Implementing Design Guidelines

In our third and final post of four about design guidelines, we’re going to discuss implementing design guidelines. Even if you’ve created a great set of design guidelines, they are worthless if not implemented well.

Back in my consulting days, I worked with a community to draft design guidelines for their downtown area. The guidelines were simple and straightforward. But there was no real plan to implement them. Unfortunately, it didn’t appear that they utilized the guidelines since then.

There needs to be a plan to implement the design guidelines. This needs to be completed prior to adopting the guidelines so you strike while the iron is hot. It also builds credibility to the process and the intent.

Consultant or Not

Do you need to have an architect on staff to implement the design guidelines? Not necessarily. If your design guidelines are simple enough, they can be implemented without one. But there should be a single point of review. Whether it is a review board or a single staff member, consistency of review is necessary. Just be careful of using the board/committee route as it may slow processes down. Sometimes the added cost of meeting the guidelines doesn’t matter as much as the delay in the permit approval process.

However, having a Design Review Architect to review applications is a good choice. Beyond the aforementioned consistency reason, there are other reasons to do so. Most small cities have a third-party City Attorney and/or they have a third-party City Engineer. In many states, these positions are required to be on staff or hired on an on-call basis due to their importance to the proper operation of a city. Their professional expertise is so necessary that they are required by the state. Having a Design Review Architect’s expertise is nearly just as important.

Having a Design Review Architect (DRA), whether a single architect or an architectural consulting firm, also gives the process credibility. A dedicated DRA can speak the language with applicant architects. They can also explain the architectural reasoning for a guideline better due to their training and experience. This is invaluable in achieving buy-in and conformance from applicants.

Just understand that a third-party DRA has other projects going on. Your community is unlikely to have enough work to keep an architect busy on a regular basis. So it is highly unlikely that you’ll get a quick turnaround on an application submittal. Setting a target timeline for initial and follow-up reviews up front with your consultant is important.

The Application Form

A good application form is highly important to both the City and the applicant in achieving their goals. It will provide important contact information and directions for getting the submittals your city needs for application review. A good application will also clarify to the applicant what is needed for a complete application. This makes it less confusing for the applicant and helps speed the application through the process.

Even if you are only taking paper applications, make a fillable PDF form version of the application. This makes the form easy to fill out prior to printing out and submitting. It also makes the application submittals easier to read. An application that is typed out is much easier to read than one that looks like a scribbled, undecipherable blob.

A good application form will also have a thorough checklist for submittals. Incomplete checklists create delay, confusion, and frustration. It is one of your most effective tools in implementing design guidelines.

The Importance of a Pre-Application Meeting

There is no understating of the importance of a pre-application meeting when talking about the design review process. Pre-application meetings get the applicant’s architects/engineers in the same room as your community’s design review architect or design review board. A preliminary design can be presented and discussed. Helping to limit confusion and clarify intent while limiting frustration.

The more that gets worked through in the pre-application meeting the faster the process goes as well. This is especially important for developers as many are more worried about timelines than relatively minor impacts on the design and cost of the project.

Inspections

Even after the design review process is complete and the applicant applies for and receives a building permit, your work is not done. It is important to inspect the project at times during construction.

Unfortunately, what people say they are going to do and what they actually do can be two different things. Not inspecting a project under construction can lead to problems after it is completed that are hard to get corrected after the fact. These non-conformities are then often pointed out by other applicants as they attempt to avoid adhering to the regulations themselves.

Reflect and Adjust

Once a project is done and the building receives its certificate of occupancy you can finally rest. But this is also a good time to reflect on the project and think about what needs to be adjusted in your process. Does the application form need to be adjusted? Are there possible future adjustments to the design guidelines that need to be pondered?

Regardless of any adjustments that need to be made, the completion of your first project is also a time to celebrate! Implementing design guidelines successfully deserves an observance of your triumph! I other words…party! You deserve it!