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<br />
<br />understood by staff, the community, property
<br />owners, developers, architects, and others
<br />involved in the development process. While
<br />there will be those controls that require a cer-
<br />tainexpertise, most provisions should be writ-
<br />ten .so that they can be read and interpreted
<br />by the whole community. If residents do not
<br />understand the code, they will not trust it.
<br />
<br />IMPLEMENTATION
<br />Implementing new rules in built environments,
<br />where a substantial zoning tradition tied to
<br />existing bulk and use standards already exists,
<br />is also a challenge.lna sense, a "pure" form-
<br />based code can be easier to 'implement within
<br />a new or growing community because new
<br />development tends to occur upon a clean
<br />slate. A form-based code is easier to accept
<br />when it will be applied only in the future for
<br />new development.
<br />However, within a builtout community,
<br />many residents may feel that their existing
<br />cOde has served them well and do not under-
<br />stand why ariy revision is necessary. Often, a
<br />certain character develops out of tradition, not
<br />regulation, and residents do not realize that
<br />new development-under the existing rules-
<br />is not obligated to "match." In many cases,
<br />existing zoning regulations permit new devel-
<br />opment by-right that is out of scale and char-
<br />acter with existing development; new build-
<br />ings that respect the existing character
<br />happen only by pure luck.
<br />
<br />FIVE STEPS OF HYBRID CODING
<br />The task of integrating design-oriented con-
<br />trols into a code may seem daunting: but there
<br />is a logical schedule of actions that deter-
<br />mines which design elements should be incor-
<br />porated, crafts the proper development con-
<br />trols, and builds public support forthe new
<br />code. This can be broken 'down into five key
<br />steps. To help illustrate this five-step process,
<br />, the Village of Riverside, Illinois, is provided as
<br />an example of how a hybrid code Was drafted,
<br />
<br />A "pure" form-based
<br />code can be easier to
<br />implement within a
<br />new or growing
<br />community because
<br />new development
<br />tends to occur upon a
<br />clean slate.
<br />
<br />adopted, and implemented. Riverside is a
<br />, National Historic District designed by Fredericl~
<br />Law Olmsted, so the built form is a key part of
<br />the community. Priorto adoption of the new
<br />regulations, an outdated zoning ordinance,
<br />which did not address the village's historic
<br />character, controlled the form of development
<br />and potentially permitted projects that were
<br />out of scale,and context. This example
<br />describes the hybrid coding process for both
<br />the central business district (CBD) and the res-
<br />idential districts, which were conducted as
<br />consecutive ordinance updates.
<br />
<br />Step 1: Target the Area ,
<br />The ,first step is to identify the area that will be
<br />subject to the regulations. In this step, the
<br />community must target the appropriate area
<br />and define its boundaries. While the target
<br />area does not require the district to have a
<br />singular character~different components of a
<br />district can be addressed through a subdis-
<br />trict structure-it must have a unifying theme
<br />and purpose. Usually, it relates to a location,
<br />such as a central business district or commer-
<br />cial corridor, or a particular issue, like residen-
<br />tial teardowns, that needs special "form-
<br />based" attention. In terms of code
<br />organization, the targeted area'is often an
<br />
<br />existing zoning district,but it can also require
<br />the creation of new districts or the application
<br />of zoning overlay districts.
<br />After identifying the area, it is also
<br />important to consider the transitions. For
<br />example, if the anticipated form-based regu-
<br />, lations are forthe downtown, which is sur-
<br />rounded by single-family residential, it is
<br />important to address the transition from.
<br />commercial to residential, especially ifthe
<br />downtown revisions encourage increased
<br />height or density. For example, regulations
<br />for a transition area may require town
<br />houses as a bJjffer between downtown
<br />development and surrounding Single-family
<br />homes. This is where the subdistrict struc-
<br />ture is useful.
<br />Many times the issues throughout the
<br />targeted area are not the same. Using the
<br />same downtown example, a single set of
<br />architectural standards may bea'ppropriate
<br />for the entire area, but the use structure may
<br />not be, A downtown core would desire more
<br />lively uses like retail stores, coffee shops, and
<br />restaurants, while office uses along the
<br />ground floor would not be appropriate.
<br />However, ground-floor offices could be ideal
<br />for other commercial streets within the dis-
<br />trict. The subdistrict structure can take them
<br />into account much like the town house transi-
<br />tion area. This organizational technique
<br />allows a community to tailor the uses for each
<br />of these subareas to achieve specific goals,
<br />while' maintaining the Sc;lme design character
<br />throughout.
<br />In Riverside, zoning forthe CBD required
<br />definition of the area, while the residential
<br />districts dealt with the issue of out-of-scale
<br />,neW development. This provides a good illus-
<br />tration of how hybrid coding can be either
<br />place or issue specific. In the case of the eBD,
<br />all of the village's business uses were
<br />grouped under one zoning classification,
<br />which did not distinguish between the his-
<br />toric CBD and the commercial 'corridor uses
<br />
<br />ZONING PRACTICE 5.08 107
<br />AMERICAN PLANNING ASSOCIATION I page 3
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