What are the requirements for a portable sign?

• Portable signs can be no larger than 10 square feet in size.
• Place portable signs on property where business is located.
• Keep portable signs outside of the public right-of-way (i.e. not on the sidewalk).
• Take portable signs in at the close of business every day.

Portables signs are regulated by the City of Battle Ground's sign code. Portable signs, also known as sandwich board signs or A-frame signs, are temporary movable signs not permanently attached to the ground that advertise the services or goods of a business.

 

Why are the Architectural Variety Requirements important to the community?

In April 1999, the "legacy standards" adopted by the Battle Ground City Council went into effect. In addition to changes in City requirements, such as how far buildings are set back from property lines and how streets are constructed, the legacy standards require variety in architecture in new single-family residential development. In short these standards require:

• Construction of different looking fronts (facades) on houses for five (5) or fewer houses in a row.
• Setting the garage when it faces the street back at least four (4) feet from the front of the house including covered porches.
• Installing architectural features along a minimum of thirty (30) percent of the area of a garage sidewall when it faces toward the street.

The architectural variety requirements apply only to new single-family homes located in subdivision developments applied for and approved since April 1999. The requirements do not apply to interior floor plans. Architectural variety on the exterior of a home in these new developments can foster neighborhoods by creating a mixture of different looking houses and by reducing the dominance of the garage on the street.

 

What does "no five or fewer linearly contiguous lots shall have repetitious facades" mean when designing the elevations?

If there are five (5) or fewer lots in a row (2, 3, 4 or 5), the houses built on those lots can't look the same from the street. In other words, the front (facade) of each house must look different.

 

What qualifies as looking different?

A builder doesn't have to drastically change the house design to meet the architectural variety requirements. In fact, the interior floor plans can stay the same from house to house. It's only the outside appearance (front / elevation) that must vary. A builder can do this by combining at least two (2) different architectural features, such as different roof lines, like a pitched or hip roof, and adding a gable or dormer. Bay windows, or other window shapes and sizes and locations, combined with siding, can also be used. One house could have a front porch, and the house next door a stoop or no porch at all. Siding materials, such as gingerbread, brick or stone, can be used as one (1) of the minimum two (2) architectural features.

By combining features such as these, a builder can achieve a variety of possibilities without having to redesign each house.

Remember, just flipping the front (simple mirrored plans) of one house to another house a few doors down, or just changing the location of windows or siding material, is not enough.

 

What if there are more than five houses in a row?

(5) houses or fewer in a row must look different. If there are six (6) lots in a row, the house on lot number six (6) can match the house on lot number one (1); the house on lot number nine (9) can be the same as the house on lot number (2), and so on. Examples of the right way and the wrong way to design the fronts of houses are:

YES - example of facade descriptions:
#1 GABLE ROOF #2 HIP ROOF #3 DORMERS #4 FRONT PORCH #5 BAY WINDOWS #1 GABLE ROOF

NOTE: USE THE SAME HOUSE TYPE IN GRAPHICS WITH DIFFERENT ARCHITECTURAL FEATURES TO EMPHASIZE POINT - E.G. HOUSE #1 & #2 ARE BOTH TWO-STORY HOUSES THAT HAVE DIFFERENT ARCHITECTURAL FEATURES, HOUSES #3 & #4 ARE BOTH SINGLE-STORY HOUSES THAT HAVE DIFFERENT FEATURE

NO - example of facade description:
APPLY SAME LOGIC HERE AS IN ABOVE NOTE
Two basic house designs that have been flipped (simple mirrored plans). No change to roof line, and no substantial change to the front (facade) of the houses. A few minor changes to the type and location of windows, and a door has been relocated.

 

If the garage doors face the street, can the garage be built flush with the front of the house? Can the garage extend past the front of the house?

The answer is NO to both questions. The garage must be set back (behind) a minimum of four (4) feet from the front of the house. For the purposes of the garage setback, the front of the house includes covered front porches, and the garage must be set back at least four (4) feet from the front edge of the porch.

 

If the garage door is at a right angle to the front of the house, is anything special required?

The answer is YES. The outside garage wall facing the street must include some type of design feature, or a combination of design features, such as different siding materials, windows or an entry door, a window with shutters, flower boxes, or permanent trellises that cover thirty (30) percent of the wall area.