Morrisville Land Use Plan 2021

Regional Activity Centers feature a mix of uses that create regional destinations, typi- cally located at key intersections along major transportation corridors. These areas include concentrations of large regional employers, commercial, entertainment, and high density residential. Regional Activity Centers provide improved access to jobs, a compatible mix of uses, and access to a variety of transportation options. Preferred Uses ⊲ Office ⊲ Institutional and civic ⊲ Commercial retail and service ⊲ Large shopping center ⊲ Restaurants ⊲ Entertainment and cultural Regional Activity Center

Key Considerations ⊲ Recent trends in online retail warrant a new approach to in-person shopping. Encourage design that fosters attractive destinations where people seek to visit places for an experience, rather than a product. ⊲ Allow for the integration of prominent visual landmarks like sculptures and ornamental structures near corners and entryways to further enhance Morrisville’s image & identity. ⊲ Encourage large sidewalks that can accom- modate outdoor dining and seating. ⊲ Ensure that common open spaces like plazas or public seating areas are easily accessible and placed in locations with higher pedestrian activity and visibility. ⊲ Continue to discourage buildings from orienting large blank walls toward primary streets. ⊲ Encourage infill development of underuti - lized parking lots in existing regional activity centers.

⊲ Continue to require ample landscaping tree plantings and pedestrian havens to reduce the visual impact of surface parking lots. ⊲ Promote the use of vertical gardens, decorative fencing, and other structural elements to help screen utility areas. ⊲ Continue to allow flexible shared parking alternatives as various uses in these activity centers have peak parking demands at different times of the day. ⊲ Encourage the use of on-street parking where appropriate as a way to break up larger surface lots and provide convenient parking for retail or service uses. ⊲ Consider design elements that reduce the scale of retaining walls such as vegetation, stone, and terracing. ⊲ Utilize transitional elements between the public realm of the shopping area and the private realm of adjacent residential areas such as recessed entries, ornamental gates, courtyards, and ground-level landscaping. ⊲ Multi-modal transportation connections or easements should be provided to link surrounding uses to major retail and service hubs.

⊲ Lodging and hospitality ⊲ Multi-family residential ⊲ Mixed-use development

28 Morrisville Land Use Plan | Chapter 4 – Future Land Use