The Death of the Fringe Suburb

CHRISTOPHER B. LEINBERGER, New York Times, Nov 25, 2011 http://www.nytimes.com/2011/11/26/opinion/the-death-of-the-fringesuburb.html?_r=1&scp=5&sq=sprawl&st=cse

Environmental Land Protection and Response to Sprawl

The Design response: New Urbanism, etc.

The Government response: Smart Growth through Growth Management

The Local response: where most of the action is. The Regional response: The Regional City? The State response: State-wide and critical areas The Federal response: mostly indirect effects

Growth Management
Government policies, plans, investments, incentives, and regulations to guide the type, amount, location, timing, and cost of development to achieve a responsible balance between the protection of the natural environment and the development to support growth, a responsible fit between development and necessary infrastructure, and enhanced quality of community life.

Smart Growth
Emphasizes development in areas of existing infrastructure and deemphasizes development in areas less suitable for development. By doing so, it supports and enhances existing communities, conserves natural and working landscapes, and saves the cost of new infrastructure.

U.S. EPAs Ten Principles for Smart Growth

1.

2.

3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8.

9. 10.

Preserve Open Space, Farmland, Natural Beauty and Critical Environmental Areas Strengthen and Direct Development Towards Existing Communities Take Advantage of Compact Building Design Mix Land Uses Create Range of Housing Opportunities and Choices Provide a Variety of Transportation Choices Create Walkable Neighborhoods Foster Distinctive, Attractive Communities with a Strong Sense of Place Encourage Community and Stakeholder Collaboration Make Development Decisions Predictable, Fair and Cost Effective

Smart Growth Scorecard

Smart Growth Management Tools

Planning

Comprehensive Planning Implementation plans: infrastructure, acquisition Conventional zoning Innovative regulations: overlay, cluster, performance Infrastructure investment: sewer, water, roads Land acquisition Tax policies

Regulatory Tools

Non-regulatory Tools

The Planning Process I

Inventory What do we have? Needs Assessment What are our problems, objectives, priorities? Formulating Strategies, Plans, Programs What should we do? Implementation and Monitoring Lets do it! (an learn from it)

Community Planning Framework

1.

Intelligence: Background Data and Planning Analysis

Land use intelligence involves environmental inventorying and mapping, suitability and carrying capacity analysis, and assessment of land use perceptions. Planning intelligence is used in the process of general, functional, and district planning.

2.

The Network of Plans and Plan Making

a. Regional or Area-wide Plan b. Long Range General or Comprehensive Community-wide Plan c. Community-wide Land Use Plan is visual and spatial manifestation of the long range plan. d. Community-wide Functional Plans address single topics including transportation, infrastructure, housing, economic development, natural environment, green infrastructure, climate action, etc. e. District and Small-area Plans focus on a neighborhood, central business district, TOD redevelopment area, or environmental preservation area. The land use plan for a community comes to life in these district or neighborhood plans.

3.

Implementation Plans and Programs

Implementation plans and programs address the actions necessary to realize the vision, objectives, and strategies of the general, district, and functional plans. Actions include zoning and development regulations, capital improvement plans and budgets, tax policies, and other programs.

4.

Building Community Consensus

Although listed separately here, building community consensus through stakeholder involvement and collaborative planning is necessary throughout the planning process.

The Local Comprehensive or General Plan

The Comprehensive Plan provides a vision adopted by the community and the technical and political basis for growth management and local government programs. Prepared every 4-10 years, the plan has a 10-50 year time horizon.

Vision of the Community Statement of Community Policies Strategic Plan: Goals, Objectives, Strategies Functional or Community-wide Topical Chapters: Natural Environment, Land Use, Parks and Recreation, Utilities, Transportation, Housing, Public Safety District or Sector Plans: Neighborhood plans

Contents of Blacksburg 2007 Comprehensive Plan

Plans can change: Proposed amendments to Loudoun Countys Comprehensive Plan 14,000 signed petitions at election precincts In November 2005 Board rejected plans for 33,000 units in November 2006

Growth Management Tools

Planning

Comprehensive Planning Implementation plans: infrastructure, acquisition

Conventional zoning Innovative regulations: overlay, cluster, performance Infrastructure investment: sewer, water, roads Land acquisition Tax policies

Regulatory Tools

Non-regulatory Tools

Property Law and the Takings Issue

10th Amendment to Constitution grants government police power to protect public health & welfare. 5th Amendment protects private property; the takings clause requires just compensation when government affects a taking of property. Key issues in determining if regulations are an appropriate use of the police power: The regulation must substantially advance legitimate state interests. The "legitimate state interests" must be based on the prevention of public harm rather than the provision of public benefit. The regulation involves a connection (nexus) between the potential private action and achieving the state interest. The regulation does not deny an owner reasonable use of his property. Reasonable use often involves a balancing test of state interests vs. economic impact on the owner.

Lucas Property: Lucas vs. South Carolina Coastal Council, 1992

Blacksburg Zoning Ordinance

Land Use Regulations for Growth Management and Environmental Protection

Conventional Zoning:
Use and density restrictions, often some design standards, e.g., setbacks. For environmental objectives, large-lot zoning sometimes used.

Subdivision Ordinance:
Requirements for layout of streets, drainage, water, sewer, etc., to achieve orderly development at the land subdivision stage.

