28.04.137 "OT" Old Town Overlay District
The Old Town Overlay District is mapped in combination with the underlying zoning district designation in the area bounded by Douglas Street, Washington Street, 2nd Street and the ATSF Railroad right-of-way. The purpose of the district is to recognize the special location and architectural character and the proposed mix of land uses by incorporating appropriate exceptions to the underlying zoning district. Use of property within this district shall comply with both the regulations in the subsection as well as the regulations in the underlying zoning district, except that in the case of any conflict between the regulations in this subsection and those of the underlying zoning district, the regulations in this subsection shall prevail.

1. Use Regulations

   1. All uses which are first permitted in residential zoning districts shall also be permitted in the "OT" Overlay District.

2. Parking Regulations

   1. Parking for residential dwellings shall be provided at a minimum ratio of one space per dwelling unit.

   2. Parking for private clubs, drinking establishments and restaurants that derive 50% or more of their gross income from food sales shall be provided at a minimum ratio of one space for every four (4) occupants permitted.

   3. Parking for taverns, private clubs and drinking establishments that derive over 50% or more of their gross income from the sale of alcoholic or cereal malt beverages shall be provided at a minimum ratio of one space for every three (3) occupants permitted.

   4. Parking for retail and office uses shall be provided at a minimum ratio of one space per three hundred (300) square feet of floor area.

   5. Parking for theaters shall be provided at a minimum ratio of one space for every four (4) seats.

   6. Public assembly uses, except for those that have parking requirements specified elsewhere in this regulation, shall provide at a minimum ratio the following amounts of off-street parking:

      1. Concentrated use assembly areas (e.g., auction rooms, auditoriums, lodge rooms, reviewing stands, etc. which typically do not have fixed seats, but if chairs are provided they are not accompanied by a table) - one parking space per twenty-eight (28) square feet for floor areas which are used for public assembly.

      2. Less concentrated use assembly areas which may have fixed seats and tables (e.g., bingo parlors, conference rooms, exhibit rooms, museums, galleries, etc.) - one parking space per sixty (60) square feet of floor area which are used for public assembly.

   7. When additional off-street parking is required to be provided for a new building or an addition or a change of use to all or a portion of a building, the requirements shall be waived if the property for which the parking is required is located within the boundaries of a parking district established by the governing body and if the property owner meets other requirements as established by resolution of the governing body.

3. Design Review Standards and Procedures

   1. Purpose
      The purpose of the design review provisions of this subsection is to preserve the special historic and architectural character of this district, and to protect private property values and public investment in this district, by ensuring that the exterior alterations to buildings and grounds are undertaken in conformance with design standards which express this special character.

   2. Design Review Procedures
      Except as provided for in Subsections C.5 and C.6 of this section, no alterations to building exteriors, including painting, nor to fences or grounds or temporary on-site signs may be made, and no permits for signs, sidewalks, driveways or demolition shall be issued by the Office of Central Inspection for any structure or site located wholly or partially within the Old Town Overlay District, until the application of such permit has been reviewed and approved by the Director of Planning, with the concurrence of the Superintendent of Central Inspection, whose decision may be appealed to the Board of Zoning Appeals; excepting that projects involving Lots 2-18 of the 700 Block of East Douglas, East Wichita Addition, being included in the East Douglas Historic District (H 85-1), shall be reviewed by the Historic Preservation Board in accordance to these standards. If within 10 days from the date of receipt of a complete application by the Metropolitan Area Planning Department, the city staff does not act upon the application, the Office of Central Inspection may issue the necessary permits and the project may proceed. This time limit may be waived by mutual consent of the applicant and staff. A complete application should include, as necessary, to-scale drawings, elevations, sections, relevant plans of site and/or immediate environs if appropriate, and shall indicate materials and colors to be used, as well as any other information as shall be required. The staff may approve, approve with conditions, or deny the request in conformity with the design standards in this subsection. Any property owner in the district may appeal the decision of the staff to the Board of Zoning Appeals. Alterations that are not visible from public streets or alleys shall be exempted from these standards and review procedures.

   3. Building Design Standards

      1. General Standards

         1. Alterations should be respectful of the character of one of the city's earliest commercial and warehousing districts whose architectural type and elements represent a style unique to the past. The Old Town Overlay District encompasses that section of Wichita that historically was its jobbing, wholesale and warehouse district, laid out on a gridiron street pattern. Red brick warehouse and commercial structures predominate, exemplifying the industrial and Italianate commercial architectural styles of the early Twentieth Century. Warehouse structures are trimmed in limestone, with mullioned windows, and commercial buildings have large, plate-glass windows. Roofs are generally flat and tarred, although some are trimmed with red or green clay tiles. Doors are of wood or metal, and are found both at grade and at loading-dock height. The buildings are no more than four and one-half stories in height, and have uniform set-backs.

         2. The height of all new buildings and building additions should be limited to the shorter of four and one-half (4 1/2) stories or fifty (50) feet.

         3. For each structure, the roofing materials visible from the street should be matching clay or synthetic tiles similar to clay in size color and appearance, or of sheet metal, standing-seam or metal shingle construction; the exterior of the wall of each building should be finished in red or brown brick with trim of wood, metal, terra cotta or other glazed tile, glass block, limestone, or grey concrete.

