Town of Georgetown
Design Guidelines
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Introduction
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This chapter presents the design policies and guidelines for the setting of an historic structure or a new building in the Historic Design District. The design guidelines are organized into relevant design topics. Within these design topics are the individual policies and design guidelines which the DRC will base its decisions. Finally, the individual design guidelines will imply whether it applies to the rehabilitation of historic structures, new construction or both.
Do not forget that your property is located in the Georgetown/Silver
Plume National Historic Landmark District. The Town of Georgetown is
recognized nationally for the quality and character of its historic
resources. When work is proposed, bear in mind the impact it will have
on any neighboring historic resources and the town as a whole.
1. Natural Resources
Because the area is rich in natural resources, any new restoration or construction project should respect and even enhance the setting for these features, such as waterways, wetlands and established groves of trees. Roads, landscaped areas and buildings should be located and designed to accommodate any natural features of the particular site and its context.
A. Natural resources, such as Clear Creek, South Clear Creek, Leavenworth Mountain and the steep hillsides surrounding the town, should be respected in all projects.
B. Protect and enhance existing stands of vegetation.
- Respect all shorelines in the area, in compliance with other regulations.
- Provide temporary protection to existing vegetation during construction.
2. On-Site Hazards
Portions of some Character Areas are within identified geo-hazard, flood and unstable soil areas. Individual project plans should incorporate designs which mitigate the specific site conditions that may be present.
A. Incorporate on-site hazard mitigation into the overall design concept.
- Historic site orientations are preferred, but new platting arrangements that do not follow historic subdivision patterns may be considered where site conditions dictate.
3. Site Drainage
Surface drainage can significantly affect the character of a project and may also impact historic resources. For this reason, runoff should be planned such that it will avoid negative impacts on adjacent properties.
A. Drainage should not adversely affect adjacent properties.
- Floodway areas must be designed to handle spring runoff and natural low flows.
B. Do not build new structures below adjacent roadways.
- This will help minimize the impact of runoff created from the impervious surfaces of roadways.
C. Develop drainage systems as landscape amenities, such as planted swales or rock beds.
4. Views
Views to natural and historic features abound in Georgetown and contribute to its unique setting. These view corridors should be respected. Maintaining views to the mountains and historic landmarks are especially important.
A. Preserve views to significant features from a public way.
- Site plans for new construction should include consideration of retaining view opportunities for future projects.
- Landscaping is encouraged and, in some situations, may be required in order to mitigate other visual impacts. Such landscaping, when mature, should maintain existing views and solar access corridors.
- Consider seasonal factors that may enhance or inhibit views because of snow accumulations in winter or dense foliage in summer.
- Developing overlooks to be accessible from public ways are encouraged.
5. Site Relationship and Building Orientation
A building's historic significance includes its orientation and physical relationship to the street, alley and other structures on the site and adjacent properties. An historic structure should retain its original orientation on the site and its physical relationship with other structures. New construction should also maintain these traditional patterns of building orientation.
A. Preserve an historic structure in its original location on the site.
- This includes orientation, setbacks, building height and the relationship of the first floor to finish grade.
- Changing the grade of the site adjacent to a building to permit development of a below-grade area is not appropriate if it would be visible from the street (i.e., from a Town-maintained street).
B. A project should be designed to provide an attractive street edge.
- This applies to landscaping and open space, as well as to the primary facade of a building.
C. Orient a new building parallel to its lot lines, similar to that of historic building orientations.
- This orientation also should be compatible with any distinctive lot patterns in the relevant Character Area.
- This applies to both primary and accessory structures.
D. Orient the primary entrance of a building toward the street.
- Buildings should have a clearly defined primary entrance. For example, provide a recessed entryway on a commercial building, or provide a porch on a residential structure, to define its entry.
- The gable end of a structure should also face the street.
- Entrances on the rear or sides of buildings should clearly be secondary to those on the front.
- The primary entrance of a residence on a corner lot should orient toward the street at the narrow end of the lot.
6. Building Setbacks
In many residential settings, a "hierarchy" of open space exists along the street. This begins with a "public" space, the sidewalk. A "semi-public" walkway then runs perpendicular from the sidewalk to a front porch, which defines a "semi-private" space. This in turn frames the front door, leading to the "private" space of the house. The space between the primary and accessory structure is "semi-private," and along the alley, it is again "public." This hierarchy of open spaces within a residential setting should be maintained.
By contrast, buildings in commercial areas often were aligned immediately at the inside walkway edge. This contributes to a sense of visual continuity in such blocks, and should be maintained. The distance from the street or property line to the front of the building should be similar to that established historically in the Character Area and in similar contexts.
A. Maintain the pattern of alignment for building fronts in the Character Area.
- In a residential context, where similar front setbacks are characteristic, maintain the alignment of uniformly setback facades.
- In a residential context, where variety in building setbacks is a part of the historic context, locating a new building within the traditional range of setbacks is appropriate.
- In a commercial context, a building should be located at the sidewalk's edge.
- In some cases, site constraints may prevent aligning a new building with the historic context. In these situations, using landscaping elements such as fences and walls to define these lines may be considered.
B. Maintain the historic pattern of residential side yard spacing found in the area.
- Use side yard setbacks that are similar to those seen historically in the neighborhood.
- Especially consider the historic rhythm of building spacing in the immediate block.
- Where historic patterns do not exist, setbacks should match those appropriate for the building type or neighborhood.
C. Decks, balconies and porches should not significantly encroach into front and side yard setbacks.
7. Pedestrian Systems
Continuity of pedestrian routes is a goal of the Town, both in terms of connecting individual projects and town blocks, and also within larger projects that have more than one building. Streets, sidewalks and pathways should encourage walking, sitting and other pedestrian activities. Buildings should be visually interesting to invite exploration of the area by pedestrians. Existing pedestrian routes should be enhanced. Pedestrian routes should provide safe, uninterrupted access to all streets and major open spaces.
A. Projects that support pedestrian activity and contribute to the quality of life are encouraged.
B. A project should encourage pedestrian activity.
- Building entrances should be clearly identified.
- Landscaping that identifies pedestrian ways or provides a separation between automobile routes is strongly encouraged.
- Benches or sitting areas in front or at the sides of buildings are also encouraged.