Reinventing Cities

Last fall, the Form-Based Codes Institute successfully hosted its most popular class–FBC 101: The ABCs of Form-Based Codes–in a virtual, synchronous setting for the first time. FBCI staff worked for several months with seasoned instructors and other form-based code experts to develop the content and activities. Because of increased interest and use of form-based codes across the country, FBCI is pleased to announce the class will be offered again this spring, launching at the end of March! This is an opportunity for those who are interested in form-based codes to learn from experts and collaborate with other practitioners and interested participants. 

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The format consists of four, two-hour sessions, in which participants learn how form-based codes are essentially different from conventional land use regulation and how they have evolved to solve many of the problems created by conventional zoning. The course provides an overview of the process for creating a form-based code—moving from an initial place-based community vision to an adopted code and beyond. Instructors combine lectures with online virtual engagements, breakout sessions, and interactive exercises in observing the built form of a community and the shape of public spaces. Participants also discuss common misconceptions about form-based codes and the legal basis for form-based codes. Participants who complete the course are eligible for 8 hours of American Planning Association (APA) continuing education credits. Modules will be offered from 12:00 – 2:00 PM Eastern Time on four consecutive Thursdays, beginning March 31:  

March 31 | Module 1: Form-based codes – A tool for shaping community form and character.

April 7 | Module 2: Learning what to look for when coding with a form-based code.

April 14 | Module 3: Getting ready for a form-based code.

April 21 | Module 4: Making your form-based code work in your community.

What can I expect from FBC 101 Virtual Edition? 

• Participants that include planners, architects, city council members, and elected officials
• Learning from top form-based code expert instructors from around the country
• Engaging with a range of practitioners and decision-makers
• Understanding how zoning has an impact in different community contexts

The new virtual format enabled a wider range of attendees, including participants from all parts of the country and in different local roles, including city council members, to attend. This virtual setting also gave participants access to more instructors with different backgrounds, rather than the one or two who are available for in-person classes. Having decision makers like these discuss how form-based codes can better their communities is a crucial step towards understanding how form-based codes can help achieve their vision of livable places, healthy people, and shared prosperity. 

What did attendees say about the first FBC 101 Virtual Edition? 

“The interactive breakouts were extremely valuable, as learning from other communities on how to implement form-based codes is helpful. We are getting ready to begin our budgeting process and prepare RFPs–the instructors have no idea how much they’ve helped me!”

– Jay Lagree, City Commissioner, Rehoboth Beach, DE

“I am very happy with the information I learned. I was able to bring that knowledge to my job in the City of Charlevoix immediately. In fact, just one week after the class ended, I have applied my learnings to ADU standards that the Planning Commission has been reviewing. Form-based codes seem a perfect fit for our small historic, architecturally significant cities and villages I serve. Before these four modules, I was struggling with form-based concepts. I can’t wait for the second set of classes.” 

– Jonathan Scheel, Planner and Zoning Administrator, Networks Northwest, MI, a 10-county public agency providing workforce development, economic development, and regional planning services to communities in Northwest Minnesota.

Some past class participants have already reached out to FBCI for additional information on how they can practically implement form-based codes in their communities.

FBCI would like to express our appreciation to past instructors Tony Perez, Leslie Oberholtzer, Mary Madden, and Jennifer Hurley for their work in creating and leading the inaugural virtual class; and thanks to all of the other FBCI leaders and staff who contributed to its success. 

We look forward to our next FBC 101 Virtual Edition, starting in March, and hope to see you there! 

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The Biden administration hosted a virtual webinar on February 1st highlighting accessory dwelling units (ADUs) as one way to increase affordable housing stock across the country. An esteemed group of fourteen thought leaders, advocates, and government officials from across the country convened to share their expertise and insights, advocate for ADUs, and discuss current barriers in many communities that hinder their development. 

Webinar highlights:

Accessory Dwelling Unit. Image by Sightline Institute

ADUs offer flexibility, affordability, and potential income to both homeowners and renters. In particular, panelists noted that ADUs:

• Can help to address the oversupply and high cost of single family homes across the nation. 
• Empower homeowners to make decisions about the use of their privately-owned residential properties. 
• Increase housing supply and diversity.
• Offer an affordable, multigenerational housing option. Panelist Rodney Harrell of AARP stated that 60% of adults would be open to living in ADUs. 
• Enable renters to live near where they work and contribute to walkability. (Check out AARP’s Livability Index to see how livable your community is.) 
• Help homeowners generate income and financial leverage.

