Is It Time To Update Your City's Development Codes?
by Wendy Grey
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Living in the same home for many years has its benefits and disadvantages. On one hand, the home is comfortable and familiar. You have your favorite spot and many happy memories. You know the house’s little quirks and how to work around the more irritating ones.
On the other hand, your home lacks many modern conveniences and design features. As your family’s needs changed, the house didn’t always adapt well. Over the years you have made some improvements, but overall, the house is somewhat dated.
Eventually, you have to confront a major decision – to substantially remodel your home, living in the chaos that entails, or selling and moving to a new home in a new neighborhood, with all the uncertainty that change involves.
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The development codes that shape your city can be compared to the plans for that familiar house. When your land development codes were adopted, they were probably fairly “state of the art.” They encompassed what were considered the best planning and environmental techniques in use at the time. However, in many cities, the development codes in place are now 20 years old or older. Even cities that adopted codes as part of the process of implementing their comprehensive plans in the early 1990s now have codes close to 15 years old. Since that time, there have been many innovations in the fields of land use planning, traffic management and environmental protection.
Looking around your city, you may feel that recent development in your city is not as attractive or functional as it could be. Or you may find that conflicts consistently arise in the development review process because the codes do not adequately address certain issues. Most likely, your staff is adept at working around the “quirks” and inadequacies of your codes, just like the homeowner who knows how to manage the tricky faucet. Sooner or later, however, you are likely to face the question of how to update your land development code – to remodel what you have, or simply start all over again?
The factors that will drive your decision are again somewhat similar to those that the homeowner will consider. How serious are the problems? What kind of budget do you have?
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The first step in deciding what to do about your codes is to clearly identify and evaluate the situation. Involve your staff, developers and concerned members of the public in the process of identifying and analyzing the problems.
Here are some common problems you may be experiencing:
Land Use Compatibility: Non-compatible commercial development is encroaching on neighborhoods.
Environmental Protection: Development is significantly affecting wetlands, floodplains or other sensitive environmental areas.
Traffic Congestion: Commercial development along major roadways is causing congestion and unsafe conditions.
Aesthetics: New development is not adequately landscaping sites, signs are too large, and some buildings don’t fit in with their surroundings.
Regulatory Problems: Code provisions are in conflict with each other or are ambiguous. The comprehensive plan does not provide adequate guidance, or also contains conflicting policy direction.
Plan Implementation: The city has a vision of where it wants to go, but the codes in general are inconsistent with planning goals. For example, the city is trying to become more urbanized, but the codes reflect a more suburban pattern of development.
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Once your have identified the major problems, identify the solutions and the cost of implementing them. While it may be tempting to tackle the biggest problem first, it may be more practical and productive to start with a simpler problem and build on that success. Or there may be some incremental changes you can make that will help ease some of the problem until the bigger fix can be implemented. Chances are, your staff can identify two or three high-priority changes to the codes that they would recommend, if they had the opportunity.
For example, Tallahassee wanted to attract housing to the downtown area. One major problem was that the downtown codes had not been updated in many years and this made permitting such a project difficult. The city recognized the need to substantially overhaul the downtown zoning code, but too many other projects were already under way and limited resources were available. So the city adopted a special Public Utility District (PUD) ordinance for the downtown area. This PUD process enables applicants to get the density they need for their projects, and the city can ensure that the design of these buildings will complement the character of downtown. Although the downtown code still needs to be rewritten, construction is about to begin on Tallahassee’s first downtown housing project in decades. Similarly, you can create new zoning districts that provide incentives for developers who are willing to choose a different pattern of development.
Another relatively simple way to update your code is to review, modify and adopt model codes or codes of other communities. The Internet provides your staff with a wealth of information on successful examples. Other cities have resolved many of the same problems that your city is facing, and it is wise for you to take advantage of their experience. One good source for useful code language is the Florida League of Cities. Another source is the Municipal Code Corporation (Municode), which provides online codes for a great number of Florida cities. Their Web addresses, and other useful addresses are:
www.flcities.com - Florida League of Cities
www.planning.org - American Planning Association
www.smartgrowth.org - Smart Growth Online
www.municode.com - Municipal Code Corporation (See in particular the transect model code.)
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Ultimately, you may conclude that the problems in your code are so fundamental that a major overhaul is needed. This process will involve a substantial financial commitment (up to several hundred thousand dollars) and time commitment (about two years). Since the changes will be so substantial and so broad in their scope, it will be important for you to make a major commitment to the undertaking. The public will look to you to explain why this fundamental change is necessary, and how it will benefit the city in the long run. Constant communication with the public is critical to help avoid substantial controversy and possible legal action.
Whether you decide to move incrementally or to tackle a complete overhaul of your code, you are doing your city a major service. The codes serve as the blueprint for your city. By making sure the codes are sound, you are creating a solid foundation for your city for years to come.
Wendy Grey, AICP, is a planning and land use consultant. Previously, she was director of the Tallahassee-Leon County Planning Department for 10 years and worked for the Florida Department of Community Affairs. For the Florida League of Cities, Grey provides educational programs on planning and growth management to League members and analyzes the impact of proposed planning legislation on cities.
Reprinted from Quality Cities September/October 2003
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