Agenda - Planning Commission - 06/06/2013

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areas not subject to a FBC. Keep in mind this construction and the property value increase took place, in part, during one of the largest economic recessions in this country's history. Has this gotten your attention yet? Form -Based Codes Are for Greenfields While it is true that modern form -based cod- ing was pioneered by the planners of Seaside, Florida, 3o years ago, FBCs have since proven to be an effective tool for regulating complex urban environments. For the past 10 to 15 years, the practice of form -based coding has focused on replacing existing zoning in existing urban environments. This can be seen in the examples introduced above and the growing list of non- greenfield FBCs (Borys and Talen 2012). FBCs Are Just Guidelines An effective FBC replaces the existing zoning and eliminates the need for guidelines. See the section below that compares different ap- proaches to regulating urban form. Form -Based Coding Is Too Complicated Form -based coding is sometimes seen as be- ing too complicated because the practice is relatively new and not well understood. Unlike conventional zoning, it integrates urban design as an integral part of the coding process. From a procedural perspective, applying a FBC is not any more complicated than a typical rezoning, but writing a successful FBC does require a different skill set than a conventional zoning ordinance. The FBC process engages the com- munity, builds upon the unique characteristics that communities value, and, in the end, is a document that anyone can pick up and easily understand and use. If the task of applying FBCs seems daunting, start small and let it spread. Form -Based Coding Is a Boilerplate Approach Often this misconception originates from in- appropriate use of the SmartCode template. The SmartCode is a free model FBC created by Duany Plater Zyberk & Company, and while it is true that many communities have adopted FBCs based on the SmartCode, the code's au- thors never intended a community to adopt it in whole or in part without first calibrating it to a specific local context. Furthermore, many FBCs are not rooted in the SmartCode at all. In reality, the extensive community character documentation and analysis phase completed in a FBC process is often far more extensive than any community character assessment that is typically done for a Euclidean code, and this extensive pro- cess enables the code writer to extract the unique DNA from a community's urban form and make that the basis for the framework and regulations within the code. This documentation, analysis, and calibration stage will be summarized in part two of this series next month and is dis- cussed comprehensively in Form -Based Codes: A Guide for Planners, Urban Designers, Municipalities, and Developers. Form -Based Codes Do Not Regulate Use While form -based coding uses form rather than use for its framework or organiz- ing principle, FBCs are not silent on use and do include use tables. The use regulations simply become tertiary to the form standards instead of being the primary regulation, and they are simplified and vetted by the code writer so as not to compromise the intent of the FBC. The approach to use tables within FBCs will also be discussed in more detail next month. The Urban -to -Rural Transect Is Not an Effective Organizing Principle The primary misconception about the urban -to -rural transect is that it is too simplistic to capture the variety present in complex built environments. In reality, ap- plications in Miami; Cincinnati; Mesa; El Paso, Texas; Birmingham, Alabama; and the code in progress for Beaufort County, South Carolina, clearly illustrate the complexity and effective- ness of the transect as a zoning tool and its ability to reinforce unique characteristics and patterns of a wide range of places. If the transect is used and presented effectively, with the support of photos and illustra- tions, community members wilt typi- cally "get it" quite quickly. State Laws Prohibit the Use of Form - Based Codes Because FBCs look much different than Euclidean ordi- nances, many people assume that this new approach must be incompatible with existing state zoning enabling laws. While most enabling laws are still rooted in the 1926 Standard State Zoning Enabling Act (SSZEA), the SSZEA is not exclusively use based and does not show a preference for regulating use over form (Sitkowski and Ohm 2006). COMMON MISTAKES TO AVOID Common form -based coding mistakes range from those that are simple to define and are easily OptIcos Design. Inc. ® This illustration of Flagstaff, Arizona's transect illustrates different contexts in the city that became the basis for its form -based zones. ZONINGPRACTICE 5.i3 AMERICAN PLANNING ASSOCIATION 'Page 4