“California has been going through an ADU Revolution” –Panelist Denise Pinkston, Board President of housing advocacy group Casitas Coalition

Dr. Karen Chapple of UC Berkeley opened the conversation by summarizing recent research  on ADUs and housing markets across the country, which demonstrates the growing economy and lucrative demand for ADUs nationally. In California specifically, ADU construction created $4-5 billion in private investment without any public subsidies.

“What’s more important? Housing people or housing cars?” –Panelist Robert Liberty, Executive Director of 1000 Friends of Oregon

The speakers highlighted two major types of barriers to ADU construction–regulatory  and financial. In most single-family residential areas, communities, zoning restrictions prohibit the development of ADUs altogether. In other places, parking mandates, lot size requirements, or onerous permitting processes make it difficult for homeowners, interested in building ADUs, to make them work. 

“Friendly regulatory environment, financing, and homeowner education.” –Moderator Erika Poethig, Special Assistant to the President for Housing and Urban Policy

Reforming restrictive zoning codes, providing technical assistance and expanding financing options for homeowners, and educating neighbors about the benefits of ADUs are key strategies to advance ADU construction across the country. Mayor Miro Weinberger of Burlington, VT shared how in his city, educational summits and ADU workshops helped change public opinion and led to major reforms of their zoning code. Panelists from the financial institutions Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae described financial strategies, including waving of development fees and homeowner tax incentives, that their companies have taken to help with financing ADUs.  

As we look to 2022, FBCI-SGA will continue to work with communities across the country,  through technical assistance and local capacity building, to advocate for policies that broaden housing affordability, including those that support ADUs. We welcome your ideas and examples of successful zoning reform for ADUs and other approaches to expand housing access through context-sensitive development approaches. To check out SGA’s recent publication on zoning reform with form-based codes, click here. To watch a recording of the event: follow the link here.

Two Proposals Requested

The city of Farmers Branch, Texas is seeking proposals from qualified consultants for professional services to prepare a city-wide Comprehensive Plan and expansion of the Station Area Form Based Code (PD-86). The Farmers Branch Department of Planning & Zoning invites you to submit your proposal to either or both of these RFPs. These are two separate RFPs and should be submitted as separate responses. You are not required to submit proposals for both RFPs.

The complete RFP documents and further information can be accessed at the city website and American Planning Association website as well.

The respondent shall submit four (4) bound hard copies of their proposal, and one (1) digital copy in a portable thumb drive by 5:00 P.M. (CDT), Monday, January 31, 2022. Responses received after this time and date will not be accepted.

Inquiries related to both RFPs may be directed to Ms. Kyra McCardle, Planning Contractor ([email protected]); or Surupa Sen, AICP, Deputy Director of Planning, ([email protected], 972-919-2542) by no later than January 7, 2022.

Renderings from the City of South Bend Zoning Ordinance show residents’ visions for the West Side Main Streets, Southwest Neighborhood, and the Near Northwest Neighborhood.

Today, the Form-Based Codes Institute at Smart Growth America is thrilled to announce the winner of the fifteenth annual Richard H. Driehaus Form-Based Code Award for achievement in the writing and implementation of a stellar form-based zoning code–the City of South Bend Zoning Ordinance for the City of South Bend, Indiana.

City of South Bend Mayor James Mueller stated, “The City of South Bend is thrilled and honored to receive the 2021 Richard H. Driehaus Form-Based Code Award. I am grateful to our planning team for their innovation and initiative in developing our new zoning ordinance. The new code encourages the re-use of historic and other existing spaces and the creation of new multi-family housing, a key to ensuring that all our residents–regardless of race or income–can remain in our city,” said Mayor James Mueller. “The elimination of off-street parking requirements, opportunities for mixed-use development, and encouragement of interconnected street networks will make our neighborhoods more walkable. Since the new, streamlined zoning ordinance took effect at the beginning of 2020, the City has seen an increase in completed projects and with considerably fewer variance requests.”

For those who think of the Florida panhandle communities of Seaside, Rosemary Beach, and Alys Beach–with their pioneering codes by DPZ–as the definitive examples of communities where form-based codes can work, this year’s Driehaus Form-Based Code Award winner, a citywide code from the Midwest, shows how, today, form-based codes are being adopted in all types of places. 

