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1.1 Design Manual Concept
This design manual is a result of the thoughts and goals, philosophies and theories developed over the years by regional top design professionals who have a hands-on awareness of the special requirements for outstanding development in a hillside environment.
We have charged ourselves with the responsibility of completing a community that will be a great asset to the town of Brevard and the region. In our visions for the development, our team of architects, planners, marketing professionals and engineers have been challenged by Straus Park’s unique diversity. The property changes dramatically in topography and vegetation throughout. Additionally, due to the site’s proximity to Highway 64 on the front and high remote mountain settings in the back, it will produce a community that will have great variety. There are various different low impact commercial areas as well as a wide variety of residential house types.
The planning goal of Straus Park is to create a cohesive umbrella of architectural and landscape guidelines to tie the entire community together with all of its diversity. As our stance line indicates “a future drawn from memories of the past,” we have carefully selected design styles as well as the latest concepts from the fields of planning and development that are applicable in this situation.
Straus Park is partially a hillside setting, partially a park side setting. We, therefore, have coined the design approach as “mountain park architecture.” This design manual endeavors to explain this mountain park in some detail and provide guidelines and procedures for designing and building within Straus Park.
We, the development team at Straus Park, know that you as a participating contractor, architect, subcontractor and most of all, our eventual community residents, will all share with us in our high goals for Straus and step “on board” with our high intentions of understated quality.
Welcome to Straus Park!
William McKee
1.2 Camp Harry H. Straus: A Brief Retrospective by Patrick Scott
Abridged version of a term paper presented at Brevard College, Spring 1997
Transylvania County has long acknowledged Camp Straus as a fixture of everyday life. It watched as sentinel over those entering Brevard on Highway 64 for over fifty years. Camp Straus has a unique and colorful past rendering this natural area a jewel into today’s city of Brevard. The factors surrounding the creation of the camp, its active years while it enjoyed the support of the local mill, and its eventual reallocation all figure into the experience of this area. Camp Straus is considered responsible for creating the fondest childhood memories of many Transylvania residents in the past and the present.
The Cherokees were the first to populate this area. They never maintained permanent settlements in this valley, but they hunted here. They hunted deer primarily, but also beaver, bear and other small game. Their knowledge of local topography lives on to this day through Indian names that abound in the county such as Tokoa, Illahee and Connestee. The Estatoe Path ran directly behind the camp, avoiding the swamps surrounding the French Broad as it winds toward Asheville. This represented the primary trade route for Indians bartering with low county settlers and other Indian tribes in Colonial South Carolina.
It was not until the Revolutionary War that Europeans began to frequent what is now Transylvania County. Land grants given to soldiers for service brought homes and farms to land long left fallow. Swamps were drained by slaves and brush forests were set ablaze to plant crop. The distinguishing features of the land still retain these scars, through long established ditches dug with indentured labor and barren hills that never recovered from meandering fires.
The Allison family built the Elk Lodge on the property and put in a lake. Unfortunately, an attempt to bring big game hunting to the area failed. Sportsmen vainly attempted to relocate Elk to the ridge presently known as Elk Mountain. The name survived; the Elk did not. William M Fetzer, or Captain Bill, was enamored with the site and rented the ridge and surrounding fields for a boys’ camp and eventually bought the property. Camp Sapphire opened in 1913, using the Allison’s lodge and Deer Park Lake as its foot.
A factor that was not so in keeping with the natural atmosphere, but would figure greatly into the purchase by the next owner, was the “modern” convenience available in camp. By 1914, “all buildings and study quarters will be lighted by electricity. The telephone in the Director’s office will afford both local and long distance communication.” Furthermore, “the kitchen is supplied with pure running water, piped from a mountain stream ... no expense has been spared.” Expeditions from the camp did offer some “roughing it” time. Trips to Caesar’s Head, Lake Toxaway, Looking Glass Rock., and the surrounding forests promoted communion with nature. Also, these lengthy excursions offered, for those who chose to go, an opportunity to “pitch tents, build camp fires, cook in real ‘camping out’ fashion, and (to be) taught many valuable lessons in wood craft.”
Harry H. Straus, a local paper magnate, had enjoyed the success his mill had from the nearby forest, and was able to purchase the Camp as a retreat for his employees and their families. In 1945 Straus’ generous membership terms allowed any employee, family member or even friend of an employee to use the facilities. Workers savored the gratuity, and the Camp became a center of local activity overnight.
The fondest memory most residents of Brevard and employees of the paper mill had of what came to be called Camp Straus, was unquestionably the Fourth of July celebration. The greased pole contest always brought a crowd as did the fireworks and other contests. Virtually everyone was invited Soon after his death, the man who had been so devoted to his employees had a monument erected to him At the time the plaque went up, the recreation area was renamed “Camp Straus” in his honor. Innumerable residents of Brevard learned to swim at the camp, and in a day when recreation was expensive, a luxury or altogether nonexistent, Camp Straus provided summers of diversion
The final Fourth of July celebration at Camp Straus was held in 1992. Camp Straus was purchased by McKee Development from the paper mill, P. H. Glatfelter Co. (now known as Ecusta Papers) in 1997.
