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neotraditional planning or the new urbanism. The word
<br /> urbanism may seem misleading in connection with rural
<br /> planning, but new urbanist planners are really designing
<br /> traditional compact towns, villages, and city neighborhoods
<br /> that can work in either setting. These places are friendly to
<br /> pedestrians and make it possible to walk to shops, schools, jobs,
<br /> parks, and entertainment. They reduce dependency on the
<br /> automobile and allow some families to have only one car. They
<br /> may be dense enough to make public transportation viable.
<br /> This type of'development is needed if rural landscapes are to be
<br /> preserved and the classic rural settlement pattern maintained.
<br /> People will want to live in such villages only if they are
<br /> attractSve and convenient and offer a sense of community.
<br /> Until recently, this notion seemed out of the question to
<br />most planners, developers, and real estate financiers. The
<br />dominant belief has been that suburban sprawl and commercial
<br />strip development are inevitable because people want to be able
<br />to live on large lots in residential subdivisions and drive their
<br />cars everywhere. An increasingly influential group of planners,
<br />architects, and political leaders is challenging these assumptions.
<br />Evidence of the acceptance of neotraditional development is
<br />mounting with its endorsement by Consumer Reports and
<br />favorable articles in Newsweek and other popular publications.
<br /> As this approach gains political and market acceptance, it
<br />ma7 hold one of the keys to protecting rural areas. It faces
<br />formidable political obstacles, however, because it normally
<br />requires both downzoning of areas that are ro remain rural and
<br />upzoning of designated settlement centers (both typically
<br />opposed b7 residents). The first large-scale successes of this
<br />model have been on large tracts of land held in single
<br />ownership, where the development rights on the open space
<br />land can be efficiently transferred to the village center. Almost
<br />all new urbanist developments have been approved through a
<br />planned unit development provision or other special district,
<br />rather than by following an existing zoning code. I have begun
<br />incorporating new urbanisr principles as an integral element of
<br />the zoning codes I write so that neotraditional development
<br />does not need ro go through a long and arduous special
<br />approval process. The next issue of Zoning News will discuss
<br />examples of the new generation of rural zoning ordinances.
<br />
<br />Housing Policies
<br />scrutinized
<br />
<br />The Twin Cities' Metropolitan Council has adopted housing
<br />goal~ for half the 187 communities in its region. The Februar7
<br />
<br />Zonin~News is a monthly newsletter published by the American Planning
<br />Association. Subscriptions are available for $50 (U.S.) and $65 (foreign).
<br />FrankS. So. Executive Director; \"7illiam R. Klein, Director of Research.
<br />Zoning Naws is produced ar APA. Jim Schwab, Editor; Fa7 Dolnick, Scott Dvorak,
<br />Michelle Gregory, Sanja7 .leer, Megan Lewis, Doug Martin, Marya Morris, Marry
<br />Roupe, Aaron Shelley, Laura Thompson, Reporters; Cynthia Cheski, Assistant
<br />Edltos; Lisa Barton, Design and Production.
<br />
<br />Copyright 01996 by American Planning Association, 122 S. Michigan Ave., Suite
<br />1600, Chicago, IL 60603. The American Planning Assoclarlon has headquarters
<br />office~at 1776 Massachusetts Ave., N.W., Washington, DC 20036.
<br />All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced or utilized in any
<br />,Corm or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording,
<br />or by any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing
<br />from the American Planning Association.
<br />
<br />Printed on recycled paper, including 50-70% recycled fiber
<br />and 10% postconsumer waste. ~
<br />
<br /> action stems from findings that affordable housing }l~as not kep:
<br /> pace with job growth and that many suburban communities '
<br /> have exclusionar7 housing policies. In a 1994 stud7, Barbara
<br /> Lukermann of the Hubert H. Humphrey Institute of Public
<br /> Affairs and Michael P. Kane of the Center for Urban and
<br /> Regional Affairs, both in Minneapolis, examined the land-use
<br /> planning practices and regulatory requirements in 10 area
<br /> suburbs to assess the extent to which these practices limit
<br /> housing choices for low- and moderate-income households. (See
<br /> Land Use Practices: Exclusionary Zoning, de Facto or de Jure?,
<br /> "Zoning Reports," April.)
<br /> The study found that many of' the communities had stared
<br /> policies in their comprehensive plans to achieve a certain percent-
<br /> age of affordable housing bur in practice continued to facilitate
<br /> market-rate housing. Although their policies did not completely
<br /> exclude low- and moderate-income housing, they have not created
<br /> realistic opportunities for developing it. Lukermann and Kane
<br /> offered seven strategies for further consideration:
<br />· Property tax reform to treat rental housing on a par with
<br /> owner-occupied housing.
<br />· Refocus local zoning regulations toward urban design
<br /> performance standards in lieu of current density requirements.
<br />· Adopt local policies that will prevent future concentrations
<br /> of poverty in any neighborhood.
<br />· Create a regional funding pool that would reward
<br /> communities that are strongly motivated to diversify their
<br /> housing stock.
<br />· Elevate the Metropolitan Development Guide's Housing Policy
<br /> Plan chapter to system status, thus increasing the
<br /> Metropolitan Council's authority to link the achievement of
<br /> affordable housing goals with access to regionally funded
<br /> infrastructure improvements.
<br />· Reestablish a fair share housing program at the regional level
<br /> where achievement is linked to both incentives and penalties
<br /> that can be effectively enforced.
<br />· Tighten monitoring over the criteria for use of local
<br /> resources in subsidizing the local housing market.
<br />
<br /> Last year, influenced by this study and by prodding from
<br />Stare Rep. Myron Orfield, the Minnesota legislature passed the
<br />Metropolitan Livable Communities Act to address housing
<br />affordability, polluted property cleanup, and urban sprawl issues.
<br /> The Metropolitan Council has long held the authority under
<br />its review powers to influence local policies to adhere to regional
<br />goals. The 1985 Guide indicated that the Metropolitan Council
<br />would recommend priority in funding from various state and
<br />federal programs based on a community's present provision of
<br />housing for low- and moderate-income persons and its
<br />commitments to provide such housing in the future. Last
<br />spring, the council entered into negotiations with several
<br />suburbs to establish land-use planning practices that would
<br />encourage or protect housing options for low-income families.
<br />Maple Grove and Plymouth agreed to increase housing density
<br />and reassess local controls while Brooklyn Park agreed to
<br />preserve and improve existing low-income housing. The
<br />impetus was that these communities will be the major
<br />beneficiaries of the Elm Creek Interceptor, a $71 million, 20-
<br />mile sewer line. In order to justify that expense, the council
<br />asked that they submit housing agreements to assure their
<br />progress towards participating in metropolitanwide goals.
<br /> Scott Dvorak
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