Agenda - Planning Commission - 04/04/2013

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and access either within the section on parking and loading, as an aspect of park- ing facility design, or in a subsection fo- cused on design for internal circulation and streetscape character within a special dis- trict, such as a TOD zone. Few communities, however, have expressly tied those require- ments to a community -wide CS policy or to connectivity goals for the transportation system as a whole. The Charlotte ordinances provide one example linking a municipal CS policy with subdivision site design as well as special district design. For a comprehensive approach to incorporating CS directives into zoning, two complementary methods should be considered: (1) CS- supportive provisions in special district regulations and (2) CS- supportive provisions in citywide design standards. Both should be linked to a com- munitywide CS policy. For specialized zones, including TOD, TND, PUDs and form -based districts, design guidance in the regulations is intended to create a specific type of place with a defined JURISDICTION DISTRICT TYPE Seattle Pedestrian overlay Austin, Texas TND Aurora, Colorado TOD Sarasota County, Florida Form -based code character, where travel by auto is intended to be balanced with other transportation modes. The table above provides a sampling of special zone types and how street design requirements have been used to promote complete streets. Alternately, communities may elect to create a stand -alone section on CS design within an article or chapter of design stan- dards or so- called "supplemental regula- tions." Although few communities have done this, the compendium 21st Century Land Development Code offers a comprehen- sive model zoning subsection (Section 5.23) on street design standards and transporta- tion (bicycle parking standards are included in a separate section on parking). As noted with the examples above, some municipalities go beyond roadwayclas- sification to categorize streets into broader "typologies" that account for nonmotorized road users (pedestrians, bicyclists, and tran- sit) as well as land -use context and environ- mental factors. These typologies can be part of a separate design manual (as was done for Austin) or codified in the zoning regulations (as was done in Sarasota County). In either case, the typologies lay the foundation for considering which CS design elements are desirable in each context. New York City's Street Design Manual includes the following common street typologies: • General Streets are the most prevalent street design and can be tailored to serve both local and through street contexts. This design frequently emphasizes motor vehicle access and movement, but the street may also include dedicated facilities STREET DESIGN PROVISIONS OVERVIEW Section 23.34.086 of Seattle's Land Use Code provides for a 'P' designation as an overlay to a number of commercial zones with the intent to "preserve or encourage an intensely retail and pedestrian- oriented shopping district where non -auto modes of transportation to and within the district are strongly favored." Design criteria include the use of building setback areas for sidewalks, lighting, and other pedestrian safety features. Chapter25 -3 of Austin's Land Development includes standards for TND. The regulations refer to the Traditional Neighborhood District Criteria Manual for guidance on innovative street design. This manual includes six street types with associated sketches of preferred design as well as separate specifications for pedestrian paths. Section 146 -728 of Aurora's zoning code addresses TOD District development standards, including those for pedestrian - friendly streets. It refers to the urban street standards in Section 126 -36 -5 of the city's code, which specifies street design standards, including layout, according to street typology. Sarasota County's Village, Hamlet and Settlement Area regulations include 14 acceptable street typologies, with three - dimensional sketches of acceptable street cross - sections and specified widths for sidewalks, planting strips, parking, and travel lanes 611.2.8). for other users, such as pedestrians and bicyclists. • Boulevards are wide streets with multiple roadways and medians and an emphasis on greening and design quality. The medians sometimes include pedestrian and bicycle paths. • Slow Streets are local streets that make extensive use of traffic calming measures to discourage vehicular through traffic, reduce vehicle speeds, green and beautify the streetscape, and create a comfortable envi- ronment for bicycling and walking. • Pedestrian Streets usually involve the full - time restriction of vehicle access to a street, though delivery access may be allowed in off - hours. Bicyclists can either be allowed to ride through or be required to dismount and walk. • A Transit Street exists for exclusive or near - exclusive surface transit (bus) use, or where transit operations are given priority. Even the best conceived CS designs are hampered if land development doesn't do its part. The Model Design Manual for Living Streets, published in 2011 by Los Angeles County, includes the following land- develop- ment design principles to facilitate the success- ful application of complete streets: • The distribution of land uses should be designed to allow everyday destinations (e.g., schools, parks, and retail shops) to be located within a comfortable walking dis- tance of most residences. • All buildings should contribute to the character of the streetscape, face the street with attractive entrances that welcome pedestrians, and have windows that over- look the street to create a sense of security. • The setback between buildings and the sidewalk should be designed to en- hance the pedestrian experi- ence, whether setbacks are attractive landscaped yards that provide privacy for build- ing occupants or shop fronts at the sidewalkthat display merchandise to passing pe- destrians. In no cases should cars, parked or moving, be placed between the sidewalk and the buildings. • Off- street parking and service access and their driveways should be designed to disrupt the pedestrian experience as little as possible. • The mix and intensity of land uses should be designed to support and be supported by efficient transit systems whenever possible. INCENTIVES FOR COMPLETING THE STREETS Any discussion of zoning must include not only how to require developers to provide desired site design and function, but how to encour- age them to do so. In an ideal world, the most successful developments are, from a commu- nity -form perspective, always those where a ZONINGPRACTICE 2.13 AMERICAN PLANNING ASSOCIATION Ipage 6