Preservation of Straits Park’s existing natural beauty and heritage was the design team’s first priority. Our “vision” was to preserve and enhance the best of the site while designing the finest planned community possible.
The second step in creating Straus Park was to seek public feedback on what the community wanted. Armed with public input and our initial vision of preserving Straus’ best we examined examples of other successful communities. Neighborhoods from New England to Florida were studied to find the best elements being offered. The best elements were then applied to Straus.
The third step was to ensure that Straus Park was open to everyone, that common areas felt public, and Straus was inviting from US 64.
The last step was to have the plan respond to the unique character of the site: Maintain the large open spaces for the public, allow higher density on gentle slopes and low density on steeper slopes, and lastly, avoid disturbance of sensitive ecological areas.
The design team made up of the owner and some of the finest planners, architects, and engineers went to work with the goal of creating the very best community possible. The final result is a community based upon sustainable principles of lasting ideas and materials while preserving and protecting the environment and ecosystems of Straus.
1.3.2 Architecture
The architecture sought after for Straus Park and described in this manual has been called Mountain Park Architecture due to the cultural context and the character of the Straus Park site. This architecture is the expression of the intent to integrate sensitively the buildings of Straus Park in the beautiful natural environment of the site and to relate them in an unaffected manner to the rich indigenous and formal architectural heritage of the region.
Mountain Park Architecture does not seek to repeat a historical style. It can be pointed out, however, that the English Arts and Crafts Movement and, especially, the early 20th century eclectic style, generally called “Tudor,” but with much American Craftsman Style and Shingle Style borrowing, are its predecessors and best references. Many fine examples of these styles are represented in the estates and the neighborhoods of Asheville and its surroundings. A further source of reference is the indigenous Appalachian mountain culture of the region. in particular, the “informal” and “romantic” character of these styles with their irregular shapes makes a sharp and important contrast with the contemporaneous and more formal American Colonial Revival Style.
Mountain Park Architecture is distinguished by its irregular, non-symmetrical shapes, the integrative relationships with the topography, and the tactile textures and contrasting colors of the applied natural materials. Buildings designed in this manner have connotations of medieval English imagery from rural cottages to manor houses most with prominent roofs capes. Although these cottages and houses emphasize the apparent mass of the exterior walls, there is by the design and formation of the windows a generous degree of transparency between the outside and the main interior spaces.
The irregular massing of Mountain Park Architecture, as opposed to symmetrical and formal massing, allows for flexibility in adaptation to the mountainous sites and also breaks the roof profiles and creates differentiation and complexity of appearance. The resulting character of the volume treatment adds to the picturesque quality of the building silhouette. Irregular massing also provides the opportunity to create a hierarchy of interior spaces and makes them legible on the exterior of the building shape
Mountain Park Architecture is rural, domestic, and inclusive in character. It aspires, by the nature of the chosen points of reference and their application to the specifics of Straus Park, to create an environment which is evocative and rich in experience.
Mountain Park Landscape, as envisioned by the landscape architect, seeks to “create landscape without evidence of man’s role in its creation” using the timeless principles of natural design.
Native plants should be used whenever possible. No single plant or site element should draw attention to itself but unify and enrich the whole scene. The use of bright colors, formal arrangements, exotic or foreign elements should be avoided. Informal, non-symmetrical arrangements with natural materials and colors should be used. Landscape architectural designs should emphasize and mirror the natural beauty of Straus Park and the Blue Ridge Mountain environment.
SCOTT R. MELRQSE & ASSOCIATES, PA
LANDSCAPE ARCHITECTURE - LAND PLANNING - ENVIRONMENTAL DESIGN
TO: Homeowners & Contractors
FROM: Scott R. Melrose, ASLA
Straus Park Environmental Control Committee (ECC)
Landscape Architect
REFERENCE: Landscape Design & Installation
WELCOME to Straus Park. We look forward to working with you on your new home. As you are aware, the Straus Park Design Manual helps guide you, your consultants, and contractors through the building process. The guidelines are an invaluable tool in helping your dream home come true and most importantly protecting your investment.
The general steps for site planning and landscaping are as follows:
1. Topographic Survey of the property.
2. Site Plan
3. ECC Approvals
4. Landscape Design
5. ECC Approvals
6. ECC Inspections
Please refer to the manual for complete details of the process.
Often thought of as an afterthought but critical to the success of a home is the landscaping. This should be considered early in the process in order to reduce cost and have a complete picture of the final product especially if hardscape, fences, and walls will be required.
