiththisstreetyardtoencouragedevelopersto

move

thebuildingsclosertothe streetedge, face the

parallelcollectorsandtoenable developerstousethe property

more

efficiently. Parking should be located betweenthebuildingandthe parallel collector.

areas on private property

which

contain plantings oftreesandshrubs andrestrict struc-tures or parking throughzoning

re-strictions.

The

new

street yards were designed to

support

and

complement

the landuseand

trans-portation recom-mendationsofthe corridor plan and

toprovideastrong visual and spatial

edge to the

corri-dor. Intersections withtrafficsignals

<^

/

i^

'mmmwi>9^^^mm'w^mim^..

iMMnEanSSSaH

a^gLa

«levaiif>ii

1

m

buffer

streetyard

'^/mm

(4)

28

CAROLINA

PLANNING

Implementation

Strategies

Throughoutthedesignprocess,publicforumswere heldona regular basiswithresidents,businessowners, and property ownerstogarnerideas and support for

the project.

As

a result, the approval process

was

expeditious withfewconflicts.Attlietime ofapproval, theCity Council directed theplanning staff to

make

recommendationsformethodsof implementation.

The

staffthen organized a seven

member

task force to

investigate possible methods and to refme the pro-posedstreetyard concepts.

The

taskforceof Appear-ance

Commission members,

local landscape

archi-tects, business

community members,

neighborhood and developers" representatives, and stafffrom the city attorney's office

The

C

ityCounciIhasauthoritytoacceptordenysite

plansfor lackof conformitywiththe

Comprehensive

Plan. Ifthecorridorstudywereincorporated intothe

Comprehensive

Plan, the City Council could deny approvaltoasiteplanthat did notprovidethe

recom-mended

streetyards. Thisstep

would

notbesufficient

to ensure implementationofthecorridor plan,

how-ever.

Some

ofthepropertyalongthecorridoriszoned

Industrial-1,which doesnot requireCityCouncil

ap-proval exceptfor retail and hotel land uses. Instead,

this zoning districtis approvedadministratively and

requires only staff approval if the site plan is in compliance with the zoning code. For these plans, implementationofthecorridorstandards

would

notbe assured.

Step 2: Incorporate corridor development standards into a

new

zoning district.

Inordertoclosethisloopholeandinsurefull imple-mentationofthecorridorplan,a

new

zoningdistrictis

recommended.

This should be an overlaydistrictwhich

would

retainthe integrityand landuse allowances of theunderlyingzoningdistrictswhileestablishing the requirements for the corridor plan. This could also provideavehicletoincludethe

new

buildingsetback distances.

The

overlaydistrictshould be incorporated intothezoningcodetoassurethatthesiteplanswhich fall under administrative approval

comply

with the streetscape plan.

The

taskforce also

made

several ancillary recom-mendations. It

was

notedthat itis importanttoallow

flexibilitytoanystandards applicabletoa varietyof sites.Inordertoallowpropertieswith unusual circum-stances to meet the spirit ofthe code and still be in compliance, analternate

metnod

ofcompliance provi-sionshould be allowed. Secondly,thetreepreservation incentives

embodied

inthe currentzoningcodeshould be referencedand used inthe

new

zoningdistrict. Project

Update

The

Raleigh City Council adopted the U.S. 64

E

Corridor Plan into the

Comprehensive

Plan inApril

1991. Followingthat action,the seven

member

task

force continuedto meet for one yearto develop the specific width and planting requirementsofthe

two

new

street yards.

The

task force

new

streetyardsto theCity Council as

two

separate Special

Highway

OverlayDistricts

(SHOD). The

City ofRaleigh had formerly applied

two

SHOD

street

yardsinaneffort to preservethegreenbelt surround-ing the interstate expressways.

The two

new

street

yards

became

SHOD

3 (buffer street yard) and

SHOD

4(connective street yard)and

were

incorpo-rated into the

zoningcode

in 1992.

The

property

Component

of the U. S. 64

E

Corridor Plan

was

successfullyrezonedas

SH0D3

and

SH0D4

in 1994. Duringthe planningprocess, several siteplanswere submittedforapprovalsontherapidlygrowing corri-dor.Althoughthe

new

standardswerenotcodified,the

siteplanswere approved and development

was

imple-mentedwiththestreetscapeplan proposals.

A

master planis

now

intheplanning processfor a large undevel-oped portion of the corridor. This master plan is

consistentwiththe objectivesoftheU.S.64

E

Corridor Plan. It includes preservation ofthe extensive wet-landsnexttothe

Neuse

River,development ofahigh densityresidentialtract,andretentionofamajortract

ofindustrialland.

The

U.S. 401

N

Corridor Plan hasalso been

com-pleted and

was

rezoned atthe

same

timeas the U.S. 64

E

Plan. These plans prompted the Appearance

Commission

tobegin

work

onfinding

ways

tocodify the remaining existing enabling legislation for tree conservationthrough specialResource

Management

Districts.Followingthat,theAppearance

Commission

plans to seek

new

enabling legislation that

would

providea

means

to require tree preservation.

The

U.S.64

E

Corridor Plan seekstoblendthepast,

present,and futuretogetherina

way

thatismutually

(5)

!, Development along US. 64Ewhichwas implementedusingthe streetscapeplanproposals.