Kirkwood, Missouri is one of the oldest traditional suburbs in the region. In 1853, it was founded as a speculative suburban development, which promised to improve the quality of life for St. Louis City residents by using the railroad as a way to move beyond the confines of the central City in the region. The resulting community has provided a model for development elsewhere in the region, and it appears to be an inspiration today in exurban settings in the region.

However, over the years the City has incorporated and endured a number of changes as automobiles replaced the railroad orientation of the City, as it has grown beyond its original core. Recently, the City has examined its commercial areas more specifically to determine how it can maintain the old but incorporate new roles.

The City has one of the few suburban downtowns in the region. Over the years it has experienced economic pressures from regional development patterns: the introduction of automobile usage, development of regional malls, development of competitive neighbor communities, sprawl, abandonment of downtown structures and organizations. In order to sustain it in the 1970’s, the City responded by incorporating current development approaches, i.e., big box and anchor stores like Target. Today, downtown is being looked at in a different way.

In 1985, the Comprehensive Plan provided specific strategies to support its still struggling downtown. After accomplishing a number of goals, the Special Business District (SBD), the organization responsible for promoting and improving downtown, created the “Downtown Vision Plan.”

The Downtown Vision Plan states its vision for downtown:

“ Maintain the traditional downtown as the focus of the Kirkwood community for commercial, cultural and civic life and emphasize the historic character of downtown both in renovation and in compatible new construction.”

The City in response to other pressures and opportunities, commissioned in 1999 a market study of areas surrounding the new “Kirkwood Commons” power center to determine demand for additional retail, office and housing uses. Following that study, a market study for downtown was undertaken.

At the City’s latest Strategic Planning session in Fall 2000, the City decided to undertake a new Comprehensive Plan process and a separate Urban Design Study for the downtown area including a land use component.

The seven-member task force formed to steer the Urban Design Study represents the “Kirkwood Junction” (SBD), the Architectural Review Board, City Council, Landmarks Commission, a citizen architect and Kirkwood Area Chamber of Commerce.

Project Overview

A task force of members of City commissions and organizations with interest in aesthetic and land use issues was appointed by the City Council to undertake the study with the help of experts in the urban design field. The task force is called the Urban Design Team. The City is simultaneously undertaking a comprehensive plan for the remainder of the City. The Urban Design Team and the Comprehensive Plan Steering Committee have coordinated their processes. The Kirkwood Urban Design Plan has focused on “Kirkwood Junction,” the pedestrian-oriented downtown area located in the original 1853 historic boundaries of the City.

Background

The urban design study area is the downtown area of the City of Kirkwood. The entire area is composed of 155 acres, bifurcated north and south by the Union Pacific Railroad Tracks, with the following boundaries: Bodley Avenue on the north, Taylor Avenue on the east, Woodbine Avenue on the south, and Clay Avenue on the west.

Particularly strong and vibrant residential areas including a number of condominiums, multifamily rental structures, churches and institutions surrounding the downtown area create a rich and complex mix of land uses within a relatively small core area. As part of the overall urban design study, these surrounding residential areas found primarily just outside of the study area, should be sustained and strengthened. The juxtaposition of residential, institutional and commercial properties and the varying patterns of connection created by each is an important issue addressed in the plan. While such juxtaposition can lead to some conflicts in terms of traffic patterns created by vehicles seeking to bypass activities and traffic on Kirkwood Road, the existing mix of residential uses with the predominantly downtown commercial, institutional and service uses is critical to the continued success, quality, and character of downtown Kirkwood.

The downtown area is primarily zoned B-2 Downtown Business with some areas that were developed under the B-4 Planned Commercial Development zone. Multifamily zoning currently rings downtown, although the area also includes institutional uses and single-family housing. A Special Business District was created in 1975 for the downtown area. Most of the study area is also included in the Special Business District (SBD). An appointed advisory commission of business and property owners in the district governs it with the approval of City Council. The SBD has a dedicated tax base and bonding authority. Current development activities suggest a robust stage of urban evolution is now in progress, with the likely outcome to be an increase in the scale and qualities of future projects. The urban design plan is intended to anticipate and guide this evolution.

