§ 21.50.027. Conditional use standards—Design standards for skywalks.  


Latest version.
  • Skywalks shall be constructed in accordance with this section.

    A.

    Required submittals. With its application, the applicant shall submit the following:

    1.

    Written documents required by section 21.15.030.C.1.

    2.

    A report which discusses the functions, uses and objectives that the skywalk is designed to serve, and estimates of expected daily pedestrian use of the skywalk for the first year following completion of each project phase, if any, and after final project completion.

    3.

    A project vicinity map, at a scale of one to 20, showing, within 300 feet of the skywalk:

    a.

    Pedestrian circulation systems.

    b.

    Location and type of existing land uses and structures, including building height, ground floor dimensions and utilities.

    c.

    Locations and widths of dedicated rights-of-way, patent reserves, road easements and reservations and clear vision triangles prescribed by section 21.45.020.

    d.

    View corridors and pedestrian improvements specified in figures 4.3 and 4.6 of the CBD comprehensive development plan.

    e.

    Photographic record of streets, building facades and other existing improvements along the street corridor that the skywalk is to be constructed within.

    4.

    A project facility plan, showing:

    a.

    The configuration of the skywalk.

    b.

    The vertical and horizontal cross sections of the skywalk, with at least one cross section which depicts adjoining structures and ground level facilities.

    c.

    The reflected lighting plans for interior and exterior illumination elements.

    5.

    A visual assessment report illustrating the impact of the skywalk on the street and sidewalk over which it is constructed, as bordered by the facades to the second story of the structures connected by the skywalk. If the skywalk is to be located within the central business district, the report shall also illustrate the impact of the skywalk on pedestrian circulation systems and view corridors, as identified in figures 4.3 and 4.6 of the CBD comprehensive development plan.

    6.

    A skywalk management agreement that includes a security, operations and maintenance plan, as well as the means by which the transparency standards for the skywalk, as defined in subsection B.5.e of this section, shall be maintained.

    7.

    For a skywalk located within seismic zone 5 of the Geotechnical Hazards Assessment Study (1979), as adopted by section 2905(a) of the Uniform Building Code, as adopted in chapter 23.15, an assessment of the effects of seismically induced relative displacement between the two supporting ends of the skywalk. This assessment may be combined with the seismic evaluation requirements of the Uniform Building Code for structures.

    B.

    Design criteria. The following general design criteria shall apply to all skywalks, except when the applicant has persuaded the planning and zoning commission that an alternative design is equal or superior to such design criteria:

    1.

    No less than 17½ feet of open space shall separate the bottom of a skywalk from the highest elevation of the street surface below it and used for vehicular travel, unless otherwise authorized by the government agency charged with administration of that street.

    2.

    No less than 14½ feet shall separate the bottom of the skywalk from the highest elevation of the sidewalk surface below it.

    3.

    The abovegrade structural supports of a skywalk shall neither be located within the public right-of-way nor obstruct any clear vision triangle required by section 21.45.020.

    4.

    Controls for icicle accumulation and glaciation shall be included in the design.

    5.

    A skywalk shall:

    a.

    Be accessible to the handicapped;

    b.

    Be an enclosed and climate-controlled structure;

    c.

    Be one story in height unless the planning and zoning commission finds by clear and convincing evidence that a two-story skywalk is essential to the function of the structures which it will connect;

    d.

    Have an exterior width no less than 12 feet and no greater than 20 feet;

    e.

    Have sides composed of glazing material with no less than 70 percent transparency;

    f.

    Be level (zero degrees of slope) except for internal sloping ramps which are permitted under title 23 and which are not visible from the exterior of the skywalk;

    g.

    Provide lighting on the underside of the skywalk to adequately illuminate all pedestrian circulation systems that the skywalk spans; and

    h.

    Include orientation signage and locational guides to the areas in the buildings connected by the skywalk.

    6.

    Skywalks shall not adversely affect or obstruct roadway safety functions or operations, such as clear vision triangles required by section 21.45.020, traffic signals, signs or roadway maintenance.

    7.

    A clearly identified access route shall be designed between the skywalk and a pedestrian way or sidewalk which it spans.

    C.

    Skywalks in Phase 1 Skywalk District. A skywalk located within the area designed as the Phase 1 Skywalk District, as described in the CBD comprehensive development plan, shall be designed in a manner consistent with the standards stated for the Phase I Skywalk District in that plan.

    D.

    Authority to impose different standards. Different location, design and operational standards from those recited in this section may be imposed by the planning and zoning commission as necessary to mitigate adverse impacts created by the skywalk.

(AO No. 88-5(S))

Editor's note

This section was formerly codified in the 1977 Code as section 21.50.260.

Cross reference

Building regulations, ch. 23.05.