The overall design for the landscaping is “natural”. The idea is to have the plantings compliment and blend with the natural surroundings. The landscape should look as if man has no role in its placement. Preservation of existing vegetation is critical and there is no substitute for what is already there. Arboretum style plantings, large manicured lawns and stylish gardens will not be in keeping with the natural surroundings.
Please refer to the following sections in particular for greater guidance in design theory (1.1, 1.3.3, 3.2.1 I, 3.2.1 II, 3 .2 .2 ,.4 .2 .5.1 .2, exhibit 4.6.7)
3 WHITE OAK ROAD . ARDEN, NORTH CAROLINA 28704 TELEPHONE 828.684.5155 . FACSIMILE 828.684.5156
STRAUS PARK - UNACCEPTABLE PLANT LIST
This list is comprised of plants that the ECC (Environmental Control Committee) does not believe will work with the intended design “feel” for Straus Park. This list is not intended to cover all unacceptable plants. The ECC reserves the right to reject any plant for any reason deemed necessary to protect the integrity of the design feel. Even if a plant has been planted elsewhere on the project does not mean that it will be acceptable everywhere. Please refer to the design guidelines for additional guidance.
Acer palatum/japonicum —Japanese/Fullmoon Maple “Red leaf cultivars”
Acer saccharinum — Silver Maple
Berberis — Barberry “All Types”
Betula - Birch “White Bark types”
Camellia — Camellia “All types”
Cedrus — Cedar “Blue Needle varieties”
Chamiaecyparis — False cypress “All types”
Cryptomeria - Cedar “All”
X CupressocypariS — Leyland Cypress “All”
Euonymus fortunei — Winter Creeper
Hedera helix — English Ivy (allowable in certain situations)
Hibiscus — Rose-of-Sharon
Ilex cornuta — Chinese Holly “All”
Ilex crenata — Japanese Holly “MI”
Ilex x meserveae — Meserve Hybrid Hollies
Ilex - Yaupon Holly
Juniperus — Juniper “All”
Lagerstroemia — Crepe myrtle “All”
Liqustrum — Privet “All”
Lonicera — Honeysuckle “All invasive types”
Mahonia — Oregon Grape Holly “All”
Malus — Crabapple “All”
Magnolia grandiflora — Southern Magnolia
Nandina — Nandina “All except straight species”
Osmanthus — False-holly “All”
Photinia — Photinia “All”
Picea — Spruce “All blue color and dwarf varieties”
Pieris — Pieris “All red leaf varieties”
Pinus mugo — mnugo pine “All other dwarf types”
Prunus — “All except cherry laurel varieties”
Pryus — Pear trees “All including Bradford”
Rhododendron — Azalea “All expect natives”
Rosa — Roses “Except in area not viewed from streets and trails”
Salix — Willow “MI”
Thuja — Arborvitae “All” Tsuga — Hemlock “Due to pest loss potential?”
Vinca — Periwinkle “Variegated varieties”
Wisteria — Wisteria “All”’
Yucca — Yucca “All”
Grasses
All types should be used with care and not over used.
Perennials/Ground covers
Liriope — “All”
Artemisia — “All”
Ophiopogon — Mondo grass “Ml”
The general intent is to use native or native compatible plants. While there are always exceptions, due to historical or special affect, generally native type plants should be favored. Specialized or over-theme used gardens should be avoided along the trails or streets. Plants with blue, yellow or red foliage should be avoided.
Please direct any questions to the ECC Director. Thank you and enjoy.
STRAUS PARK - ACCEPTABLE PLANT LIST
TREES
Red Maple
Sugar Maple
Katsuratree
American Yellowwood
Ginkgo
Black Gum
Tulip Poplar
American Sweet gum
Saw tooth Oak
White Oak
Willow Oak
N. Red Oak
Yellow Buckeye
Serviceberry
Eastern Redbud
White Fringe tree
Flowering Dogwood
Kousa Dogwood
Sweet bay Magnolia
Common Sassafras
Mountain Ash
Japanese Stewardia
Japanese Snowbell
American Holly
Norway Spruce
Serbian Spruce
Oriental Spruce
Eastern White Pine
Canadian Hemlock
Glossy Abelia
Common Boxwood
Inkberry Holly
Mountain Laurel
Dog hobble
Japanese Pieris
Cherry laurel
Catawba Rhododendron
Rhododendron
Dexter Hybrid Rhododendron
Yaku Princess
Anglojap Yew
Hicks Anglojap Yew
Prague Viburnum
Bottlebrush Buckeye
Butterfly-bush
Blue Spirea
Summer sweet Clethraa
Burning bush
Dwarf Fotherfilla
Panicle Hydrangea
Shrubby St. Johnswort
Oakleaf Hydrangea
Virginia Sweetspire
Pinkshell Azalea
Bumald Spirea
Meyer Lilac
Japanese Spirea
Double Viburnum
Ajuga reptans
Galax
Hidcote St. John’s wort
Japanese Pachysandra
Allegheny Spurge
Common Periwinkle
DECIDUOUS GROUNDCOVER
Slender Deutzia
Aarons beard St. Johnswort
Foamflower
Crossvine
Trumpet vine
Clematis
Climbing Hydrangea
Trumpet Honeysuckle
Boston Ivy
Climbing Rose
Northern Maidenhair Fern
Lady Fern
Japanese Painted Fern
Leatherwood Fern
Cinnamon Fern
Christmas Fern
New York Fern
Frikart’s Aster
New England Aster
Yarrow Hybrid
Anemone
New York Aster
Tatarian Aster
Astilbe
Blue Wild Indigo
Plumbaago
Shasta Daisy
Tickseed
Threadleaf Coreopsis
Crocosmia
Cheddar Pink
Purple Coneflower
Joe-pye Weed
Blanket flower