         4. Mirrored glass windows for buildings should not be used.

         5. Metal windows and doors should be anodized or properly primed and enameled.

         6. Awnings or canopies should be made of metal or of cloth material.

         7. Walkway coverings should be of sheet metal, metal shingles or of standing-seam construction, or of canvas or cloth.

         8. Colors used in painting building exteriors should favor earth tones.

         9. Iron railings should be of utilitarian styling as represented in the district.

         10. Permanent fences should avoid wire materials whenever possible.

      2. Standards for Rehabilitation/Remodeling

         1. Facades should be retained.

         2. Existing windows and openings should be retained.

         3. Tile roofs and/or trim should be retained.

         4. Architectural features, such as enriched cornice window heads, enriched trim, cast-iron elements, should be retained.

         5. Additions to buildings should be compatible in appearance by coordinating style, materials, scale and detail with the original buildings in the district.

         6. All remodeling or rehabilitation of exteriors should ensure the visual integrity of the building, and be compatible with the overall architectural character of the district.

         7. Facades that have been hidden since original construction should be restored in conjunction with any facade rehabilitation work.

         8. Accessory buildings should generally be compatible with the other structures on the street and be subject to these guidelines.

         9. Routine maintenance, repairs or replacements of elements on portions of existing facades shall not require an applicant to bring the entire facade into compliance with these standards.

         10. Repainting of surfaces with colors that duplicate the existing colors shall be permitted.

         11. Existing doors and windows may be replaced with new products of design and/or materials similar to those which existed at the time of passage of this ordinance.

      3. Standards for New Construction

         1. All building designs should be compatible with the major elements of the historical architecture within the district; red brick buildings with limestone or grey concrete trim are encouraged.

         2. All buildings should be set back from the street uniformly to present a continuous facade line along the street, except that minor recesses or projections for entries, arcades and similar elements may be acceptable.

         3. Off-street parking should be screened along street frontages with landscaping and/or low brick walls and otherwise be designed in compliance with the City's landscaping regulations.

         4. Mechanical or electrical equipment should be hidden or screened from street level view.

   4. Sign Standards
      Signage within the overlay district shall be subject to the provisions of Chapter 24.04 of the Code of the City of Wichita, as well as the following requirements.

      1. General Design Standards

         1. All signs, including window signs, must be approved as to design, colors, materials, placement, method of attachment, method of illumination (if applicable).

         2. No illuminated sign may contain flashing or moving elements or change its brightness, except as otherwise provided in this section.

         3. No sign should be illuminated by fluorescent or back lighting. The use of indirect lighting is allowed.

         4. The use of plastic on the exterior of a sign is prohibited.

         5. The use of a fluorescent color on a sign is prohibited.

         6. The use of neon and/or incandescent bulbs is allowed.

         7. No sign nor part of a sign may move or rotate, with the exception of a wind device, the motion of which is not restricted.

         8. For buildings with multiple tenants, one sign for all tenants is encouraged.

         9. Window signs should be painted or gold-leafed directly on windows.

         10. The repainting of faded or "ghost signs" on brick exteriors is encouraged.

         11. Whenever possible, painted signs should be placed in bands within the space above or below windows.

         12. Letter forms should not be overly intricate nor of overtly modern styling. Suitable letter forms include, but are not limited to, the following: Helvetica, Helvetica Medium, Univers 65, Optima, Optima Semibold, Melior, Craw Clarendon, American Typewriter Medium.

         13. Logos and symbols may be incorporated into signage, but must otherwise conform to the criteria contained in these guidelines.

         14. Off-site advertising signs should be directional in nature, and shall be limited to advertising for enterprises within the district.

      2. Building Signs

         1. Building signs overhanging the public way are permitted, except that no sign should project more than eight (8) feet from the vertical plane of the building.

         2. Building signs should be located so as not to dominate the building, and so as to emphasize architectural elements; such signs should not obscure architectural details or cover windows or moldings.

         3. No more than one temporary on-site sign may be displayed on a premise at any given time.

         4. Window signs and temporary on0site signs attached to or painted on a window may not cover more than 25 percent of the window surface area.

      3. Pole and Ground Signs

         1. No pole or ground sign should have an effective area greater than 32 square feet;

         2. No pole and ground sign should have a total height greater than 15 feet.

         3. Portable signs shall be limited to unlit A-frame signs, and shall require a minor street permit and shall not obstruct pedestrian traffic nor impede vehicular traffic.

         4. No portable sign may exceed a height of four feet and a total area of twelve square feet.

         5. No more than one portable sign may be displayed on a premise at any given time.

      4. Canopy Signs
         All canopy signs shall be subject to the provisions in Chapter 23 for Awnings, Canopies and Marquees, as well to the following requirements.

         1. No canopy sign should be lower than eight feet above walking grade; or

         2. No canopy sign should project vertically above the surface of the canopy or awning.

   5. Exceptions and Modifications

      1. The design standards in this section shall be modified or waived by the Director of Planning, with the concurrence of the Superintendent of Central Inspection, to allow for alterations which are required in order to maintain the continued functional viability of existing uses, or in extraordinary situations of development characteristics, economic hardship, or other circumstances, provided that the purposes and intent of these standards are maintained through such interpretation.

   6. Emergency Repairs
      The Superintendent of Central Inspection may waive the standards and review procedures of this section in instances in which emergency repairs are required, provided that subsequent repairs comply with these standards.

   7. Conflicts With Other Code Provisions
      No section of this ordinance will be construed to compel alternations that will conflict with any health or safety codes, or prohibit any alterations that are required to bring buildings into compliance with the Building Code.

Section 2. The original of Section 28.04.137 of the Code of the City of Wichita, Kansas, is hereby repealed.

Section 3. This ordinance shall be included in the Code of the City of Wichita, Kansas, and shall be effective upon its passage and publication once in the official city paper.

Adopted July 22, 1993.

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