Beyond the Valley Blog
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Monday, July 16, 2012
Attendees: John Connell, Kinny Perot, Robin Morris, Kate Stephenson, Abby Martin, Kelly Ogrodnik
1. DRB Application Review Meeting
a. Tuesday, July 24, 2012; 7pm at the Town Hall
b. Attendance - Robin, Kate, Kin, Peter Lazorchak, Andres, JBC (currently in conflict)
c. Review Plan - Kate & John will present
d. Kelly to put together a draft version of the building design guidelines for review
2. Design Guidelines
a. SAMPLE DESIGN GUIDELINES:
All structures housing year-round functions shall be designed and permitted subject to the following Design Guidelines:
1. Final siting of the building footprint shall not deviate from the Masterplan Site Plan by more than 10' and in no case such that any setbacks or other boundaries are intersected.
2. No building shall exceed 40 feet in height as measured from the average grade to the highest point on the building (not including monitors, cupolas, antennae or “widows’ walks”).
3. All outdoor lighting (on the buildings or in the landscape) shall control light pollution using approved semi-cutoff or full cutoff fixture designs.
4. Material choices shall be restricted to those with successful precedent in the Mad River Valley. For walls, examples include wood, stone, brick and stucco. For roofing, examples include composite shingle, wood shingle, standing seam metal, slate, membrane and "green" (live, planted) roofs.
5. Faux building materials must not be used. This restriction pertains to the use of modern materials (i.e. vinyl, aluminum, PVC) to simulate traditional building products. So, no vinyl shingles, aluminum clapboard, or PVC cornice profiles. All designs must adhere to "truth in material use" so that a material looks like what it is.
6. No uninterrupted expanse of glass shall exceed 24 sq.ft.
7. Striking colors not commonly found in New England landscapes shall not exceed 100 sq.ft. on any side of a building that can be seen by the public.
8. Exceptions or variances for movable structures, prototypes or other temporary buildings associated with school curricula may be applied for on a case-by-case basis.
b. Design Guidelines - Kelly's summary insights
1. Quantity of buildings? Should we set a limit, or focus on a maximum square footage?
2. Scale?
3. Open space vs. Footprint. Team responded that AROD requires 70% open space for the entire site.
4. Architectural Styles and Themes - how many shall the campus embrace? Currently we have at least six different styles… Kinny suggested use of the Coherence Principle.
5. Screening – is it necessary? Shouldn’t we try to showcase the buildings and school from the road? Team responded that the scenic byway requires a larger than normal setback. AROD requires screening, as does Act 250. We can include this, But we want to have an exception for solar aperture.
6. Signage - we will comply with Waitsfield's standard signage rules. This will not include interior campus way-finding and navigational signings.
7. Main building to be 75% or more retained as swing space.
8. Accessibility - ADA, pedestrian campus, snow removal, fire control
c. Kelly to send draft of design guidelines to core team by Thursday, end of day. John Connell will send Design Amigos comments for incorporation into guidelines.
d. Guidelines should be specific enough for DRB to support future development of master plan without Yestermorrow having to resubmit every time a new building is proposed to be built, but general enough to allow flexibility in the design process.
e. Guidelines should be written in a format that all members of the DRB can understand without the need for further explanation.
3. No meeting next week, July 23, 2012. Team might schedule review meeting prior to DRB meeting on Tuesday.