Ordinance 731CITY OF CHANHASSEN
CARVER AND HENNEPIN COUNTIES, MINNESOTA
ORDINANCE NO. 731
AN ORDINANCE AMENDING CHAPTER 20
CHANHASSEN CITY CODE
THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF CHANHASSEN, MINNESOTA ORDAINS:
Section 1. DIVISION 20-XXIII – 11 DESIGN STANDARDS FOR THE CENTRAL
BUSINESS DISTRICT (CBD) ZONING DISTRICT of the City Code, City of Chanhassen,
Minnesota, is hereby adopted as follows:
DIVISION 20-XXIII-11 DESIGN STANDARDS FOR CENTRAL BUSINESS DISTRICT
Sec 20-1094 Purpose
These design standards regulate site design and building design to enhance the quality of all new
development and redevelopment. These design standards will:
a) Promote high-quality site design, including placement of buildings, front yards, off-street
parking areas, private usable open space, walk/bike connections, waste storage, and
mechanical equipment.
b) Promote high-quality building design, including building massing, building facades,
parking structure facades, roof design, and exterior building materials.
c) Create a unified, harmonious and high-quality visual environment throughout the
downtown.
d) Foster a distinctive and positive community image, thereby identifying downtown
Chanhassen as a special place with a unique identity in the Twin Cities Region as a
whole.
Sec 20-1095 Intent
The city intends that all development within the downtown should strive toward the highest level
of quality in both design and construction. The criteria by which new development in the
downtown shall be evaluated are as follows:
a) Consistency with all provisions of the comprehensive plan, as amended from time to
time; the surface water protection program; all provisions of the zoning ordinance and
subdivision ordinance not specifically overridden by the provisions of these design
standards; and all other applicable land use regulations.
b) Preservation of the natural conditions found on each site to the greatest extent possible,
through minimized removal of trees and other vegetation and soil, minimized site
grading, and application of the practices found in the city's surface water management
plan.
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c) Establishment throughout the downtown of harmonious physical and visual relationships
among existing, new, and proposed buildings, open spaces, natural terrain, and plant
materials and placement with the intent of creating a unique and unified appearance for
the downtown.
d) Use of appropriate materials, lighting, textures, colors, and architectural and landscape
forms to create a unified, high-quality design concept for each site that is compatible with
adjacent and neighboring structures and functions, including but not limited to natural
areas, city-owned property, and vacant land subject to future development in accordance
with the comprehensive plan.
e) Creation of unified site designs, each with a sense of internal order, that provide desirable
environments for site users and visitors and the community as a whole and that consider
all site elements including: the relationship of buildings to surrounding landforms;
grading; architectural design; building, parking and loading dock orientation; building
height; use of manmade materials, including paving; site furnishings (lighting, outdoor
seating, signage, etc.); landscaping (retention of natural vegetation, plant selection and
placement, retention and incorporation of water features, etc.); and other visible outdoor
site elements.
f) Creation of a suitable balance between the amount and arrangement of open space,
landscaping, and view protection and the design and function of man-made features on
the other. Achieving this balance shall take into account screening, buffering, size and
orientation of open spaces, personal and property security, localized wind and solar
effects, and protection of important public ways.
g) Provision of safe and adequate access to and from sites giving ample consideration to the
location and number of access points from public streets, the safety and convenience of
merging and turning movements, and traffic management and mitigation.
h) Provision of on-site vehicular, bicycling, and pedestrian circulation by way of interior
drives, parking areas, pathways, and walkways adequate to handle anticipated needs and
to safety buffer pedestrians and cyclists from motor vehicles. Ample consideration shall
be given to the width of interior drives, internal traffic movement and flow, separation of
pedestrian, cycling, automobile, and delivery traffic, and the safe, convenient, and
practical arrangement of parking spaces.
i) Adequate separation and protection of each site from adjacent properties, through
reasonable provisions for surface water drainage, sound and sight buffers, view
protection, privacy, and other aspects of design that may not be specifically covered by
these or other regulations but are found to have significant effect on any or all of the
properties and roadways.
Sec 20-1096 District Applications
a) The design standards shall apply to all development in the Central Business District. The
design standards apply with the following exceptions:
i. Internal alterations to buildings that affect less than 50 percent of the building's
gross floor area and do result in a change to the building height, roof line or
footprint.
ii. Replacement or repair of existing materials.