Sweet Woodruff
Bloody Cranesbill
Swamp Sunflower
Lenten Rose
Daylily
Coral Bells
Siebold Hosta
Hosta ‘Francee’
Crested Iris
Siberian Iris
Cardinal Flower
Bee-balm
Siz Hills Giant
Bearded Tongus
Russian Sage
Wild Sweet William
Garden Phlox
Solomon ‘s Seal
Fragrant Solomon Seal
Blackeyed Susan
Three-lobed Coneflower
Meadow Sage
Autumn Joy Sedum
Goldenrod
Lamb’s ear
Stokes Aster
Trillium
Creeping Thyme
Verbenabonariensis
3. Guidelines and Requirements
3.1 Streetscapes
Streetscapes at Straus Park vary to reflect each neighborhood’s personality and to respect physical land constraints. Streets were intentionally depressed into the ground to create the illusion that the roads disappear and blend with the adjacent landscape. The street patterns were developed to interconnect and flow together generating neighborhood cohesion. Roads were also placed, whenever possible, within previously cleared areas to minimize tree removal. Lastly, the streets are int ended to be pedestrian friendly by using greenways or sidewalks whenever possible.
I. Parkside, Lakeside, & Mountain Park Homes The streetscape for the Parkside. Lakeside and Mountain Park homes have a uniform, cohesive residential expression: The placement of trees, streetlights, fences and porches follow a more defined, rhythmic urban pattern reflective of neighborhoods of old. Houses and porches are located closer to the sidewalks and streets to further encourage social interaction. Streets have curbs and gutters with sidewalks and street-tree plantings that help unify the neighborhoods. (See Figure 3.1 - I) |
 |
II. Mountain Homes |
|
III. Mixed Uses.The streetscape for the Mixed Uses areas has a public and urban feel. They are linked to the other neighborhoods by Straus Parkway, common areas. and pedestrian greenways. The streetscapes are characterized by a commercial public appearance with wider walks, parking, and public plazas. Street trees and site elements are urban in nature but still embrace the natural surroundings. (See Figure 3.1 - III) |
3.2 Architectural and Landscape Character
The Buildings of Straus Park are to be what has been called Mountain Park Architecture (see 1.3.2 Architecture). The overall shape of the Parkside, Lakeside and Mountain Park Homes in the Mountain Park style should be determined equally by the roof shape and location of the upper floor within the gabled roof, and by the foundation shape and treatment required by the topography at each type of site.
Parkside, Lakeside and Mountain Park Homes should be predominantly side gabled with a steeply pitched, front-facing, crossing gable. Less often they may be hipped with front-facing gables. The gables shall contain the upper floor rooms, with the addition of steeply pitched dormers as needed. Multiple, sometimes overlapping, front gables may be used to meet the plan requirements for interior spaces as well as for entrances, porches, and balconies. Foundation walls should be treated as part of an overall theme of material and contrast.
Exterior walls should be one to one-and-a-half story in height; wall plate heights may be varied within each home and from home to home; gable ends may overhang lower stories. Walls should be clad with wood weatherboards, wood shingles, stucco, stone or brick. Most homes should incorporate more than one type of material for contrast. The applied colors are to be muted and organic.
Entrances, which may be separate from or combined with covered porches, should be simple, sheltered doorways incorporating heavy doors and broad, stone-like trim. Windows should be tall and narrow, most often casement type, less often double hung, and, in inhabited rooms, arranged wherever possible in groups of three or more, often in single or multi-story bays.
Covered porches are to be developed under the main roof of the house, frequently at side or corner locations. The floors of both covered and uncovered porches should be supported by walls or piers clad with continuous or contrasting wall materials. Columns, posts, rails balusters, newels and stairs should be constructed using simple, relatively unworked, large, solid or built-up members.
Chimneys should be massive, elaborated, tall and prominent, whether constructed of masonry or clad in another wall material over wood framing. They are to be characterized by bottom-to-top contrast in wall materials and may be patterned and articulated as multiple shafts, with elaborate terminations. All miscellaneous exterior elements and or fixtures, such as roof vents, Sun Tunnel skylights, mechanical and electrical installations must be located away from street facades and hidden from public view. The Environmental Control Committee must approve any such elements and/or fixtures. Each situation will be reviewed on an individual basis.
