Agenda - Planning Commission - 06/05/2008

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+,' Oklahoma CitY, Oklahoma: Zoning Ordinance , ;: Design gUidelines as well as site-specific yard and bulk regulations, are combined , :~with traditional zoningcontrols to guide the form and character of.new development "in Oklahoma City's Downtown Business District; DowntownTransitional District 'Limited, and Downtown Transition District General. These regulations are interpreted and enforced via a downtown design review certificate of approval for all projects, whether public or private. +: NoblesviUe, tndiana: Corporate Campus The Corporate ,Campus Plan and Development Regulations, which covers nearly six square miles, lays o'ut recommendations for land-use and transportation Improve- ments. Further, it contains detailed development policy and urban design guidelines to assure that the character of new development meets the expectations and values of the community. This is achieved through the provision of an overall land-use plan, a set of land-use arid urban design policies, and design guidelines that are depicted in the form of several illustrative plans designed to give developers a clear statement of the community's intent~ The implementation of this plan is governed by a specific design set of zoning controls which are incorporated in a Corporate Campus Zoning District. + Park Ridge, Illinois-Zoning Ordinance The B-4 Uptown Business District is i11tendedtci sustain the current commercial, pedestrian-oriented character, and eConomic viability of the central business dis- trict. Hybrid coding is used to ensure that newdevelopment is consistent with Uptown's established scale, architecture, and mix of uses. In ordertorefine the regulations for this district, a series 'of subdistricts have been created with dis- tinct use and bulk regulations. applied to everY nonconformity, because many may be undesirable and should be eliminated. It is; however, a useful tool to help preserve existing structures that may violate existing'code requirements butthat have distinct character- giving elements in the community. For example, new residential height restric- tions maymake certain homes with more elabo- rate roof forms nonconJorming because of maxi- mum height violations, but keeping the old height restrictions may lead to undesirable resi- dential infill that is out of character and out of scale. The solution may be to tailor the height restrictions to prevent the out-of-scale construc- tion but deem the existing structures, which vio- late that restriction, conforming. In all cases, a "deemed confonning" provision should be verY specific in application and carefully considered before codification. Riverside's original ordinance used an interior residential height measurement that did not regulate overall building height. Because building height is a key bulk control, part of the update established both a set building height and a building height setback plane. Together, these co'ntrols manage the scale and volume of new construction. Because the new ordinance includes a defini- tive building height that could result in taller The solution may be to tailor the height restrictions to prevent the out-of-scale construction but deem the existing structures, which violate that restriction, conforming. buildings, the village wanted to control overall volume with a setback plane. The actual dimensions of these regulations were based upon the predominant design characteristics of existing homes. For example, most homes of the desired scale had a sidewall height of approximately 23.feet. Therefore, atthe mini- mum side yard setback, the building height setback plane permits 23 feet as the maxi- mum sidewall height attheminimum side yard setback. If a higher sidewall height is desired, the builder must provi.de a larger side yard setback. In addition, the neVf controls allowed dormers and gables; common to Riverside's residential architecture, to pierce this enve- lope. However, with new restrictions on build- ing height, the village was concerned that a number of existing homes, many of which could be historic, violated the new restric- tions. Rather than treat thes.e existing homes as non conformities, which by definition are intended for gradual elimination, all homes that existed on the ,date of adoption of the ordinance that did not comply with the build- ing height restrictions were deemed confonn- ing to encourage their preservation. THE BEST OF BOTH WORLDS A hybrid code incorporates the best of both worlds. Fonn-based elements target areas that need refined design regulation, while thpse parts of the code thatwork remain as they are. The public process elicits design controls that are supported and desired by the community, and creates a code understood and trusted by . residents. By keeping what works and using form-based technIques to targetspecific areas or issues, a traditional zoning code can achieve the same results as a form-based code without having to start ITom scratch. VOL 25, NO.5 Zoning Practice is arilonthty publicat.ion of the American Planning Association. Subscriptions are available for $75 (U.S.) and $loe (foreign).' W. Paul Farmer, FAlCP, Executive Director; William R. Klein, AICP, Director of Research. Zoning Practice (ISSN 1548-0135) Is produced at APA. Jim Schwab, AICP, and David Morley, Editors; Julie Von Bergen, Assistant Editor; Lisa Barton, Design and Production. Copyright <92008 by American Planning Assoc!ation, 122 S. Michigan Ave., Suite 1600, Chicago, IL 60603. The American Planning Association also has offices at 1776 Massachusetts Ave., N'.W., Washington, D.C. 20036; www.planning.org. All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced or utilized in any fonn or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any Information storage and retrieval system, without pennisslon iri writing from the American Planning Association. Printed on recycled paper, including 50-70% recycled fiber and 10% postconsumer waste. 111 ZONING PRACTICE 5.08 AMERICAN PLANNING ASSOCIATION I page 7