Agenda - Planning Commission - 02/03/1998

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DECEMBER 1997 AMERICAN PLANNING ASSOCIATION I III Zoning in Context By Lee D. Einsweiler, AICP Zoning has a well-deserved reputation as a rigid, inflexible tool. And historically this has been tree, especially in smaller jurisdictions that lack support for more discretionary mechanisms for development regulation. Many communities, however, have made substantial efforts to add more flexibility in standard zoning districts, without the need for discretionary decision making (such as planned unit developments or design review boards). These techniques are collectively described as contextual zoning. This issue of Zoning News illustrates the Piffsburgh In 1958, the city cif Pittsburgh (pop. 370,000) replaced its existing zoning code with an urban renewal style of code that emphasized standards that were suburban in character. The 1958 code had a tendency to ravage existing neighborhood character in the older portions of the city. By the 1990s, Pittsburgh officials realized that much of the city's development permitting in existing neighborhoods was occurring through the variance process. It was clear the code would need a fine-grained approach to differentiate among the city's neighborhoods. A review of the pre-1958 zoning code provided an early model with separate use and developmentsubdistricts. The new use of these techniques in several jurisdictions---one complex infill and redevelopment setting where the · acceptance of regulation was fairly high (Pittsburgh) and one where regulatory tolerance was very Iow (Baytown, Texas). The Concept The idea of using context--the immediate setting in which a building is located--in reviewing development proposals is drawn from historic preservation guidelines. In reviewing modifications to historic buildings or within a historic district, context is often the key factor in deciding whether changes are appropriate. However, the context of historic buildings is typically judged by professionals with expertise in preservation or laypersons with a special ~ 1 2 3 4 s ~ Ve~ Lew*O~Mtl~' r~ly Moderate-Density Hlg~ V~H~n~ Building Type Re~i~ T~Un~ Retinal ~ee-U~l R~I neighborhood character by right through standard zoning mechanisms that can be reviewed in a shorter time period and that do not require special expertise, either in preparing the application or in reviewing the proposal. Contextual zoning is an attempt to meet that need. It is a way to create flexibility based on the actual character of the area surrounding a proposed development. Contextual zoning can rely on the simplest of tools (a site visit with a measuring tape) or make use of rectified aerial photographs often found in the tax assessor's or appraiser's office. With the advent of easy-to-use desktop geographic information systems that illustrate lot lines, building footprints, and existing uses, contextual zoning is now easier to administer than ever before. interest in the topic. This design review ~ process is frequently time-consuming and ~ fraught with excessive attention to details $ outside the scope of formal design. ~- review. What many communities are seeking Five residential use subdistricts (rows) and five development subdistricts (columns) is a way to preserve existing produce sixteeen distinct zoning districts in Pittsburgh. code creates five residential use subdistricts that define the prlmary type of housing (detached, attached, duplex, triplex, and multifamily) and five development subdistrlcts that define development intensity (very low, low, moderate, high, very high density). The standards define lot size, lot area per unit, setbacks, and height. The combination of use and development standards districts allows a wide variation in neighborhood character, from suburban to intensely urban, without the burden of hundreds of separate residential zoning districts to define existing neighborhoods. More importantly, context based on adjacent structures is used to set height and setbacks for any redevelopment or infill lot. Older platted lots and neighborhoods often have amazing consistency in setbacks and other aspects of bulk and massing, 76,