The landscape character of Straus Park is described and named and called “mountain park landscape”. The overall character of the Parkside, Lakeside and Mountain Park Homes is governed by a more cohesive, uniform, tree-lined, “neighbor friendly” streetscape. Fences, street lighting, porches and walkways support and encourage pedestrian use and social interaction.
The landscape site elements and plantings reflect and reinforce this concept of Mountain Park landscape and architecture. Plantings may be a bit more uniform, i.e., a landscape where evenly spaced street trees and hedges are appropriate especially along the Mountain Park Home streetscapes. Yet the plantings in and around the homes shall be more informal and natural in appearance.
Plantings in the Mountain Park Homes areas shall create and define outdoor private, semi-private and public common green spaces, thus creating a greater degree of personal privacy for interior spaces and encouraging use of more public spaces.
Plantings should add variety and beauty to the whole scene linking the man-made environment with the natural environment,
Due to the nature of the steep and wooded sites, the Mountainside Homes on the higher elevations of Straus Park are sited with less density than the neighborhood homes. Therefore, the Mountainside Homes may have a higher degree of individuality in their design and their siting. These homes should be carefully designed with sensitivity to the existing natural environment and care in the actual siting of the building in the landscape.
The buildings of Straus Park are to be what has been called Mountain Park Architecture (see 1.3.2 Architecture). In accordance with this eclectic style, the Mountainside Homes should have an informal and irregular design (as opposed to a symmetrical composition) with a picturesque, romantic quality of appearance. The styles within this context, which may be most appropriate as references, are the domestic versions of what is called Medieval (Post-medieval English, Shingle, Richardsonian Romanesque and Tudor) and Arts and Crafts (Prairie or Craftsman).
Specifically, the roofs of the Mountainside Homes should be hipped, gabled, or a combination thereof, with upper floor rooms located within the roof volume. The exterior walls should be clad with natural materials. The applied colors should be muted and organic. All miscellaneous exterior elements and/or fixtures, such as roof vents, Sun Tunnel skylights, mechanical, and electrical installations must be located away from the street facades and hidden from public view. The Environmental Control Committee must approve any such elements and/or fixtures. Each situation will be reviewed on an individual basis.
The overall character of the Mountain Homes’ landscape is expressed through and governed by the existing natural site features such as the woodland, understory vegetation, steep slopes, rock outcroppings, coves, streams, sun/shade aspects, views and wildlife. These features form and determine the site planning, i.e., how the homes are settled into the landscape and become an integral part of the overall landscape character surrounding the Mountain Homes and their planned site elements.
The roads are rural in character, downplaying the impact of vehicular traffic and creating a “woodland” feeling to the built environment. Native and ecologically compatible plant species planted in large drifts knit the “edge” where the open spaces along the roadway and the woodlands meet.
The clearing of trees and site vegetation, as well as the altering of the existing landforms, is kept to an absolute minimum. The planning design should be “restrained, understated and less is more”. Native or ecologically appropriate plant species are used to heal the scars incurred by site clearing and grading. The Mountain Homes’ final appearance is to “always been there” by integrating with the natural landscape.
The Mixed Use buildings incorporate the retail, office and apartment living functions within Straus Park. These functions may all occur integrated within singular buildings and/or occur individually as mono-functional building types. The buildings of Straus Park are to be what has been described as Mountain Park Architecture (see 1.3.2 Architecture). The overall shape of the Mixed Use buildings in the Mountain Park style should be determined equally by the roof shape and location of the upper floor within the gabled roof, and by the entrance shape and treatment at the street level.
Mixed Use buildings may be side gabled or hipped with a steeply pitched, front-facing, crossing gable. The gables may contain the upper floor rooms, with the addition of steeply pitched dormers as needed. Multiple, sometimes overlapping, front gables are to be used to meet the plan requirements for interior spaces as well as for entrances. Roof overhangs; recesses in the building volumes, and canopies define covered outdoor spaces for activities such as window-shopping, sidewalk café seating. etc. All entrances should be covered and designed to signify their public-customer service function. The public entrances of the offices and the shops as well as the window openings at street level should be generous in size to provide a hide degree of transparency between building interior and the streetscape. Lobbies should be located and designed appropriate to their function and provide ease and comfort of entry or departure.
Most exterior walls should be one-and-a-half story in height, and may clad with stucco, stone or brick. Walls should incorporate more than one type of material for contrast and foundations should be treated as part of the overall theme of material and contrast. The applied colors are to be muted and organic.
Windows should be tall and narrow, most often casement type, less often double hung, and, in inhabited rooms, arranged wherever possible in groups of three or more, single or multistory bays are encouraged.
