Communities write and adopt new urbanist codes

A handful of municipalities around the US have recently approved or are working on codes designed to promote new urbanist planning and development. McKinney, Texas, city planners recently adopted a land-use plan and a new urbanist zoning overlay for 4,500-acres. More than 1,000 acres were rezoned, making nearly a quarter of the area ready for building. David Craig, whose company owns the parcel that was rezoned, plans to build a mixed-use, walkable neighborhood. The plan includes a professional-level golf course, and unlike most modern courses, substantial portions of the perimeter will not be privatized. The clubhouse will be designed as a civic building. The project will be divided into three districts: neighborhoods, commercial and employment districts, and the Collin McKinney Parkway corridor. The Parkway, a four-lane divided road that runs east-west through the area, is intended to be the center of the project, with high-density residential, commercial, retail, and mixed-use development. According to a study solicited by the city last year, the project could potentially include 25,000 residents and provide the city with a $16 million net increase in annual property tax revenues. City planners say the area’s major landowners support the development. Santa Fe County The Board of Santa Fe County Commissioners adopted the Santa Fe Community College District Plan and Ordinance in December, 2000. This plan and code was commissioned as part of the 1999 Santa Fe County Growth Management Plan and designates a 17,000-acre district for future development entirely according to development principles that parallel new urbanist and smart growth initiatives. All new development not in existing neighborhoods will be required to take the form of new mixed-use villages that are clustered within large amounts of open space. Many of the design standards have been derived from the existing traditional villages and local vernacular. County planners refer to the approach as “new ruralism,” and believe these strategies are effective in planning on a regional scale. Columbus, Ohio Columbus, Ohio, has been working on a traditional neighborhood development (TND) code. The code is based on TND and Transect codes developed by Duany Plater-Zyberk & Company (DPZ), which has consulted with the city over the last two years. Columbus took DPZ’s codes and spent substantial time making modifications while working with citizens, building industry, and real estate groups, according to Reza Reyazi, the city planner in charge of writing the code. Columbus has pared DPZ’s Transect down to four tiers — Edge, General, Neighborhood Center, and Town Center. Originally the code did not have a minimum acreage. But city planners attached a two-acre minimum to alleviate fears that somebody might use the TND code to develop a single lot. Street widths were a significant issue — some residents were worried that school buses could not travel down streets, or that snow could not be plowed, Reyazi says. “It’s good that we already have lots of examples of narrow streets in Columbus, and we told people to look at them and drive down them and see for themselves. After that, it was less of a problem.” The code includes residential streets that are as narrow as 22 feet, with parking on one side, and 26 feet, with parking on both sides. Reyazi also quelled fears about alleys. The Columbus code has won mostly favorable reviews from developers and neighborhood groups. It is scheduled to be up for adoption in March, 2001.