Today, most communities require developers to build high-quality projects. Office developments, subdivisions, and shopping centers must be compatible with surrounding uses and the neighborhood, be designed to minimize traffic impacts, include extensive landscaping, and buildings must have attractive architectural design elements. Clarion Associates is a national leader in developing design standards for all types of projects. We advise government planners on the importance of design guidelines in contributing to overall community quality; and we explain to private developers that well-designed projects provide them a marketing advantage. Our scope of talents in urban design, real estate economics, and land-use planning allows us to develop creative guidelines and standards for a variety of clients and applications. Here are examples of our work in developing design guidelines. Big Box Retail Design Standards, Fort Collins, Colorado Faced with numerous developments that proposed construction of "big box" retail stores, community planners wanted to make sure the shopping centers were attractive, well landscaped, and could handle large traffic volumes. Clarion Associates prepared standards that addressed building design, parking lot layout and landscaping, and neighborhood compatibility. The guidelines, some of the first of their kind in the nation, are now used as a model for planning throughout the country. Client: City of Fort Collins E-470 Corridor Design & Development Standards, Aurora, Colorado E-470 is the Denver metro area's newest highway, an eastern beltway connecting the international airport to the southern suburbs. About 15 miles of the highway run through the City of Aurora. In order to encourage well-organized, high-quality, and architecturally interesting new development, Aurora utilized Clarion's expertise in zoning and design standards. We created 11 new zoning districts and wrote design guidelines for residential and commercial development for the entire corridor. At each interchange, the Clarion guidelines require construction of "regional activity centers" that include a mix of uses, the creation of architecturally distinguished developments at designated focal-point corners, a walkable "Main Street" element, and sensitive siting and landscaping that are all visible from the highway. Client: City of Aurora Urban Design District Standards, Clayton, Missouri Located in the heart of St. Louis, this built-out community has been experiencing high volumes of redevelopment and infill in its existing residential neighborhoods. Although this redevelopment is stimulating the local economy, it also brings significant challenges. Clarion evaluated existing development regulations and drafted development design standards for five urban design districts which addressed building height, architectural style, lot configuration, and tree preservation. Clarion conducted a neighborhood character analysis and tailored standards for each district. Client: City of Clayton