Chimneys should be massive, elaborated, tall and prominent, whether constructed of masonry or clad in another wall material over wood framing. They are to he characterized by bottom-to-top contrast in wall materials and may be patterned and articulated as multiple shafts with terminations. Miscellaneous exterior elements and/or fixtures, such as roof vents, Sun Tunnel skylights, mechanical, and electrical installations, must be located away from the street facades and hidden from public view. The Environmental Control Committee must approve any such elements and/or fixtures. Each situation will be reviewed on an individual basis. Commercial signage is limited to the main level area and should compliment the overall building design and the public signage system of Straus Park.
The overall character of this area will have a more commercial/retail public feeling. The buildings become larger in scale and more public in their expression and the landscape character follows suit. Yet the plants should still reflect a natural, informal planting scene. The landscaping should help soften and integrate the buildings into the natural surroundings.
The buildings of Straus Park are to be what has been called Mountain Park Architecture (see 1.3.2 Architecture). Due to the size, public nature, and location in Straus Park, the buildings of Special Uses (Lake House, Inn and Spa, etc.) are to be prominent representatives of the Mountain Park theme. The appearance of these buildings should be determined by their massing and roof shape, the location of an upper floor (or floors) within the roof and by the treatment of the entrances and the porches in relationship to the site and street.
Special Use buildings may be hipped and/or side gabled with a steeply pitched, front-facing, crossing gable. The gables should contain the upper floor rooms, with the addition of steeply pitched dormers as needed. Multiple, sometimes overlapping, front gables may be used to meet the plan requirements for interior spaces as well as for entrances, porches and balconies. Parapet gables should be considered for prominent locations.
Walls may be clad with wood weatherboards, wood shingles, stucco, stone, or brick and should incorporate more thank one type of material for contrast. The applied colors are to be muted and organic; many different colors may be used. Porches and terraces are to be prominent in design and in their locations relative to the building and site. The floors of both porches and terraces must be supported by walls and/or piers, which are conceived, as well as the foundation walls, as an integrated part of the overall exterior wall treatment.
Entrances may be combined with porches or porte-cocheres and should be appropriate in scale and executed to their public function. The windows should be tall and narrow, most often casement type, less often double hung, and, in inhabited rooms, arranged in groups of three or more, in single or multi-story bays where possible.
Chimneys should be massive, elaborate, tall and prominent, whether constructed of masonry or clad in another wall material over wood framing. They are to be characterized by bottom-to-top contrast in wall materials and may be patterned and articulated as multiple shafts with elaborate terminations.
All miscellaneous exterior elements and/or fixtures, such as roof vents, Sun Tunnel skylights, mechanical, and electrical installations, must be located away from street facades and hidden from public view. The Environmental Control Committee must approve any such elements and/or fixtures. Each situation will be reviewed on an individual basis. All ancillary structures are to be designed and located to complement the main building and to be non-disturbing to the users and the public. All signage must be conceived and executed as an integral element of the building design and be complimentary to the signage concept of Straus Park.
The overall character of this area becomes more civic, grander in scale and more prominent due to building sizes, proportions and site locations. The landscape character of the Special Uses should reinforce and reflect this unique expression.
Site plantings soften the impact of pavement, buildings and parking, yet support and reinforce pedestrian/bicycle circulation routes and define views. Additionally, it assists in creating and defining “people places”, providing shade and screening site utility elements while highlighting and complimenting the Mountain Park Architecture as a link to the existing natural landscape.
