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“Zoning and building codes of the past 50 years generally outlaw elements necessary for walkable urbanity… …Rather than reform existing zoning codes, it generally is best to throw them out and start from scratch, putting in place a form-based code that will make it easy to do the right thing. A form-based code focuses on how the buildings address the street and sidewalks, leaving decisions to the market about types of uses, the amount of parking provided on site, and architecture.”

~ Chris Leinberger, Urban Land, November/December 2004
 


“Developers in Arlington, VA now waltz through the zoning approval process within 55 days, thanks to new “form-based” codes that specify the shape and composition of buildings and where they can be placed on property along major thoroughfare Columbia Pike...”

“...developers have been attracted by the codes’ predictability which makes it easier to show the community that their plans are in compliance. It’s an entirely different way of zoning.”

~ John Caulfield, Builder, January 2005 (read full article)
 


“Arlington’s Form-based codes suggest a promising new approach—up front citizen consultation, less regulation, quicker approvals, flexible building forms and a way to revive old roadways and develop the new worker housing that’s desperately needed in many communities.”

~ Neal Peirce, syndicated columnist, Washington Post Writer’s Group, March 2003 (read full article)
 


“A zoning code based on form is a mechanism for making possible that return to the original and still popular pattern of urban life, in areas where it is appropriate. It does not mean traditional low-density housing tracts will go away, but it encourages other types of living arrangements as well… Under such a zoning plan, the use to which buildings are put is not ignored, but it is relegated to secondary status. The emphasis is to establish rules that create a livable physical setting: safe for pedestrians, visually interesting, convenient, diverse and interactive.”

~ John Krist, columnist, Ventura County Star, February 2005
 


“Conventional zoning is proscriptive: it defines what is prohibited rather than what is desired. But by focusing on what builders can’t build, critics say, it does not predict with any certainty the appearance of what can or will be built—and invites conflict. In contrast, form-based codes are prescriptive: they define building types, streets and the public realm down to the block-level, whereas conventional zoning stops at the subdivision level and therefore cannot cope with the details of mixed use, varied thoroughfares and so many other factors.”

“By releasing conventional restrictions on land use and density, many community developers and builders may find greater flexibility to create plans with higher density. Additionally, they may find it easier to “sell” such plans to communities because their easy-to-grasp graphics may present better than words and numbers. If so, form-based codes appear be well-suited to address growth issues such as housing affordability, transit-oriented development, pedestrian-friendly communities, open space preservation —in general, smart growth issues.”

~ Bob Sperber, Senior Editor, Professional Builder, September 2005 (read full article)
 


“As land that can be developed gets more and more scarce, close-knit communities are gaining cachet. Concerns over skyrocketing gas prices and American’s expanding waistlines are but two of many factors fueling a renewed interest in pedestrian zones near public transit, whether they’re new urbanist towns or revitalized infill neighborhoods.”

“The miracle is that so many such communities have taken shape already in spite of Euclidean zoning restrictions that favor sprawl by enforcing segregated land use and prescriptive densities. Watch for a heightened focus on zoning reform in the months ahead—be it form-based codes introducing mixed use in the suburbs, master plans for urban infill districts or other progressive community planning models.”

~ Staff report on trends, Builder, December 2005 (read full article)
 


“There are important differences between conventional zoning practice and form-based practice. In effect, conventional zoning assigns regulations to individual parcels as placeholders. But these are seldom tied to a specific vision of how a community wants to look. Conversely, the regulations in form-based codes are keyed to various street and building types. In this format, the focus shifts from the regulation of activities on private property by location, to encouraging property owners to build in ways that further a community’s sense of itself, particularly in terms of the design of the public realm.”

~ Kaizer Rangwala, Places, 17.1 (download article: 140 KB pdf)


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