Public Participation in Plan Development

In addition to the appointment of the Design Team members, the City solicited public participation throughout the UD Plan process including a Visioning Meeting, and several opportunities to review and comment on the initial and final draft development of the plan. The two-day Visioning Meeting – an active charrette design process – was used during the preliminary stage of the plan process to provide interested individuals and groups an opportunity to participate directly in the making of the plan concepts. Public preferences regarding scale, type, style, and uses were documented in order to guide the plan contents and intentions. Following the hands-on planning work performed by citizens, the Design Team solidified and refined the concepts and re-presented a draft plan for additional comment by the public along with information generated though citizen surveys and visual preference scores. These public meetings were used to guide the process through further refinement, and led to the development of the final draft plan that was again presented to the public for comment. Based on the broad and significant public support of the plan concepts, intentions, and requirements for future development in the downtown area, the Design Team prepared the following UD Plan for adoption by the City.

Intentions and Objectives of the Plan

Intentions

The plan is intended to create a community environment that is vibrant, livable, and desirable. In order to build and maintain Kirkwood as such a place, measurable means of achieving these intentions are necessary. The Kirkwood Downtown Urban Design Plan (UD Plan) intends to:

1. guide development towards identified qualities and land uses for the community

2. provide specific, enforceable and measurable guidelines for Plan achievement

3. provide models and design examples to underscore specific goals

4. provide the City with an objective basis to review proposed development plans

Land Use and Urban Design Objectives

1. Establish land use and site design strategies for future development in downtown

· Create complementary commercial destination areas through appropriate land use strategies

· Enhance/ strengthen the downtown commercial areas as a retail-oriented, mixed- use “destination” for the region

· Encourage the development of housing options that support balanced day and night-time use of downtown

· Maintain and enhance cultural and civic uses within downtown

· Establish a parking strategy for downtown that supports proposed land uses

2. Develop sustainable relationships between the downtown commercial core and surrounding residential areas

· Establish boundaries and development limits for the commercial core areas to protect surrounding residential neighborhoods

· Enhance connectivity and increase opportunities for pedestrian and bike traffic to easily access downtown destinations from surrounding neighborhoods

· Address vehicular traffic impact on surrounding neighborhoods

3. Establish design strategies and guidelines that support the concept of pedestrian oriented, and appropriately scaled development

· Provide conceptual design strategies and objectives for downtown that will result in the development of high quality structures, places, spaces, and connective networks on an individual project basis

· Craft design guidelines that establish minimum criteria for architecture, landscape architecture, and site planning that contributes, through the development of each project, to the urban design and land use objectives for downtown.

· Establish a coherent Urban Design plan and framework within which all future downtown development proposals may be evaluated

Plan Use, Application, and Implementation Procedure

Plan Use and Application

The UD plan is intended to guide all future development within the plan study area. Overall goals for the plan are attained through implementation on an individual project basis where the sum of such projects results in the comprehensive fulfillment of the planned environment for downtown Kirkwood. All projects for development and/ or redevelopment that fall within the downtown plan area shall be reviewed for conformance to the UD plan. Applications for project approval shall be reviewed for conformance with the following general land use models and specific design guidelines and requirements.

Plan Implementation Procedure

Projects will be reviewed by the City for conformance to the UD plan including all applicable design guidelines. The UD plan will be implemented by the City through a process that includes a report of compliance by City Staff and review by a Urban Design Review Board comprised of an equal number of members of the Planning and Zoning Commission and the Architectural Review Board, and final approval by the City Council. The City shall determine and publish current procedural requirements for review and approval of projects that are part of the Downtown Urban Design Study Area.

A preliminary development plan shall be required for any use or circumstance requiring a development plan as identified by the City. Requirements for plans submitted for UD plan compliance review include:

General Submission Requirements. The applicant shall submit to the City 4 copies of the proposed development plan, or such other number required by the City. The proposed development plan, detail requirements, and required maps shall be provided in paper and in compatible electronic format unless otherwise waived. The preliminary development plan shall be accompanied by all general application requirements and shall include:

Legal description:

A written legal description of the property included in the proposed development.