I. Parkside, Lakeside and Mountain Park Homes
Elements |
Goals |
Design and Configuration |
Materials and Finishes |
1. Exterior Walls |
• To integrate the building in the existing topography and the natural environment. |
• Foundations for porches on street-facing facades shall be continuous walls and/or a system of piers with continuous screening except when at second floor and habitable spaces below which require windows and doors. |
• Concrete-stucco |
2. Roofs |
• To articulate and differentiate the massing and the profile of the building shape |
• Roof pitch shall be 10 in 12. Shape: |
• Architectural grade asphalt shingles. |
Elements |
Goals |
Design and Configuration |
Materials and Finishes |
3. Porches |
• To integrate the porch within the building volume |
• Covered porches at the street façade shall be located under the main roof of the building. |
• Columns, posts, rails, balusters, newels and stairs shall be constructed using simple, relatively unworked, large, solid or built-up members. |
4. Exterior Openings |
• To provide a cohesive articulation and decoration of the building exterior. |
• Main entrances shall be heavy and combined with covered porches and may be arched with tabbed trim. |
• Wood and/or steel with broad stone or stone-like trim. |
Elements |
Goals |
Design and Configuration |
Materials and Finishes |
5. Building Supplements |
•To complement the overall design of the building. |
• Chimneys: |
• Masonry with cement plaster or cladding over wood framing with masonry accessories, metal shrouds or other features. |
Elements |
Goals |
Design and Configuration |
Materials and Finishes |
6. Grading and Drainage Features |
• To disturb existing landforms and drainage patters as little as possible. |
• Storm drainage shall not be redirected upon adjacent properties. |
• Encouraged: • Discouraged: |
7. Landform Design and Retaining Walls |
• Retaining walls to complement architecture |
• Retaining walls to tie into architectural building features with similar material usage, e.g., a stone retaining wall tying into a watertable or stone skirt of a building. |
• Encouraged: • Discouraged: |
Elements |
Goals |
Design and Configuration |
Materials and Finishes |
8. Pavement and Curbing |
• To complement all plantings, buildings and existing landscape features. |
• Irregular, natural flows of circulation pavements is encouraged, except in some portions of Mountain Park Homes, Mixed use, and Special Use land areas. |
• Encouraged: • For Trails:-Gravel • Discouraged: |
9. New Plantings |
• To hold soil on steep slopes |
• Plantings shall be coordinated with all other site design elements |
• Required: • Discouraged: |
Elements |
Goals |
Design and Configuration |
Materials and Finishes |
10. Parking |
• To reduce the visual impact of vehicles |
• Encouraged: • Discouraged: |
|
11. Landscape Structures and Site Amenities |
• Elements to harmonize with the environment |
• Sited to augment and complement overall design concept |
•Encouraged: |
Elements |
Goals |
Design and Configuration |
Materials and Finishes |
1. Exterior Walls |
• To minimize the impact of the building on the existing natural environment and to integrate the building with the existing topography. |
•Foundation walls shall be designed as part of the exterior wall materials scheme and shall be fitted to finished grade. |
• Concrete-stucco |
2. Roofs |
• To integrate the building volume and profile in the existing natural environment. |
• Roof pitch shall be a minimum 6 in 12 |
• Architectural grade asphalt shingles |
Elements |
Goals |
Design and Configuration |
Materials and Finishes |
3. Porches |
• To be integrated in the building volume |
• Covered porches shall be located under the main roof of the building.
|
• Columns, posts, rails, balusters, newels and stairs shall be constructed to be coherent and complementary with the exterior wall treatment and with the house design generally. |
4. Exterior Openings |
• To provide a cohesive articulation and decoration of the building exterior. |
• Main entrances shall be combined with covered porches or recessed in building volume |
* Heavy entry doors of wood and/or steel |
Elements |
Goals |
Design and Configuration |
Materials and Finishes |
5. Building Supplements |
• To complement the overall design of the building |
• Chimneys shall be patterned and articulated as multiple shafts and their terminations shall be elaborated. |
• Masonry with cement plaster or cladding over wood framing with masonry accessories, metal shrouds or other features.
|
6. Grading and Drainage features |
• To design ditches so as to be both visually pleasing and easily maintained. |
• Bank of ditches properly sloped and stabilized with grass or native stone. |
• Encouraged: • Discouraged: |
Elements |
Goals |
Design and Configuration |
Materials and Finishes |
7. Landform Design & Retaining Walls |
• Retaining walls to complement architecture.
|
• Retaining walls shall tie into architectural building features with similar material usage, e.g., a stone retaining wall tying into a watertable or stone skirt of a building. |
• Encouraged: • Discouraged: |
8. Pavement & Curbing |
• To complement all plantings, buildings and existing landscape features. |
• Irregular, natural flows of circulation pavement is encouraged. |
• Encouraged: • For Trails: • Discouraged: |
Elements |
Goals |
Design and Configuration |
Materials and Finishes |
9. New Plantings |
• To hold soil on steep slopes. |
• Plantings shall be coordinated with all other site design elements.
|
• Required: (See separate plant list for recommended plants.) • Discouraged: |
10. Parking |
• To reduce visual impact of vehicles. | • Parking should not be seen from the street or by adjacent property owners. | • Encouraged: • Discouraged: |
11. Landscape Structures and Site Amenities |
• Elements to harmonize with the environment |
• Sited to augment and complement overall design concept |
• Encouraged: • Prohibited: |
Elements |
Goals |
Design and Configuration |
Materials and Finishes |
1. Exterior Walls |
• To create a variety of wall character within each building and among buildings.
|
• Foundation walls shall be designed as part of the exterior wall materials scheme and shall be fitted to finished grade. |
• Stone or Brick
|
2. Roofs |
• To create a uniformity of building profiles. |
• Roof pitch shall be 12 in 12. |
• Wood shakes or shingles. |
Elements |
Goals |
Design and Configuration |
Materials and Finishes |
3. Entrances |
• To provide a weather protected zone of transition between the street and the interior of the building. |
• Entrances at the street façade shall be located under a gable and/or main roof of the building.
