Page 161 - Healdsburg, CA Citywide Design Guidelines

Street Level Interest
A building’s ground floor strongly impacts the pedestrian
experience on an adjacent public space, such as a sidewalk or
public plaza. Blank or featureless walls at the ground floor level
can diminish interest and reduce the quality of the pedestrian
experience. A building should be designed to promote pedestrian
interest at the street-level. Avoid long, blank walls on the ground
floor level. Transparent ground floors that support a visual
connection between the public realm and interior commercial
building space is the most effective way to generate street level
interest. This treatment is strongly encouraged and particularly
for areas where a commercial use is located directly adjacent to
a sidewalk, street, plaza or other public realm element. However,
active storefronts and fully transparent windows may not be
feasible on all street-facing building walls. Where this occurs,
consider the use of one or more of the street level interest
methods illustrated in Figure 6.21.

6.46 Design a building to create street level interest. Design a storefront to engage
Enhance ground floors by incorporating elements such the public realm, provide visual
as the following: interest for pedestrians and
promote pedestrian activity.
• Active uses, such as shops and restaurants
• Variations in the building wall, such as recessed entries or
other indentations, in the ground floor façade
• Windows and display areas that increase the transparency
of the ground floor

Utilize large walls for public artwork, water features, landscaping and
other treatments to engage the public.

Commercial, Industrial, Mixed Use and Large-Scale Multi-Family Development Design Guidelines Chapter 6 153