Detail requirements:

: the property to be included in the proposed development, plus the area within 200 feet of all property boundaries shall be shown, including the location of existing and proposed:

Buildings and other structures;

Property lines with ownership delineated;

Parking areas, loading spaces, drives and walkways;

Screening and landscaping, including location, height and materials;

Drainage patterns and structures, including location and size of any culvert, sewer, ditch or other drainage structure;

Public streets and curb cuts;

Fences and walls, including location, height and materials;

Signage, including conceptual graphics and elevations;

Easements;

Utilities, including preliminary location of water, sewer, gas and electric facilities;

Any areas for public use and/or dedication;

Identification of noise generation locations;

Existing topography with contours at 2-foot intervals;

Delineation of any land areas subject to 100 year flood;

Written & graphic scales accompanying all maps and drawings;

North oriented to the top or to the left side of the sheet with graphic arrow on all plan drawings;

Boundaries, exterior bearings and dimensions clearly shown.

Architectural elevations, sections, physical models, and material conditions.:

Scaled elevation views shall be prepared with proposed colors to accurately describe all faces of proposed buildings and landscape design and their proposed height and massing relationship to all surrounding developments and/ or buildings;

Scaled section views shall be prepared indicating the proposed development and height and massing relationship to all surrounding developments and/ or buildings;

Consider a physical model at 1/8 “ = 1’ – 0” scale including all proposed building, site, and landscape elements;

Material sample or mock up boards shall be submitted depicting the, size, texture, color and exterior construction materials of the buildings proposed.

An aerial vicinity map:

The City will provide a 1” = 100’ – 0” scale aerial map for the applicant to show the project location and a 1,000 foot radius including: names of major roadways, public streets and their classification, i.e. local, collector, arterial;

Surrounding uses and adjacent properties;

Existing streams, bodies of water, and watersheds.

Schedules.

A schedule shall be included indicating total required and provided: floor area, dwelling units, land area, parking spaces, land use intensity, hours of operation of the business, and other quantities specified in the appropriate zoning district regulations.

Supplemental information:

Such other information as may be requested by the Director as may be reasonably needed or appropriate to adequately review the proposed development and any potential impacts.

Phases of development

Phases of development must be shown on the preliminary development plan, if applicable. If the development will occur in phases, the applicant shall submit a development plan that also displays the entire development at the completion of all phases. The phased development shall have the phases clearly outlined with expected dates for beginning of construction and date of completion of construction. No building permit shall be issued for any phase of development until a final development plan for that phase is approved, in accordance with the provisions of the plan. Once phased development plans have been approved, any modification to any phase of development may be subject to full review and approval by the City through the same process as outlined in this section.

Statement of need for deviations from the UD plan requirements:

A narrative statement that specifically explains the need for any deviation from applicable UD plan requirements shall be submitted with the application. Requests for deviations from any other requirement or ordinance established by the City that is not a part of the UD plan requirements shall be submitted to the City under separate application.

Urban Design Development Plan and Special Area Details

The following illustration identifies the areas and extent of potential developments that may be expected to occur within the study area over a ten to fifteen year time frame. The plan illustration is intended to articulate the qualities, character, scale, and general outcome of the implementation of the Downtown Urban Design Plan including design guidelines and requirements found in Section 1.0 Site Design, and Section 2.0 Building Design.

Where the Plan indicates new or modified building forms and footprints, such illustrated development is not intended to indicate specific building proposals. Rather, the illustrated changes represent a likely development scenario in terms of building site coverage, building to public realm relationship, potential scale, and implementation of design guidelines such as pedestrian and bicycle circulation, streetscape development, and plazas and public spaces. The Urban Design Development Plan is to be used in conjunction with the supporting specific design guidelines in order to provide the City and its residents with both a comprehensive perspective of high quality and realistic downtown development opportunities, and the specific means necessary to implement such a perspective.

Figure 1 (link to 297KB jpeg image)
Urban Design Development Plan Special Area Details

Two key areas selected for illustration include several possible joint public and private development opportunities. Such developments provide for potential expansion of downtown businesses that are similar in scale to current uses and which are necessary to maintain economic vitality and community qualities of the downtown area.