|
• Columns, posts, rails, balusters, newels shall be constructed using large, solid or built-up members otherwise, same as exterior walls and roof applies. |
4. Exterior Openings |
• To provide a cohesive articulation and decoration of the building exterior. |
• Windows: |
• Window units shall be of wood or aluminum clad with matching tone simulated divided light muntins. |
Elements |
Goals |
Design and Configuration |
Materials and Finishes |
5. Building Supplements |
• To complement the overall design of the building.
|
• Chimneys: |
• Masonry with cement plaster or cladding over wood framing with masonry accessories, metal shronds or other features |
Elements |
Goals |
Design and Configuration |
Materials and Finishes |
6. Grading and Drainage Features |
• To minimize disturbance of existing landforms and drainage patterns |
• All swales, drains, culverts and drainage materials shall be designed to remove storm drainage efficientl |
• Encouraged: •Discouraged: |
7. Landform Design and Retaining Walls |
• Retaining walls to complement architecture |
• Retaining walls to tie into architectural building features with similar material usage, e.g. a stone retaining wall tying into a waterable or stone skirt of a building |
• Encouraged: • Discouraged: |
Elements |
Goals |
Design and Configuration |
Materials and Finishes |
8. Pavement and Curbing |
• To create a cohesive streetscape |
• Paving and curbing shall complement other site elements and architecture |
• Encouraged: • Discouraged: |
9. New Plantings |
• To hold soil on steep slopes |
• Plantings shall be coordinated with all other site design elements |
• Required: • Discouraged: |
Elements |
Goals |
Design and Configuration |
Materials and Finishes |
10. Parking |
• To reduce the visual impact of vehicles |
|
|
11. Landscape Structures and Site Amenities |
• Elements to harmonize with the environment |
• Sited to augment and complement overall design concept |
•Encouraged: |
Elements |
Goals |
Design and Configuration |
Materials and Finishes |
1. Exterior Walls |
• To integrate the building in the existing topography
|
• Foundation walls shall be designed as part of the exterior wall materials scheme and shall be fitted to finished grades |
• Concrete-stucco |
2. Roofs |
• To establish a scale and hierarchy of the building’s massing which is appropriate to building functions and sitting |
• The overall roof design shall articulate the building volume in distinctive parts with hip, half-hip or combination thereof with multiple large scale gables |
• Wood shakes and shingles |
Elements |
Goals |
Design and Configuration |
Materials and Finishes |
3. Porches and Terraces |
• To provide generous places for social functions which converge the interior of the building with the natural environment and the public realm |
• The scale and design of porches and terraces shall be appropriate to their function as well as their location relative to the building volume, the topography and the natural environment |
• Columns, posts, rails, balusters, newels and stairs shall be constructed to be coherent and complementary with the exterior wall treatment and with the house design generally
|
4. Exterior Openings |
• To create formal entrances which are in scale and location appropriate to the function and siting of the building complex |
• Entrances shall be combined with covered porches and/or porte-cocheres |
• Doors shall be of steel and/or painted or stained wood |
Elements |
Goals |
Design and Configuration |
Materials and Finishes |
5. Building Supplements |
• To complement the overall design of the building and its exterior spaces.
|
• Chimneys: |
• Masonry, cement plaster or cladding over wood framing with masonry accessories, metal shrouds or other features |
Elements |
Goals |
Design and Configuration |
Materials and Finishes |
6. Ancillary Structure |
• To complement the design of the building complex in a cohesive manner |
• Ancillary structures, pools, etc. shall be placed on a side away from the main entrance and street |
• Shall be identical to the main building
|
7. Grading and Drainage Features |
• To minimize disturbance of existing landforms and drainage patters |
• All swales, drains, culverts and drainage materials shall be designed to remove storm drainage efficiently |
• Encouraged: • Discouraged: |
Elements |
Goals |
Design and Configuration |
Materials and Finishes |
8. Landform Design and Retaining Walls |
• Retaining walls to complement architecture
|
• Retaining walls shall tie into building features with similar material usage, e.g. a stone retaining wall tying into a waterable or stone skirt of a building
|
• Encouraged: • Discouraged: |
9. Pavement and Curbing |
wMaterials to complement all other site elements, plantings, architecture wTo minimize pavement area |
|
• Encouraged: • For Walks: • Discouraged: |
Elements |
Goals |
Design and Configuration |
Materials and Finishes |
10. New Plantings |
• To hold soil on steep slopes |
• Plantings shall be coordinated with all other site design elements |
• Required: (See separate plant list for recommended plants) • Discouraged: |
11. Parking |
• To reduce the visual impact of vehicles |
|
|
Elements |
Goals |
Design and Configuration |
Materials and Finishes |
12. Landscape Structures and Site Amenities |
• Elements to harmonize with the environment
|
• Sited to augment and complement overall design concept |
• Encouraged: |
4. Environmental Control Committee Guidelines and Procedures
The Straus Park Environmental Control Committee (hereinafter referred to as the ‘Committee”) is established by the Developer/Declarant in accordance with