The purpose of the design overlay district is to protect developed areas of the City characterized by uniqueness of established neighborhood character, architectural coherence and harmony, or vulnerability to deterioration. This is accomplished through controlling the patterns of architectural design and development in residential and commercial neighborhoods, which may include new construction, alterations, and demolitions. Only exterior changes to buildings, structures, and sites within public view may be regulated. Design Overlay Districts are also used for GIS mapping and analysis.

Town of Richmond, MA GIS Viewer

Street Frontage uses linear features which are digitized along the inner edge of sidewalks, coincident with the frontage of either parcel properties or building footprints. Instead of creating two separate feature classes, the Street Frontage features contain a “Frontage Type” attribute field, which is used to identify the street frontage zoning for the feature; Street-Oriented Commercial Frontage, or Priority Street. While a single linear feature cannot be attributed as both zoning types, two separate street frontage features may be overlapping (duplicated features with alternate FrontageType attributes), such that locations will show/map both zoning types exists along a street frontage. GIS mapping that shows only one of the two FrontageTypes exists means that there are not coincident features. Street-Oriented Commercial Frontage: Buildings on streets that are designated as Street-Oriented Commercial must have ground floor commercial uses, which activate the street edge and work toward creating a more walkable environment. Streets which are significant to a given property and the larger neighborhood, where buildings are required to face and engage with the street through fenestration and siting requirements.

Richmond Public Schools Elementary School Zones.