City of Davis

Davis Downtown and Traditional Residential Neighborhood Design Guidelines

The guidelines are organized into five sections, each of which is further subdivided into specific topic areas:

• Introduction: Includes a discussion on the purpose for the development of this document, the historic framework for the district, as well as a project application summary.
• Part 1: Includes a discussion on the purpose for the development of this document, the historic framework for the district, as well as a project application summary.
• Part 2: Downtown Core Commercial and Mixed Use Properties: Provides general guidelines for commercial and mixed-use areas. Also includes sections on special character areas and specific criteria that affect these areas. Case studies for applying the guidelines are included for the core commercial, mixed use and special character areas.
• Part 3: Traditional Residential Neighborhoods: Includes an overview of general design features to consider in any new project, such as site design and building form and scale as well as consideration for development of new secondary (accessory structures). The final section includes case studies for the three residential neighborhoods.
• Appendix: Includes an overview of the mechanics of the design review process for varying types of projects including a checklist to help identify the guidelines that are applicable to the planned project. Also provided in the Appendix is a listing of the residential building types found in Davis and a Glossary of terms.

Downloads

You can download the Final Design Guidelines in Adobe Acrobat PDF format:

Introduction

Part 1: Urban Design Framework

Part 2: Downtown Core Commercial and Mixed Use Properties

Part 3: Traditional Residential Neighborhoods

Appendix

This page provides documents in PDF format - a standard for electronic publishing. Please use Adobe Acrobat to view these files. If you do not have Adobe Acrobat Reader, click on the "Get Acrobat" button to the right to get this useful program.

Note:

These are large files. If you have a slower internet connection, you may want to obtain a print copy of the guidelines at one of the locations listed below.

Project Area:

The project area includes the City’s downtown commercial and mixed-use area and its three adjacent residential neighborhoods: the University Avenue/Rice Lane neighborhood located between the Core and University of California, Davis; Old East Davis, east of the tracks; and Old North Davis, directly north of the Core.

Contacts:

If you have questions about the guidelines or would like information on the public meeting process please contact:

Ken Hiatt (khiatt@cityofdavis.org) or

Cindy Norris (cnorris@cityofdavis.org

at the Planning and Building Department, (530) 757-5610.

Links:

Davis Conservation District Guidelines: Project website, with background information and community participation reports.