Agricultural Zoning:

Exclusive: prohibits construction of non-farm buildings. Possible takings conflicts, but often supported in courts when part of comprehensive planning and when development areas are specified. Non-exclusive: allows limited amount of non-farm development Large-lot zoning: may actually convert farmland to development at a faster rate. Sliding-scale zoning: # units per acre decreases as parcel size increases; also, maximum acreage per development unit (eg, 2 acres).

Sliding Scale Zoning

The number of parcels allowed per acre decreases with the size of the parcel. This aims to protect large parcels and protect the agricultural land and the rural landscape.

Land Use Regulations for Growth Management and Environmental Protection (cont.)

Overlay Zoning:

Aims to protect environmental resources or safeguard in natural hazard areas. Overlay District is determined by boundaries of environmental resource or hazard and are place on top of existing zoning. In Overlay District special additional land use restrictions apply, such as restricted development, extra standards, or extra documentation. Used for floodplain zones, seismic hazards, wellhead protection areas, watersheds, habitat zones, riparian zones. Provides density transfers on-site to enable clustering/concentrating development on buildable areas while leaving permanently undisturbed open space on sensitive areas. While zoned for a specific use (e.g., high density residential, large scale commercial, industrial), this zone requires special use permit before approval. Special use permit may require exactions or impact fees and gives local officials negotiating leverage.

Conservation, Open Space or Cluster Zoning:

Conditional Zoning:

Overlay Zoning
For Watershed and Wellhead protection

Blacksburg Zoning Ordinance

Fairfax Countys Environmental Quality Corridor (EQC)

On-Site Density Transfers and Bonuses

Density Bonus Options in Isle of Wight County, VA

Option A provides 1 unit per 5 acres and requires 50% open space Option B, if open space increased to 70%, there is a 100% density bonus

Land Use Regulations for Growth Management and Environmental Protection (cont.)

Performance Zoning:

Requires meeting certain performance criteria rather than prescriptive standards.

Flexible Zoning:

Provides for planned developments or negotiated development based on performance criteria or negotiation. Allows for creativity in development design.
Contains development within a set boundary separating urban and rural uses. Enables transfer of development rights from a preservation zone to a development zone. Landowners in preservation zone are compensated from payments made by landowners in the development zone. Controls not the location but the rate of development or the number of units per year to keep pace with the provision of public services. Developments plans can be approved only if they are concurrent with plans for infrastructure and/or other public services.

Urban Growth Boundaries:

Transfer of Development Rights:

Phased Development:

Concurrency:

Performance-based Planning

Land use regulation based on the application of performance standards Defined by intensity of use rather than type of use Concerned with effects rather than the activity

Prescriptive Zoning

Prescribed standards

Uses that conform to the zone

Performance Zoning

Performance standards

Uses that comply to performance measurement

Purported Benefits of Performance Zoning

Improves the development approval process

Streamlines (?) Provides flexibility

Provides for a diversity of land uses in one area Contributes to better environmental protection Encourages greater stakeholder involvement Integrates good science into the decisionmaking process

Form-based Codes

Comparing Euclidean and Form-based Zoning

Transfer of Development Rights

Purchase of Development Rights (PDR)

Transfer of Development Rights (TDR)

TDR and Smart Growth

TDR in Montgomery County, MD: 41,000 acres protected

Estimated GHG emission mitigation associated with King County TD credits (TDC)

The Regional Context Urban Growth Boundaries

Urban Growth Boundaries

Portland, OR Urban Growth Boundary

Virginia Urban Development Area

Passed 2010, Code 15.2-2223.1

Requires UDAs in every locality with zoning if population growth during decade
>= 15% or >= 5% and population >= 20,000

Minimum UDA density requirements for developable acreage

Land not used for parks, public ROW, other public land and facilities <130,000 population

4 SF, 6 TH, or 12 MFDU per acre

8 SF, 12 TH, or 24 MFDU per acre

>130,000 population

Sufficient to meet projected growth over 10-20 years based on VEC projections

TND requirements may include mixed housing types, with affordable housing to meet the projected family income distributions of future residential growth Compliance by July 1, 2012 or January 2013 reported to CLG

EPAs Smart Growth Fixes of Existing Codes

EPAs Smart Growth Fixes of Existing Codes

Transect Planning and the Smart Code

A transect is a geographical cross-section of a region used to reveal a sequence of environments. It seeks to create an experience of immersion in any one type of environment by specifying and arranging the elements that comprise that environment in a way that is true to locational character, i.e., in a way that is expected given the nature of the place.

Duanys Urban Transect

The Smart Code:

Applying Formbased codes to the Urban Transect

Growth Management Tools

Planning

Comprehensive Planning Implementation plans: infrastructure, acquisition Conventional zoning Innovative regulations: overlay, cluster, performance
Infrastructure investment: sewer, water, roads Land acquisition Tax policies

Regulatory Tools

Non-regulatory Tools

Non-regulatory Tools

Land Acquisition, Conservation Easements, Purchase of Development Rights Provision of Urban Services and Infrastructure

Roads, water and sewer Build it, they will come. Conversely, Dont build it, and they cant come. Payment for required services or mitigation of impact Use value taxation Urban service districts

Development Impact Fees: e.g., Albuquerque, NM

Tax policies