The county commission will vote on a measure to adopt design and lighting standards within the Zoning Regulations at their meeting tomorrow night at 7 p.m. You can find the proposed changes on the agenda here, starting on page 77: http://www.blounttn.org/comm/CC071115.PDF I'll also paste them below. What do you think of them? I'd especially like to hear the opinions of those of you who keep up with the Dark Skies Initiative and those of you who drive Hwy 411S. Are these regulations sufficient? Are they too much? Are they just right? That a new Section 7.14 addressing commercial and industrial design requirements be added to read as follows: Section 7.14. Design Requirements for Commercial and Industrial Developments. A. Any commercial or industrial use permit requiring a site plan provided in Section 7.2 shall also require conformity with this section. The site plans required in this section shall conform to requirements of Section 7.2 and other requirements specified in this Section. All elements of use, including associated accessory elements such as garbage disposal areas, heating and air units exterior to buildings, and loading docks, shall be shown on the site plan. Site plan submittal shall contain required plans for stormwater management under this section, other applicable sections in the zoning regulations, and other County and State grading and stormwater permit regulations. The site plan shall contain specific design of parking areas required in this section and other sections in the zoning regulations. B. Site plans and site plan elements shall be prepared by qualified professionals. Qualified professionals shall be licensed as one or a combination of architect, landscape architect and/or engineer. C. To mitigate the impact of building appearance along scenic highways and other existing roads within the county exterior to a commercial development, the following design requirements shall apply. 1. The front, side and rear elevation of any building shall be provided as part of site plan submission for review and approval. 2. The front (facing highway or road) and side wall planes of buildings shall be staggered by occasional changes in surface planes or changes of materials or architectural features to avoid monolithic “box” appearance. Walls and roof visible to public roads shall have changes of wall and roof planes with at least a three (3) foot projection or recess no less than every thirty (30) feet horizontally. In addition, any of the following elements shall be integrated in walls visible to public roads at no less than thirty (30) feet spacing, both horizontally and vertically: porches; awnings; stairwells; doors; windows; chimney; changes in construction materials. Excessive repetition of only one or two architectural features above is prohibited. Elements that are not acceptable as a means to comply with the requirement above include, but are not limited to: gutter downspouts; garage doors; retaining walls; changes in paint color, color bands or small (less than two (2) square feet) accent materials using flat tile; narrow trim; common hallways parallel to outside walls not including stairwells; window and door frames; shutters; structural or decorative columns; and narrow extensions (less than three feet wide) of fire walls. 3. Exterior walls visible from public roads may not be comprised of aluminum or flat-faced concrete block. Exterior glass shall compose a minimum or five (5) percent of the façade of the building, unless the building is an open-air structure such as a produce market. 4. All accessory garbage and disposal facilities (dumpsters, etc.) and accessory heating and air facilities shall be screened with materials compatible in appearance to the principal structure. Loading docks shall be placed away from fronting roads, and shall be screened if visible from residential uses. D. Outdoor Lighting Standards. Outdoor lighting is important for night visibility, safety, and security. Outdoor lighting can, however, also invade privacy and cause nuisance if excessive glare and direct light trespasses on adjacent properties. These requirements ensure that new development minimizes the amount of light that may shine on abutting properties. The following is required when installing lights: 1. A lighting plan may be required (as determined by the Building Commissioner or reviewing body); 2. A light “point by point” footcandle diagram must be shown on the site plan with a 10x10 foot maximum grid. The diagram should cover at least ten feet on either side of property lines that border residential zones or uses; 3. Lighting must not exceed 0.5 footcandle at or beyond the property line zoned or used for residential purposes; 4. Any luminaire with lamp(s) rated at a total of more than 1800 lumens, and any flood or spot luminaire with lamp(s) rated at a total of more than 900 lumens shall not emit any direct light above a horizontal plane through the lowest direct light emitting part of the luminaire (full cut-off); 5. Laser source lights or any similar high intensity light for outdoor advertising or entertainment is prohibited; and 6. The operation of searchlights for advertising purposes is prohibited. That Section 7.2 be amended to add subsection I to read as follows: I. Any commercial or industrial use permit requiring a site plan provided in this Section shall also require conformity with Section 7.14 Design Requirements for Commercial and Industrial Developments.