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iii. The standards shall apply only to the building or site elements being developed or
altered. A proposal for changes to a building would be required to meet only those
standards that pertain to buildings while changes to a parking area would only be
required to meet standards for parking areas.
b) The Street Typologies diagram establishes the street type designation for each downtown
street including expansion of the future downtown street network.
c) The City shall apply the design standards proportionately to the degree of change
proposed. Minor improvements may be made to existing uses without costly upgrades or
a complete change to the site. The Community Development Director may waive specific
design standards based on the scale of the project.
Sec 20-1097 Definitions
a) Build-to-Zone means the area on the lot where all or a portion of the street-facing
building facade must be located, established as a minimum and maximum front yard
setback range.
b) Occupied Space means an interior building space regularly occupied by the building
users. It does not include storage areas, utility space, or parking.
c) Street Frontage means the building and yard area facing and directly adjacent to a street
right-of-way line.
d) Street Frontage Coverage means the minimum percentage of the lot line that must have a
building façade located within the build-to zone.
Sec 20-1098 Site Design Standards
a) Building Placement and Yard Standards
1) Street frontage coverage: A minimum percentage of all building fronts are required to
be placed within a lot’s build-to-zone. To determine compliance with the street
frontage coverage requirement, the total length of the building or building portion(s)
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located in the build-to-zone is divided by the length of the lot or parcel on which the
building is located. The remainder of a building may be placed outside the maximum
front setback but shall not be located closer to the street than the minimum front
setback.
Street Type Downtown
Core and
Market Blvd
Downtown
Neighborhood
Downtown
Entry
Neighborhood
Connector
Minimum 75% 60% 50% 40%
Figure 1. Street Frontage Coverage
Front/corner yard areas:
i) Front/corner yard areas along streets shall be designed as a unified streetscape that
may include but is not limited to sidewalks, plantings, open space, public or
private seating areas that are required to be installed and maintained by the
building owner or homeowners’ association.
ii) Walls, fences, monument signs, lighting, elevated private outdoor spaces, stairs
leading to residential entries, guardrails, handrails and other similar building and
landscape elements are allowed encroachments within the front/corner yard areas.
iii) Utilities, transformers, and telecommunications equipment shall, to the extent
feasible, not be located in the front/corner yard and shall be architecturally
integrated or screened by landscaping or decorative fencing.
iv) Awnings, canopies, marquees, signs, shading devices, cornices and lighting are
permitted encroachments within the public right-of-way and setback areas but
must be a minimum of eight (8) feet above sidewalk grade.
b) Off-Street Parking and Loading Area Standards
1) Off-street vehicle parking areas:
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i) For Downtown Core Streets and Downtown Neighborhood Streets, including
future downtown street extensions, off-street parking areas shall not be permitted
between the building and the street unless approved by the City due to unique site
circumstances which shall include but are not limited to, existing access
easements or parking easements.
ii) Vehicular entrances and exits to parking areas shall have a maximum linear width
of 12 feet if accommodating one direction of travel, and a maximum linear width
of 24 feet if accommodating both an exit and entrance within the same curb cut.
iii) Screening along the edges of off-street parking areas shall be high enough to
screen vehicle headlights from adjacent properties, streets, and walkways, which
shall be considered a minimum of three (3) feet high but shall not impact vehicle
or pedestrian sight lines.
Figure 2. Off-Street Parking
2) Off-street loading areas:
i) All loading areas shall be screened to minimize visibility from all streets and
neighboring buildings. Screening shall be provided by architectural elements,
landscaping, fencing, or walls that are consistent with the building’s architecture.
ii) In the Downtown Mixed Use character area established within City Code Section
20-737, loading areas shall have exterior lighting to increase safety for vehicular
and pedestrian movement.
c) Private Usable Open Space Standards
1) Private usable open space: Each development, both residential and non-residential,
shall provide a minimum of 10% of the lot area as private usable open space. Private
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usable open spaces will not count toward public open space dedication requirements.
