Agenda - Planning Commission - 07/01/2004

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design director, Charles Cash, Louisville Metro is looking towards larger future development goals that conventiona{ zoning may not sup- port. THE .5/VlARTCO DE The SmartCode has its foundation in the con- cept of transect planning, an approach to the implementation of New Urbanist and Smart Growth principles advocated by Andres Duany and Emily Talon. Drawing on ecological analo- gies, transect planning establishes a series of environments - called "ecozones" - on a con- tinuum from rural to urban. These ecozones are distinguished by varying density and char- acter of the built en¥ironment. The transect incorporates the New Urbanist principles of mixed land uses. the importance of public space, and pedestrian accessibiliW through- out the continuum, These principles are expressed at different scales and in different forms depending upon location on the tran- sect (e.g., hamlet, village, and downtown). As opposed to the normal process of writ- ing a comprehensive plan and then modifying zoning and development regulations to fit it, transect planning views the plan and the code as inseparaNe. The transect zone system has been coded by Ooany Plater-Zyberk and Company and copyrighted as the "SmartCode." The SmartCode is made available to com- munities to.purchase as a license, establishing a regulatory template to build upon and tailor to their individual circumstances. The tem- plate includes general parameters for transect zones, rangin§ from T-1 (the "Natural Zone") to T. 6 (the "Urban Core Zone"). Sample design standards, inc[uding building height, frontage, intensity of uses, and street design, are pro- vided for each transect zone. The theory behind the SmartCode is to encompass the spectrum of landscapes within an entire community or region, in practice, however, similar to the form-based codes that have been adopted, the initial application of the SmartCode has been to distinct areas Within a c6mmunity. Nashville and Oavids0n County, Tennessee, has incorporated the tran- sect planning concept on a regional basis into its comprehensive plan and is beginning to translate the concept to the zoning re§ulations on a neighborhood or subarea basis. The city of Saratoga Springs, New York, was one of the first communities to adopt the SmartCode to implement comprehensive plan principles, including enhanced urban infill in the downtown core as an alternative to the sprawl- lng deve{opment pa(terns facilitated by conven- tional zoning. The transect model was applied as a new approach to concentrate development in the Oown[own District, which was one of the seven special develop- ment areas identified in the comprehensive plan. The Downtown District was divided into three urban transect categories that replaced the existing zon- ' in§ districts: the Urban Neighborhood Neighborhood Center iT-5), and Urban Core iT-6). Design standards were established for set- backs, height, parking location, street design, fat;ado treatments, and creation ora public realm. The transect zones regulate use in a limited capacity to encourage mixed-use development. Any ~se is allowed in the T-6 zone and each new use proposed in the T-4 and T-5 zones requires a specie( use permit with a flexible review process. According to city planner Geoffrey Bornemann, several new mixed-use develop- meats have been proposed in the city since adoption of the code. Whether this develop- ment interest can be attributed to the code is not certain since there is already a strong real estate market in Saratoga Springs. However, the flexibility of the new code is attracting developers who are responsive to more inno- vative design practices. More traditional . developers, who were at first skeptical, are also starting to embrace the new code. S~i'atoga Springs is already seeing posi- tire resuitS from the SmartCode but is still about two to three years away from replacing all existing zoning districts with the transect zones. The city is planning to extend the con- cept to residential neighborhoods next to incorporate more mixed use. CONCLUSION The general intent of form-based develop- ment codes is to replace the conventional EucLidean zoning model with regulations that shape the form of development across the different landscapes within a community or region. At this time, communities that have adopted form-based coding and the SmartCode have taken an incrementa~ regula- tory approach by addressing specific geo- graphic areas, typically beginning with the urban core. Further experience is required to determine the potential for expansion to other parts of the community, although the SmartCode provides a more cornpiete system that addresses suburban and rural as well as urban contexts. Louisville Metro appears to be the first iurisdiction to adopt the concept on a regional scale through the form districts. Based on the experience to date, the issues inherent in applying generalized design stoa- dards to site-specific cQnditions and expecta- tions is one key challenge for ~he regional application of form-based deve(opment codes. Tl~e status of conventional zoning as the accepted paradigm for regulating development presents another challenge for form-based development codes. Saratoga Springs is the ZONING PRACTICE 05.04