City of Leavenworth Development Regulations

D E V E L O P M E N T R E G U L A T I O N S A R T I C L E 7 . D E S I G N S T A N D A R D S

7.03 Non-Residential Design

1. Opportunities for the integration of green power in the design of buildings or sites. Green power may be derived from solar, wind, geothermal, biomass, or low-impact hydro sources; 2. Energy-efficient materials, including recycled materials that meet the requirements of this Code; 3. A sustainable roof, such as a vegetated roof; and/or 4. Materials and design meeting the U.S. Green Building Council’s LEED-NC certification requirements. F. Historical Structures. Changes to buildings within designated historic districts shall be compatible with registered buildings within the same district and conform to the City of Leavenworth’s Historic Preservation Ordinance. 7.04 Alternate Equivalent Compliance To encourage creative and unique design, “alternative equivalent compliance” (AEC) allows development to occur in a manner that meets the Purpose and Design Objectives of the Design Standards, yet through an alternative design that does not strictly adhere to the standards. This is not a general waiver of regulations. Rather, this section authorizes a site-specific plan that is equal to or better than the strict application of the standard. A. Applicability. The alternative equivalent compliance procedure is available only for the Design Standards, or for any property in the ROD District the Off-Street Parking, Landscaping & Site Design, and Design Standards. B. Pre-Application Conference Required . An applicant proposing alternative equivalent compliance shall request and attend a pre-application conference with the Director prior to submitting application materials for the applicable permit(s). This meeting is to discuss the project, the applicable standards, and the proposed method of alternative compliance. The application should include sufficient explanation and justification, in both written and graphic form, for the requested alternative compliance. C. Decision-Making Responsibility . Final approval of any alternative compliance proposed under this section shall be the responsibility of the City Commission. For example, if an applicant is requesting a rezoning along with an alternative equivalent compliance application for landscaping, the AEC application will be reviewed with the rezoning application by the Planning Commission and City Commission. Administratively approved projects proposing alternative compliance shall receive written approval of the alternative compliance from the Director. D. Criteria. Alternative equivalent compliance may be approved if the applicant demonstrates that the following criteria have been met by the proposed alternative: 1. Achieves the Purposes and Design Objectives of this Article and the specific intent of the subject standard to the same or better degree than the subject standard; 2. Advances the goals and policies of the any official plans or policies of the City, and the intent of the base zoning district.; 3. Results in benefits to the community that are equivalent to or exceed benefits associated with the subject standard; 4. Imposes no greater impacts on adjacent properties than would occur through compliance with the specific requirements of these Development Regulations. E. Effect of Approval . Alternative equivalent compliance shall apply only to the specific site for which it is requested and shall not establish a precedent for approval of other requests.

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