As the April 10 public forum for the Green Code nears, a new report released by the City's consultant team gives folks some advance reading material. A New Zoning Direction for Buffalo: Technical Report (PDF) was released yesterday that gives a detailed look at Buffalo's forthcoming form-based code. This second phase of the Green Code promises to put the community's smart growth and sustainability objectives into the legal framework of a new Unified Development Ordinance (UDO) that will combine zoning, subdivision, and public realm standards into a single document.
These are some of the "big ideas" in the consultant team's proposed approach to Buffalo's new ordinance:
Download the report here and be sure to attend the public forum at ECC City Campus on Tuesday, April 10, 6:15 pm.
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These are some of the "big ideas" in the consultant team's proposed approach to Buffalo's new ordinance:
- Zone regulations will be tailored to context. Form standards to encourage walkable, green urbanism will apply to Neighborhood Zones. District and Corridor Zones will be addressed by more flexible standards tailored to their respective functions.
- Form will be emphasized more than use. As a form-based code, the UDO will focus on what's most important in creating places where people want to live and invest. Endless lists of uses will be replaced by provisions that protect neighborhoods while allowing flexibility for mixed-use development. A conditional approval process will be introduced to handle tricky uses like corner taverns or bed and breakfasts.
- Standards for public and private space will be synchronized. The UDO will incorporate all the elements needed for quality placemaking, including both the public and private realms. For the first time, all oars in land use regulation will be rowing in the direction of smart growth.
- Approval procedures will be consolidated. The unified approach to the new ordinance will allow users to easily find all development approval procedures in a single document. User-friendly flow charts will increase the transparency of these procedures.
- Standards will be objective and measurable. Vague, discretionary requirements will be replaced with unambiguous standards, allowing streamlined approvals and more efficient and transparent administration.
- Regulatory barriers will be removed. The unnecessary impediments to walkable, compact development and the creative reuse of vacant land and structures will disappear and be replaced by standards that match existing and desired neighborhood character.
- Transportation options will be emphasized. For decades, zoning codes have required property owners to provide a set number of off-street parking spaces to encourage automobile use. The new UDO will not include minimum parking requirements, instead allowing the market to respond to changing lifestyle preferences and a range of transportation choices.
- Green development practices will be encouraged. The UDO will bring regulatory clarity to a range of emerging practices, including local food production, on-site and district stormwater management, and alternative energy production.
Download the report here and be sure to attend the public forum at ECC City Campus on Tuesday, April 10, 6:15 pm.
I can't say enough how impressed I am with the direction of the Green Code. Removing minimum off-street parking requirements city-wide really establishes us at the cutting edge of urban planning.
I just hope all these great ideas make it through to the approval stage. This project has the potential to be truly transformational for Buffalo's built environment, if it isn't watered down too much at the last minute.
agreed. this one piece is huge:
"The new UDO will not include minimum parking requirements, instead allowing the market to respond to changing lifestyle preferences and a range of transportation choices."
minimu off-street parking requirements have doomed far too many sound buildings to the landfill.
No minimum parking requirements could be transformational in preserving and developing structures for the pedestrian in mind!
It's silly to think NYC developers have to build parking garages for cars that never use them just because of the law. And it's not like we need to worry about parking in Buffalo
I agree with removing any laws requiring minimum # of parking spaces. Property owners should decide whether to have any or how many.
Time will tell, but I think because car usage will remain very popular, many property owners will still voluntarily decide to provide parking spaces.
I'll bet we see this kind of future complaint more than once...
WTF? Why does this new project have f*ing parking spaces now that it doesn't have to?!?!? Didn't they read the new officially implemented GREEN Code??? All you wannabe suburban hillbilly hayseeds either go away, or junk your cars cuz this is A CITY!!!!