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neighborhood level. The zoning updates
<br />include clear definitions of several land -use
<br />types, including:
<br />® market gardens (or orchards) where food is
<br />grown to be sold
<br />® community gardens, where several indi-
<br />viduals collaborate to grow food
<br />• food membership distribution sites,
<br />farmers markets
<br />The focus of amendments to the
<br />Portland zoning code was to legalize these
<br />activities in all zoning districts, while add-
<br />ing performance standards to address
<br />possible impacts.
<br />Urban agriculture can be applied
<br />to suburban areas, as well. Sacramento
<br />County, a mixed urban/suburban county
<br />in California, adopted a new urban farm
<br />ordinance in 2o1.7. The ordinance permits
<br />market gardens, small farms on vacant
<br />property, and urban ag stands to sell pro-
<br />duce, eggs, honey, and other goods on
<br />the site of an urban farm or garden. The
<br />ordinance also allows egg -laying hens and
<br />ducks on parcels as small as so,000 square
<br />feet, and permits beehives.
<br />Urban agricultural concepts can breathe
<br />new life into urban and suburban neighbor-
<br />hoods. These concepts have applicability
<br />all over the U.S. as changing demographics
<br />and socioeconomic conditions reduce the
<br />demand for inner city and large suburban
<br />lots. (For more information, see "Urban Agri-
<br />culture as an Emergent Land Use," Zoning
<br />Practice, August 2o14: planning.org/media/
<br />document/9oo6887.)
<br />GENTLE INFILL
<br />Thus far, vve have focused on strategies
<br />for unwanted homes and lots in single-
<br />family neighborhoods, and how to use code
<br />enforcement and site acquisition tools to
<br />help address impacts, encourage reuse of
<br />structures, or provide alternative uses for
<br />the structure or land. What about areas
<br />where new housing supply is needed, but the
<br />existing homogenous single-family neigh-
<br />borhood is not meeting the market or social
<br />demand for new housing, particularly work-
<br />force housing? One concept that is gaining
<br />traction is "gentle infill," where infill devel-
<br />opment is compatible with its surroundings
<br />to achieve urban design goals and produce
<br />more housing.
<br />TWEk,' 3
<br />i
<br />Some municipalities explicitly -encourage larger, mo
<br />minimum dwelling unit requirements.
<br />Zoning codes are typically full of provi-
<br />sions that prohibit housing through scale
<br />and density constraints. Some jurisdictions
<br />even have minimum dwelling unit sizes with
<br />the express intent of encouraging larger,
<br />more expensive homes. Market solutions, in
<br />the form of smaller units, can be facilitated
<br />with zoning changes and respond to demand
<br />for missing middle housing.
<br />In 2009, the town of Mammoth Lakes,
<br />California, recognized that infill could be a
<br />way to bring more development and vital-
<br />ity to town, particularly with respect to
<br />workforce housing. It adopted a Community
<br />Benefit/Incentive Zoning Policy (CB/IZ). The
<br />idea behind the CB/IZ was to provide devel-
<br />opment incentives (zoning flexibility, impact
<br />fee reductions, etc.) in exchange for commu-
<br />nity benefits such as workforce housing.
<br />A draft Downtown Revitalization Action
<br />Plan was presented to the town council
<br />in September 2oi7. This plan includes an
<br />"incremental development overlay ordi-
<br />nance" and includes concepts such as:
<br />• expedited planning and permit processing
<br />® allowing shared parking, off -site parking,
<br />and other creative parking solutions
<br />• code flexibility for smaller projects,
<br />particularly with regard to existing non -
<br />conformities
<br />• preapproved building prototypes (e.g.,
<br />mixed uses, housing types, etc.) to
<br />shorten the review process
<br />Microunits that can be built off -site
<br />and brought in on wheels can also play a
<br />role in a gentle-infill strategy, particularly
<br />as temporary or permanent workforce hous-
<br />ing. Microunits can be used as accessory
<br />dwelling units, part of multiunit clusters, or
<br />as freestanding "skinny" homes on small
<br />leftover parcels. Consultant Darin Dinsmore
<br />helped Truckee, California, implement this
<br />incremental infill process to transform an
<br />auto -oriented corridor into a mixed use
<br />community by allowing opportunity sites to
<br />develop with street -fronting uses such as
<br />offices, retail buildings, mixed use buildings,
<br />and town houses. In addition to zoningflex-
<br />ibility, a key component of this approach is
<br />cost containment —allowing fee reductions
<br />or waivers to allow these projects to be built
<br />with less cost.
<br />Dinsmore and others argue for permit
<br />streamlining, permit fee reductions, parking
<br />reductions, and other "breaks" to incentiv-
<br />ize infill development. Riverside, California,
<br />ZONINGPRACTICE 2.18
<br />AMERICAN PLANNING ASSOCIATION Ipage 4
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