The first, an area between Adams Street to the north, Argonne Avenue to the south, Kirkwood Road to the west, and Taylor Avenue to the east, is illustrated in Figure 2. The area was selected to identify significant opportunities for joint development between the existing Public Library located on Jefferson that wishes to expand its facilities, and the First Presbyterian Church of Kirkwood, which may also wish to expand its facilities. A development model that promotes pedestrian oriented, compact and moderate density development is envisioned for the site. The model includes up to three levels of building height, which is necessary to achieve such expansions, create additional private commercial development, promote the qualities and character of a walkable downtown district, and to provide off-street parking alternatives for existing businesses and uses that lack adequate parking.

Figure 3 illustrates a second potential mixed-use development located south of Madison Avenue, north of Monroe Avenue, east of Clay Avenue, and west of Kirkwood Road. Similar to the description of the detailed area in Figure 2, this area appears to be a significant opportunity for development that would be anchored around the civic buildings to the north of Madison Avenue. It would provide a major interior-block linkage between existing commercial development to the south and the civic core and central downtown area to the north. The mixed-use model for structured parking with ground floor commercial uses would support development envisioned in this area located mid-block on the south side of Madison Avenue. Expected uses could include additions to existing commercial development fronting Kirkwood Road and Monroe Avenue, and residential uses above ground floor commercial on Clay Avenue.

Figure 2 Library Square (link to 560KB jpeg image)

Figure 3 Civic Plaza Area (link to 378KB jpeg image)

The Urban Design guidelines are described in the following two sections that address fundamental Urban Design criteria: Site Design, and Building Design. Issues addressed in the guidelines include:

1.0 Site Design

1.1 Allowable Land Uses

1.2 Building Height, and Impervious Coverage

1.3 Yards and Setbacks

1.4 Parking Lots, Driveways and Serviceways

1.5 Storm Water Collection – Micro-retention Systems as landscape elements

1.6 Setbacks and Enhanced Buffers at Land Use Transition Boundaries

1.7 Site Lighting

1.8 Streetscape

1.9 Pedestrian/ Bicycle Circulation

1.10 Plazas/Civic Spaces

1.11 Planting Design Standards

1.12 Site Signage

1.13 Fountains and Water Elements

1.14 Service, Loading, and Utilities

2.0 Building Design

2.1 Building Massing, Scale

2.2 Consistent Quality Materials

2.3 Building Details

2.4 Lighting – Interior/ Exterior

2.5 Signage/Building Addresses

2.6 Mechanical and Service Screening

2.7 Accessibility

2.8 Relationship of Building to Parking and/ or Street

2.9 Structured Parking

2.10 Historic Preservation

1.1 Allowable Land Uses

The land use plan includes a range of land uses for the downtown area that are intended to maintain a high level of quality, economic vitality, and the scale and type of development that residents of Kirkwood and previous market studies have stated are important to sustain the community. Several key future land uses include structured parking with ground floor commercial use that would serve surrounding existing and new development, mixed-use development defined as having ground floor commercial uses with residential uses above, and additional civic/ open space and institutional development. These uses, combined with traditional uses such as single family residential, multi-family residential, and a range of commercial land uses that support the concept of a full-service, working, and living community are illustrated in Figure 4.

The land use plan is an important part of the Downtown Urban Design Plan in terms of designating the types, locations, and relationships of various land uses proposed for the downtown area. Allowable Land Uses in the Downtown Area Include:

Structured Parking – parking on multiple levels with ground floor occupied by commercial uses, or in the case where such structures occupy frontage on Taylor Avenue, Bodley Avenue, or Clay Avenue, a minimum 20-foot setback with full landscape screen shall be required.

Existing Residential Single-Family – such residences shall maintain the general scale and character of the residential properties within the surrounding one block area. Such Single Family residences shall be exempt from the specific design guidelines in the UD Plan.

Residential Multi-Family – where possible, such residences shall be designed to create the maximum density allowable under the current zoning ordinance

Mixed- Use Development – (Commercial/Residential) ground floor commercial uses with residential uses constructed above (residential uses to constitute a minimum of 60% of building square footage).

