Architectural standards included in proposed performance zoning ordinance
Spartanburg County’s current land-use regulations – the Unified Land Management Ordinance – include architectural standards, and the proposed performance zoning ordinance also would include architectural standards for new projects, with some modifications.
The compatibility standards contained in the draft performance zoning ordinance are designed to improve the compatibility of adjoining activities, especially where a nonresidential activity is located adjacent to a residential activity or within a Restrictive Development District. For that reason, the more intense activities are required to meet larger compatibility standards.
After feedback from residents in the Southwestern portion of Spartanburg County through public input meetings, stakeholders, and others, the current draft has been updated to include these modified architectural standards.
Under the draft, the following shall be the minimum architectural standards for all nonresidential, nonagricultural buildings that have facades visible from an Arterial or Collector Road and located less than 1,000 feet from the right-of-way of those roads:
a. Buildings with a façade greater than 100 feet in length, measured horizontally, shall incorporate recesses or projections.
b. Large areas of uninterrupted brickwork, stone, stucco, etc. shall be broken up through the use of trellises, arcades, blind windows, coining, lighting features, etc.
c. Individual entrances shall be delineated by awnings (non-metal), columns, canopies or porticoes, arches, or similar architectural features.
d. Buildings less than 5,000 square feet shall have a pitched roof with a minimum pitch of 4.5 inches vertical elevation per one-foot horizontal distance with gables, dormers, or other aesthetic treatments.
e. Building styles without a pitched roof shall have a detailed parapet and/or cornice. Parapets shall include articulations or architectural features at least every 100 linear feet.
f. All roofing materials shall be of a consistent style and pattern. Pitched roofs shall be finished in either architectural or dimensional shingles. Standing seam metal roofs are also permissible. Reflective metal roofing materials are prohibited.
g. Windows shall be outlined with some architectural detail.
h. The use of bright, neon, and/or fluorescent colors is prohibited, unless otherwise allowed in Section 77.50 of this Ordinance as a registered mark exhibited in a certificate of registration issued by United States Patent and Trademark Office.
i. Warehousing activities or portions of buildings that are used only for storage are exempt from these standards provided they meet the requirements of Section 62.40 of this Ordinance.
The Spartanburg County Planning Commission is currently reviewing the proposed performance zoning ordinance and plans to hold a public hearing Tuesday, June 5, 2018, at 4:30 p.m. in the County Council Chambers of the County Administration Building, located at 366 North Church Street in Spartanburg.
For a copy of the full draft of the performance zoning ordinance, please click here.
