SINGLE FAMILY RESIDENTIAL DESIGN GUIDELINESCITY OF ALHAMBRA

The City needed a richly illustrated, user-friendly document that everyone can understand, including homeowners, architects, and City staff. The guidelines drew inspiration from the diversity in architectural styles and small town feel found in many of Alhambra’s residential neighborhoods.

Downtown Solutions identified the “character defining elements” of individual neighborhoods such as:

• General age of residence
• Approximate  building size
• General height
• Specific architectural style on the street/block
• Approximate lot size

The results were presented in a PowerPoint presentation at a public workshop for community input on what was liked and considered quality architecture and construction. At-a-Glance sheets were prepared with key-maps of 25 neighborhoods defining the predominant architectural styles within each neighborhood.

Additionally, the current single-family zoning controls were reviewed which pertained to a single-family addition or new construction in the City of Alhambra. Downtown Solutions built upon the workshops and research to prepare highly illustrated city-wide Single-Family Design Guidelines with illustrations and photos of compatible new construction and additions for each bona-fide architectural style.