ROADS

A very important characteristic of this project will be roadways that are designed to be functional in the modern world, but have the charm of old world ways.  To this end, roads will be as narrow as possible while still respecting the design standards of Chelan County.   Straight road sections will be held to a minimum to allow for traffic calming consistent with narrow streets and the old-world charm.  Where possible, building setbacks will be minimized to further flavor the streetscapes.

Surfacing materials are anticipated to be something other than asphalt, and designs will be provided to ensure that they meet generally accepted engineering criteria for structural integrity and traffic functionality.  Brick pavers and bituminous surface treatments are some of the options under consideration.

With the narrower than usual street sections, in addition to the traffic calming influence, storm drainage is dramatically reduced, resulting in less need for unpleasant storm water retention structures, and simply allowing for less impact from runoff and better aquifer recharge potential.

All roadways will meet standards for grade as established in the Chelan County development standards.

An important consideration for the owners of this project is the implementation of “low-impact” design.  With a good portion of the property preserved in open space and agriculture, and the minimization of hard surfaces, the storm drainage becomes much more manageable.  Storm drain systems will be designed to intercept storm water in small quantities and provide for infiltration into the ground.  No storm water generated by the development should leave the site.

At this level of submittal and review (Preliminary PDD), it is important to understand that this application is somewhat conceptual in nature.  The planning technique being used is that of “modules.”  Those modules consist of the various land-use elements that make up the character of the project.  Generally, these are single-family homes, multi-family structures, hospitality venues, and retail/commercial.

Each of these modules is planned in such a way as to be transportable within the project boundaries, because, as the project design develops beyond preliminary approval, it may be appropriate to move these elements around within the boundaries, while not compromising the vision expressed in the earlier part of this narrative.  The important components of the vision will always be respected, such as a large amount of open space and limiting the amount of the development near the highway.

The applicants’ intentions are to not expand the planned ERU’s identified at this stage, but reserve the opportunity to move modules around within the site to accomplish the goals expressed in the vision statement.

As the design process evolves, it may be more appropriate, for instance to swap the locations of multi-family and single family, or a portion thereof.  Various factors will enter into these decisions, including market forces and engineering constraints.

The form of ownership will be determined by the time the final PDD application is submitted.  For instance, the multi-family component may be condominiums, or townhouses or both.  The condominium concept differs from the townhouse concept in that townhouses generally occupy their own real estate, whereas the condominium units involve only the ownership of airspace within the units and the buildings themselves occupy commonly owned real estate.  When the actual subdivision plans are submitted with the final PDD, the applicants expect that the right to have common-wall or zero-lot-line structures will be available to accommodate these opportunities.

Site by Sun Graphic