Live-Work Space Guidelines

Per www.artistlink.org :

"Many cities have established design guidlines for artist space, typically for artist live/work space. This enables a city to establish criteria by which anyone developing artist space must adhere to, therefore protecting artist from improperly built space. They have been controversial but effective in many cities. Below are some of the basics of design for artist space:  

• Similar to light industrial or lower end office space
• Open simple and flexible space
• Heavy floor loads
• Decent light - large windows, except for film, music and TV which needs absolute silence and darkness for recording
• Typically at least 1000sf for live/work
• Workspace can be built out for very little specific needs
• Dancers need certain ceiling heights, with sprung floors, typically wooden
• Musicians and theater artists have acoustical needs
• Installation artists might need huge spaces
• Glassblowers and pottery makers need spaces that can handle heat and meet standards for hazardous uses "

When searching the Detroit city home page, specific live-work criteria are not immediately found; however, there are zoning initiatives in development that would not only encourage mixed-use developments that include live-work spaces, but it would also allow for agricultural and open space uses.

It seems from looking at a number of property and city sites that "communities don't know whether to treat them [live-work units] as commercial or residential, and that presents problems because of the stricter commercial codes for things such as fire protection and sewer capacity, the need for compliance with the Americans with Disabilities Act, and so on."

http://realestate.msn.com/article.aspx?cp-documentid=13108477