Usable open space means designed outdoor space that is either on the ground floor or
in an upper level or building rooftop that is intended for passive or active recreation
that is accessible and suited to the needs of the development’s residents, employees,
and/or business patrons, and shall generally have the following characteristics:
i) Functional and aesthetic design that relates to the principal building or buildings,
with clear edges, including seating, landscaping, recreational facilities, sidewalk
connections, and other amenities;
ii) May be designed as courtyards, plazas, picnic areas, swimming pools, play areas,
rooftop patios/gardens, or trails within natural areas;
iii) Compatible with or expands upon existing pedestrian connections and public
parks or open space;
iv) May include both private common areas for use by all residents of that
development, as well as a private unit’s open space for exclusive use by that
unit’s residents; and
v) Does not include driveways, parking areas, steep slopes, or stormwater ponds.
d) On-Site Walk/Bike Connection Standards
1) Provision of internal site pedestrian and bicycle connections to all existing or planned
public sidewalks and trails adjacent to the site.
e) Waste Storage Standards
1) Storage of waste containers shall be accommodated inside buildings when feasible.
2) Waste storage is allowed outdoors if adequately screened either through architectural
elements or with landscaping, fencing, or walls. The location shall minimize visibility
from all streets and neighboring buildings. No waste storage is allowed between the
building and the street.
f) Mechanical Equipment Standards
1) To avoid noise and air quality impacts on open space areas, mechanical ducts or
vents, with the exception of residential kitchen and bathroom vents, shall not be
located adjacent to areas designated for common courtyards or activity areas.
2) Rooftop mechanical equipment greater than four feet in height or visible from the
adjacent public right-of-way shall be screened in an enclosure that also considers
views of adjacent buildings. All screening shall be at least of equal height to the
mechanical equipment that it screens.
Sec 20-1099 Building Design Standards
Figure 3. Building Design
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a) Building Massing Standards
1) Building Length: Maximum of 250 feet without a major break in the building facade.
2) Lower and Upper Floor Stepbacks: Portions of the building’s lower and upper floors
shall be stepped back from the ground floor façade along street frontages a minimum
of 5 feet. Lower and upper floor stepbacks shall provide vertical articulation to
ground floor commercial spaces and architectural design features and/or provide
vertical relief for the adjacent pedestrian environment as deemed appropriate by the
City.
b) Building Façade Standards
1) All buildings shall be constructed to meet the building façade standards in the
following table:
Building Façade Design
Street Type Downtown Core
and Market Blvd
Downtown
Neighborhood
Downtown
Entry
Neighborhood
Connector
Primary
Building
Entrance
Minimum of one primary entrance per street facade
Spacing of
Building
Entrances
Maximum distance between entrances is 75 ft.
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Street Façade
Articulation
Minimum
Every 35 ft.
Every 35 ft.
Every 55
ft.
Every 20 ft.
Street Façade
Ground
Floor
Transparency
Minimum
65%
65%
50%
20%
c) Parking Structure Façade Standards
1) Linear parking uses along street façades: All off-street parking structures that front a
public street must be lined with occupied space at the ground floor, at least 18 feet in
depth, between the parking area and exterior wall of the building.
2) All other frontages must visually screen the interior from the exterior under
daylighting and night lighting conditions.
d) Roof Design Standards
1) Flat roof only with a decorative parapet.
e) Exterior Building Materials Standards
1) Exterior building materials are classified as primary, secondary or accent materials
and are allowed as follows:
Class of Exterior Building Materials Percentage Allowed
Primary 50% minimum
Secondary 40% maximum
Accent 10% maximum
Accent materials may include door and window frames, lintels, cornices and other
minor elements.
2) The classes of materials consist of the following:
Class of Exterior Building Materials Materials Allowed
Primary
Brick
Stone
Wood
Glass
Secondary Stucco/Synthetic stucco (upper floors only)
Decorative/textured masonry units
Accent
Metal
Glass block
Spandrel glass
Prohibited Tinted or mirrored glass
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Section 2. This ordinance shall be effective immediately upon its passage and publication.
PASSED AND ADOPTED this 22 day of July 2024, by the City Council of the City of
Chanhassen, Minnesota
______________________________ ________________________________
Jenny Potter, City Clerk Elise Ryan, Mayor
(Published in the Sun Sailor on August 1, 2024)
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