From greenfields, to urban adjacent new neighborhoods, to rural and small town centers, to urban redevelopment districts, to citywide applications like this year’s winner from South Bend, the popularity of form-based codes has expanded to include just about every type of place. While they continue to promote walkability, mixed-use development, and attractive physical characteristics in master planned communities–today, form-based codes are also adopted to promote improved livability, healthy people, and shared prosperity in all kinds of places. 

The City of South Bend Zoning Ordinance

City of South Bend Zoning Ordinance.

Each year, the Driehaus Award jury has found it more difficult to select a winning code, as the pool of applicants improves with the maturing practice of drafting form-based codes. This year, several of the codes submitted included exemplary features, which include: 

• One midwest city’s attention to equity potential for the code to help revitalize disinvested neighborhoods;
• A code in the southern U.S. takes a cloud-based approach, with a commendable checklist that helps minimize ambiguity;
• An applicant that explicitly addresses affordable housing in their code;
• A code developed through an admirable community-driven public engagement process that enables the city to successfully navigate a path forward through political turmoil. 

But one code stood above the rest.

“The City of South Bend Zoning Ordinance is an excellent model for any city—particularly legacy cities—seeking to use code reform to promote fiscally and environmentally sustainable urban regeneration, greater housing diversity, walkable neighborhoods, and stronger urban design,” Peter Park, Chair of the 2021 Driehaus Award Jury, explains. “The code’s helpful ‘how to use’ guide, clean easy-to-read graphics, and logical layout make navigation easy for administrators, applicants, and citizens. The historic preservation provisions, bike and car parking standards, and clever treatment of cul-de-sacs are some of the many exemplary features.”

Illustrative image showing the intended character of a zoning district across a S2 neighborhood block. Features include: a full range of residential development, including single unit, two unit, multi-unit, and ADUs; larger size buildings with relatively deep setbacks on larger lots; attached garages accessed by a driveway from the street or shared parking areas located in the rear or interior of the lot; larger city blocks with informal character and plantings.

Modern form-based codes now have been in place long enough to evaluate their impact in a variety of settings. In Zoned In: Economic Benefits & Shared Prosperity with Form-Based Codes, FBCI-SGA’s recently released report, our analysis shows that they can provide a more hospitable regulatory framework for equitable development, by focusing on the integration of people, land uses, housing types, transportation options, and improved access to services and amenities. They also foster a stronger economy, as they generate more tax revenue and growth in property values, without increasing housing costs.  

Congratulations to this year’s winner! View the South Bend code document here.

Join us on October 18 at 2:00 p.m. Eastern to hear from representatives from the team who drafted the winning code, as well as the authors and experts from the new FBCI-SGA report, Zoned In: Economic Benefits & Shared Prosperity with Form-Based Codes.

Register today! 

Proposal Requested

The Village of Shorewood is seeking a consultant to update the Commercial and Mixed-Use Districts within its  Zoning Code to include form-based elements alongside updated use classifications (hybrid). The Village’s Central District Master Plan Design Guidelines shall serve as a starting point, but incorporation of additional  “best practice” form-based elements are expected. This project is being initiated upon the recent adoption of  the Village of Shorewood Comprehensive Plan 2040. The consultant will work with the Planning & Development  Director, Plan Commission and Design Review Board to review the existing code and built environment, facilitate  public engagement, and draft the proposed update for consideration by the Village Board.  

Digital proposals are due to Bart Griepentrog ([email protected]) by 4:30 PM CST on October 15, 2021. See the Project Scope included within the full RFP, found HERE, for complete details.

Questions regarding this RFP should only be directed to Bart Griepentrog. Contact with elected officials, committee members and other staff members is grounds for disqualification.

Project Background

The village of Shorewood, Wisconsin (population 13,315 – 1.6 sq. miles) is located within Milwaukee County’s  North Shore communities. It is a built-out, first-ring, urban suburb of the city of Milwaukee that is amongst the  most densely developed municipalities in the state of Wisconsin. The village is a walkable and bikeable  community served by public transit. It is located adjacent to the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee, and within  a short commute to employment within Downtown Milwaukee.  

Over the last decade, the village has witnessed significant growth in its commercial corridors, much of which was  accomplished through Planned Development Districts. Some of that recent growth has challenged community  perceptions. Based on known redevelopment opportunities and its desirable location and real estate market,  the village expects to see continued redevelopment. It is hoped that a well-designed hybrid form-based code  will foster predictable improvements that are compatible with existing context and aligned with community  expectations.