City’s Choice of Architectural Style Is Now One for the Book

Long colonnades of simulated adobe brick, small ornamental balconies and lavish exterior courtyards with Spanish fountains and sculptures are hardly rare sights in Duarte.

For developers building in the city’s core commercial zone, the “Early California” look has been required by an architectural review committee for 10 years.

And now, Duarte officials have literally written the book on it.

The city has spent $30,000 putting together “Architectural Design Guidelines,” a 111-page reference manual for new residential and commercial construction projects in the central corridor. The book is being distributed to developers to let them know acceptable building and design standards.

The style requirements are meant to reflect the city’s Spanish heritage in an Early California village concept, said Ed Cox, director of community development.

The manual, a form of architectural control that is gaining popularity with small cities, was approved by the City Council last month. It does not mandate specific materials or structures but suggests which materials work best with the Early California style, Cox said.

“This style is something we decided on a long time ago,” Cox said. “The document just puts it in writing and gives developers an idea of how they can go about achieving the style.”

The book’s thousands of instructions vary widely in form. Some prescribe, others merely advise. Some define narrowly, others suggest broad direction.

A few of the guidelines developers must consider in their plans are: “Avoid the monotony of garage ‘corridors’. . . . The detailing of material and form should express a sense of sophistication and elegance. . . . Prefabricated metal stairs are prohibited. . . . Reflective glass is discouraged. . . . Varied parapet height is encouraged. . . . Building massing shall be predominantly asymmetric.”

These guidelines affect a large commercial and residential corridor running east to west along Huntington Drive and north to south along Buena Vista Street and Highland Avenue.

Throughout the area, adobe-like exteriors decorate everything from the massive Ralphs shopping center to simple street signs. Spanish tile roofing crowns most structures, including the small shelter areas at bus stops. Cox said more than half of the corridor area has been developed in the Early California style.

The book was prepared to make it easier for developers, architects and city staff members to come to terms on aesthetics as the rest of the area is developed, Cox said.

Written architectural guidelines are a fairly new thing in the San Gabriel Valley but may be catching on.

For years, cities have created design review boards to oversee proposed development. But most don’t have a book that outlines every aspect of a particular style for developers.

Duarte’s book was prepared by the urban planning firm of FORMA Design Inc. of Rancho Cucamonga. The firm has also developed design books for Laguna, Rancho Cucamonga and San Marcos.

Heinz A. Lumpp, senior director at FORMA, said he has seen an increase in demand for these types of guidebooks and his company has even printed a pamphlet, “How to Do Design Guidelines,” for cities that don’t have $30,000 to spend.

Pasadena architect Steve Dahl said a trend toward such guidelines is developing in Southern California. “You’re going to see a lot more of this type of thing going on,” he said.

“Cities are tired of ugly box buildings that don’t add anything to the area,” he added. “These design requirements are fantastic because the city can achieve a certain style, without all the buildings looking like they came out of a cookie cutter.”

Dahl also said the decreased availability of real estate and soaring prices are making it possible for cities to be more choosy about the kinds of development they allow.

Some other San Gabriel Valley cities, such as Pasadena and San Dimas, have design requirements, but most aren’t as focused as Duarte’s. For instance, “Old Pasadena” is one area in which the city carefully watches over development. But the rules cover only a tiny portion of the city.

In San Dimas, another city that has gained a reputation for regulating its historic downtown area, officials have not put their ideas in writing.

But planning associate Rebecca Van Buren said officials there are working on a manual that will be out within six months. The book, which will be similar to Duarte’s, pushes a “Western theme” that characterizes the city in certain commercial areas.

Cox said Duarte does not plan to be as forceful as notoriously design-conscious cities such as Santa Barbara, whose requirements for Spanish-inspired design are so strict that they are simply referred to as “Santa Barbara style.” He said the city will compromise with developers, even if means allowing some steel and glass amid the tile and brick.

“We’ll work with them,” he said. “We’re ready to meet their needs as well as ours.”

Early California Design Corridor Duarte’s recently published Architectural Design Guidelines define a central commerical and residential corridor in which all new construction must conform to the Early California style.