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CI Flint, Michigan's Green Neighborhood district addresses the transformation from disinvested residential blocks
<br />to sustainable multiuse neighborhoods.
<br />rently don't exist. District regulations establish
<br />a series of standards aimed at mitigating the
<br />impacts of development, regardless of the use.
<br />This approach, similar to performance-based
<br />zoning, considers impacts related to noise,
<br />vibration, light pollution, stormwater runoff,
<br />air pollution, and substantial buffering from
<br />adjacent uses.
<br />How does an applicant gain approval
<br />for development? Creativity is best served
<br />through an effective planned unit develop-
<br />ment (PUD) procedure. Through the PUD
<br />process, applicants can make their case for
<br />how their proposed use meets the established
<br />"green" criteria, what measures will be taken
<br />to mitigate potential impacts, and what overall
<br />benefits their development will have on the
<br />community as it strives to become a leader in
<br />green industry.
<br />Green Neighborhoods
<br />Flint has experienced a dramatic loss in pop-
<br />ulation—a decrease of ioo,000 people in the
<br />last 5o years. With a residential population
<br />that is about half of what is was at its peak,
<br />large areas of once thriving neighborhoods
<br />are largely or entirely vacant. As ofJune 2013,
<br />the Genesee County Land Bank owned almost
<br />one-fifth of all parcels in the city, a number
<br />that is expected to increase. As a result there
<br />are several neighborhoods that simply aren't
<br />coming back. The master plan designated
<br />these areas as the Green Neighborhood place
<br />type in order to foster a managed transition
<br />from traditional neighborhoods to low-density
<br />blocks that integrate green nonresidential
<br />uses. This raised two key questions during
<br />the drafting of zoning regulations: How do we
<br />transition to lower -density neighborhoods?
<br />And how do we introduce nonresidential uses
<br />in a sensitive manner?
<br />Conditions vary widely in areas zoned
<br />as Green Neighborhoods. In some areas, vast
<br />disinvestment makes the transition to large-
<br />lot/green residential easy. However, in other
<br />areas, enough homes remain that the new
<br />district would create a significant number of
<br />nonconformities. As a result, the zoning dis-
<br />trict was separated into two subdistricts that
<br />allow for new green uses in the short-term and
<br />manage changing residential density in the
<br />long-term.
<br />The master plan process included ex-
<br />tensive discussions on the role of local food
<br />production, animals and livestock, and energy
<br />production in Flint's neighborhoods. The
<br />challenge is accommodating these uses in a
<br />way that won't negatively impact remaining
<br />residences. The Green Neighborhood district
<br />allows for single-family homes, community
<br />gardens, open spaces, small-scale urban
<br />agriculture, greenhouses, apiaries, hydropon-
<br />ics, aquaculture, aquaponics, and private
<br />renewable energy production as primary uses.
<br />In subsequent articles, general development
<br />regulations or use standards regulate several
<br />characteristics for these uses, including loca-
<br />tion on the site relative to adjacent structures,
<br />hours of operation, the types of machinery and
<br />fertilization that are permitted, locations for
<br />infrastructure systems and venting, and protec-
<br />tive buffers or enclosures.
<br />Community Education
<br />As the draft zoning ordinance was unveiled
<br />to the public for review and comment, it was
<br />obvious that an education campaign was nec-
<br />essary to demonstrate the connection between
<br />the master plan and the zoning regulations
<br />aimed at implementing the plan. The project
<br />team developed the Zoning Quick Reference
<br />Guide, which is used by city staff in a series
<br />of public zoning workshops. The reference
<br />guide uses elements of the master plan and
<br />juxtaposes them with summarized zoning
<br />standards in order to demonstrate the cor-
<br />relation between the community's vision and
<br />the rules that will govern development. This
<br />product is the culmination of a planning and
<br />zoning process that considered the realities
<br />of Flint's market potential, the need to engage
<br />and inform residents and stakeholders, and
<br />the need to clearly demonstrate how the plan's
<br />vision could be realized with the new zoning
<br />ordinance.
<br />CONCLUSIONS
<br />The next time you consider amending or re-
<br />placing your zoning ordinance in an effort to
<br />implement a recently adopted plan, just re-
<br />member: Rather than focusing first on the type
<br />of zoning you may need to use (Euclidean,
<br />form -based, or hybrid), ask yourself what the
<br />most effective and efficient way to amend the
<br />code is in order to realize planning objectives.
<br />Once you determine which method is best
<br />calibration, modernization, or transforma-
<br />tion—you can determine which type of zoning
<br />is best.
<br />ZONINGPRACTICE 8.15
<br />AMERICAN PLANNING ASSOCIATION I page 6
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