21.12.100 OV Building Height.
A. Floor Area and Height Tradeoff. In lieu of utilizing bonuses or other transfers, such as RZC Chapters 21.48, Transfer of Development Right (TDR), and 21.67, Green Building Incentive Program (GBP), the maximum building height on a site may be exceeded when building height reductions are required at building edges, along a street, public park or public trail, to accomplish one of the following objectives:
1. Facade modulation meeting minimum dimensions;
2. Stepped building height to reduce the apparent height of the building; or
3. Corner building design to encourage pedestrian activity through improvements along the streetscape.
The amount of floor area allowed shall meet the following conditions:
1. Shall not be floor area achieved with bonuses or transfer of development rights;
2. Shall not exceed the floor area removed or omitted to meet the objectives in subsections A.1 through A.3 of this section, described above; and
3. Shall be set back a minimum of eight feet from the primary building facade along the street, public park or trail.
The resulting transfer of floor area shall be limited to a maximum of one additional story above the allowed maximum building height.
B. In areas where an adjacent public or private street will be more than one story above the ground floor elevation of a building because of topography (such as the southwest corner of NE 90th Street and Redmond-Woodinville Road), building height may be measured from the grade of the higher public or private street, instead of from average finished grade of the building. Building height as measured from the grade of the public or private street shall not exceed maximum building height (including bonuses, if any), and the entire site shall comply with applicable FAR limits. See Figure 21.12.100, OV Building Height, below.
Figure 21.12.100 |
---|
![]() |
C. To achieve an appropriate transition between major public streets and development interior to Zone 4, maximum building height within 50 feet of the rights-of-way of 152nd Avenue NE and 156th Avenue NE shall be six stories measured from the closest edge of the property to the right-of-way. Bonuses or transferred development rights may not be used to exceed this limit.
D. Water Table. In areas with verifiable shallow water tables where subterranean parking is infeasible or detrimental to natural resources, the maximum number of stories within the zone may be exceeded in the amount necessary to accommodate minimum parking ratios in above-grade structured parking. The maximum number of additional stories beyond the height maximum is three stories. Structured parking shall be placed on the interior of a building shell where feasible and shall be subject to design regulations of RZC Article III.
The following are required for a request to go beyond the height maximum based on shallow water tables:
1. A verifiable water table analysis in the form of a hydrological or geotechnical report;
2. A shadow study to identify impacts to open spaces, public areas, and neighboring developments;
3. A parking reduction request in conformance with RZC 21.40.010.D which requests the lowest amount of parking feasible to support the proposed use. A transportation management plan may be required in tandem with the parking reduction request; and
4. The parking garage floor shall be horizontal to accommodate future adaptive reuse. (Ord. 3028; Ord. 3083)