Page 34 - Broken Arrow, OK Residential District Design Guidelines

Blank Street-Facing Wall:
This standard is intended to reduce the overall perceived mass and bulk of buildings on a
property as viewed from the street and establish a visual relationship between a building and the
street. Designs should articulate building walls by using design techniques and including windows
and doors to break up large, expansive wall planes. This standard seeks to enhance street-level
pedestrian interest, establish visual continuity along a street and create visual connectivity
between the street and a private property.

The blank street-facing wall distance is measured on each individual floor of a building,
horizontally between windows and doors. When measuring, the windows and doors vertically
extend to cover the floor being measured, creating a Vertical Window/Door Area, as shown in
Figure 4.15. Therefore, the blank wall distance is measured horizontally between the established
Vertical Window/Door Areas on one floor. These distances are always measured from the
elevation view of the building. Figure 4.17 illustrates how to measure the blank street-facing wall.
Each building type in Chapter 5 specifies the numeric value of the maximum blank street-facing
wall distance that is allowed between windows and doors.
Street-Facing Facade Design applies to: Single-Family, Two-Family, 3-Plex/4-Plex/Mansion
Apartment, Cottage Court, Rowhouse, Flats, Mixed-Use A, Mixed-Use B/Commercial

Vertical Window/ Maximum Blank Vertical Window/
Door Area Wall Distance Door Area
Figure 4.15
Principal Windows:
Principal windows are one of the most important character defining elements of a building’s
street-facing wall. Windows are one of the primary opportunities for breaking up large, expansive
wall planes and allowing air and light into a structure. Incorporating principal windows also
helps create a human scale and enhance street level interest. Principal windows help create
visual connectivity between the street and a private property. This standard sets the minimum
number of principal windows that should appear on a building’s street-facing wall, as well as the
minimum size of those windows.
Principal Windows applies to: Single-Family, Two-Family, 3-Plex/4-Plex/Mansion Apartment,
Cottage Court, and Rowhouse

30 Broken Arrow Downtown Residential Overlay District (DROD) Design Standards