Commercial-Office – professional and general office use

Commercial-Retail – grocery, restaurant, clothing, furniture, or other such retail use

Commercial-Service – fuel stations, laundries, or other service operations

Institutional – churches, libraries, government offices, schools, and community services

Civic/ Open Space – parkland, plazas, recreational land, or other public lands

Figure 4 Future Land Use Plan

1.2 Building Height, Impervious Coverage

Building heights, building site coverage, and total impervious surface coverage limits are outlined in the following table for the UD plan area. Additional building height may be permitted by a Joint Urban Design Commission recommendation and super-majority of Council approval where the applicant exhibits extraordinary design and/ or other community benefit as determined by the City. The chart below illustrates height and coverage conditions which correspond to allowable land uses and their locations.

Land Use Designation	Maximum Building Height	Building Site Coverage (a)	Impervious Surface (b)
Parking Structure	40’ Roof use allowed	90%	95%
Residential-Multi-Family	40’ and 3 stories	75%	85%
Mixed-Use Development	40’ and 3 stories	80%	90%
Commercial-Office	40’ and 3 stories	70%	80%
Commercial-Retail	40’ and 3 stories	70%	85%
Commercial-Service	35’ or 2 stories	60%	80%
Institutional	50’	75%	85%
Civic/ Open Space	NA	NA	60%

NOTES:

Building Site Coverage refers to the building footprint, or the maximum site area that any building footprint including accessory structures may occupy as a percentage of the entire site area.

b. Impervious Surface refers to the maximum “paved surface” area, including building coverage, parking lots, service drives, driveways, service pads, etc. that may occupy the site as a percentage of the entire site area.

Figure 5 Building Height and Impervious Coverage Diagram
(link to 336KB jpeg image)

1.3 Yards and Setbacks

All developed parcels are to maintain minimum setbacks identified in the following chart. Provisions for landscape amenities and lighting should be made in order to enhance the character of these spaces.

Plan Symbol	Land Use Designation	Side/ Rear Yard	Front Yard
RS	Residential-Single Family	15’/ 40’	Average front yard setbacks within 300’ , same side of street
RM	Residential-Multi-Family	25’/ 40’	25’
MXD	Mixed-Residential and Commercial	0’/ 20’	12’
CO	Commercial-Office	0’/ 20’	0’ (inc. Streetscape)
CR	Commercial-Retail	0’/ 20’	0’ (inc. Streetscape)
CS	Commercial-Service	0’/ 25’	25’
IL	Industrial-Light	15’	20’
IN	Institutional	0’/ 25’	4’
OC	Open/Civic Space	NA	NA
PS	Parking Structure	0’/ 20’	4’ Primary Street 20’ Secondary Street

1.4 Parking Lots, Driveways and Serviceways

Vehicular access points (curb cuts) to individual parcels should be limited to one per parcel, or no more than one per 200’ (two-hundred feet) of frontage on Kirkwood Road within a single parcel.

In order to create simple, easily recognizable access to development within the downtown area, the plan encourages sharing access from Kirkwood Road with adjacent parcels, where possible. Driveways and parking areas should be designed to accommodate efficient vehicle stacking during peak periods, based on a specific traffic analysis prepared for the proposed development. All site plans showing such driveways and parking areas are to be simultaneously submitted for review and approval by the City and the Missouri Department of Transportation.

Surface parking areas should not exceed the number of parking spaces required in the plan. Proposed parking spaces that exceed the number of spaces required in the plan shall not be permitted without approval of the City.

Where possible, parking lots and service alleys should not dominate the street frontage. Building walls and entries, landscape conditions, and pedestrian areas should comprise a minimum of 60% of the street frontage.

The City should review and update its parking requirements to relflect the latest standards for downtown developments. Parking requirements may be modified on a project basis with supporting traffic engineering/ parking plan approved by the City. Off-site parking may be allowed by the City under specific and long-term agreements between an Applicant and an off-site parking provider, including the City.

Parking lots shall be screened to a height of 30 inches from public streets with solid walls or to a height of 3 feet with hedges to be selected from the Forestry Commission approved plant list. Canopy trees from a City approved tree list shall be planted 30 feet on center within the screen hedge line. An additional row of approved canopy trees shall be planted 35 feet on center, inside the public street curb line fronting the parking lot. The purpose of this double row of trees is to provide screening in addition to the required hedge, shade for sidewalk areas, and aid in the creation of a pedestrian-scaled