Commissioners call for flexible materials and corner-building guidelines in downtown design code

Commissioners asked staff and consultants to broaden the draft downtown design standards to explicitly allow common cement-fiber siding products and to add guidance for corner buildings.

A commissioner noted the draft table of allowed materials does not specifically list common cement-fiber products and asked that LP Hardie Plank be permitted as a standard, and that some existing wood siding be treated as allowable in particular contexts.

"They're getting away from some of these standards that are in the draft table, primarily cement fiber... making sure that Hardie Plank is allowed in that," the commissioner said, urging more flexibility in the code.

Commissioners also requested the code include special guidelines for corner buildings downtown—an item they said had been discussed in earlier conversations about building heights and corner elements—so that corner treatments are explicitly addressed rather than left to discretionary interpretation.

One commissioner asked consultants to pull language from a restrictive best-practice code to adopt for Port Washington so planners can apply clearer objective standards. Consultants agreed to update the draft materials table and add corner-building guidance as part of the September revisions.

No formal vote was taken on the materials or corner-guideline requests; the commission asked staff and consultants to incorporate the changes into the next draft for review.