Date: Held first Wednesday of month. Time: 3:30pm Location: City Council Chambers (lower level) 57 E. First Street
The Design Review Board is composed of seven members who are residents of the City, and who volunteer their services. The Mayor, with the approval of the City Council, appoints the members of the Board.
The Design Review Board is unique in that its composition is set by the Zoning Ordinance to include two architects, two from other design professions (i.e. landscape architecture, engineering, urban planning, interior design or other design-related background), one contractor or developer, and two citizens.
The purpose and duties of the Design Review Board have changed and evolved over the 16 years it has existed. The original purpose of the Board was to hear appeals of decisions made by the Building Safety Division regarding the newly adopted Design Guidelines. It now reviews: buildings of four or more stories in height; any multiple residential projects in the R-3 and R-4 density ranges; commercial and industrial projects that have frontage on an arterial street, or that are part of an existing or planned development that has frontage on an arterial street; and any commercial and industrial projects which have, or will have, greater than twenty thousand (20,000) square feet of gross floor area. The Board also Reviews parking garages, and City of Mesa municipal projects.
Other duties of the Board include recommending proposed changes in design and development standards to the City Council; hearing and deciding requests for exterior illumination used as a means to outline a building or portion thereof for purposes of architectural embellishment; and reviewing and deciding requests for exceptions to height limits as specified in Chapter 14 of the Zoning Ordinance.
The main focus of the Design Review Board is to ensure that new buildings are well designed and landscaped - and will remain so in the future – to promote the high quality aesthetic appearance of all new developments.
The Design Review meets on the first Wednesday of every month at 3:30 p.m. in the lower level of the City Council Chambers, 57 E. First St.
