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ZONINGPRACTICE May 2004 AMERICAN PLANNING ASSOCIATION

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Form-Based Development Codes By David Rouse, AICP, and Nancy Zobl, AICP

New development codes are emerging that focus on regulating physical form as an alternative to conventional Euclidean zoning.

The conventional zoning model in use through- In reaction to these trends, new, form- new, practical experience in administering out the United States is based on the separa- based approaches to development regulation them is limited. As interest in alternatives tion of residential, commercial, and industrial are being proposed as alternatives to conven- to conventional zoning continues to grow, uses, density controls, and proscriptive stan- tional zoning. These approaches can be charac- more communities will implement form- dards for key development attributes (e.g., terized as prescriptive or contextual in nature. based regulatory approaches. This article building setbacks and heights). The historical Prescriptive approaches seek to codify the phys- describes the initial experiences of some of antecedents of this model include the 1926 ical parameters of development based upon a these communities, with the proviso that Supreme Court decision in the case of Village of normative position on ideal urban form (typi- the advantages and disadvantages of dif- Euclid vs. Ambler Realty Co., which legitimized cally derived from the pre-World War II model of ferent approaches will become clearer as the separation of uses to protect the public traditional development). Contextual they are further tested in practice. health, safety, and welfare, and the 1916 New approaches, on the other hand, look to the York City zoning code, which established characteristics of the surrounding environment FORM-BASED CODING dimensional requirements to permit light and for guidance in regulating the physical form of Form-based coding emerged out of the New air and prevent overcrowding. Published in the new development. Collectively, these Urbanist movement of the late 1980s and 1920s, the Standard State Zoning Enabling Act approaches are referred to as form-based devel- early 1990s. New Urbanism is based on the was ultimately adopted by all 50 states. It is still opment codes. A basic premise of form-based concept of walkable neighborhoods and small the basic model used by jurisdictions to regu- development codes is that the regulation of towns, with the compact, mixed-use develop- late development, although many features have physical form (not use) is the key to producing a ment patterns of the pre-World War II era as been added to local codes over the years to better built environment. models. Form-based coding is a regulatory address emerging issues (e.g., overlay districts The following text describes the basic approach designed to shape the physical and environmental performance standards). features of three different types of form-based form of development while setting only broad In recent decades, dissatisfaction with development codes: Form-Based Coding, parameters for use. According to Peter Katz, the perceived effects of conventional zoning Form District Zoning, and the SmartCode. For former director of the Congress for the New on urban and suburban landscapes has each type, a series of questions is posed Urbanism and a proponent of this approach, grown among citizens and practitioners. regarding its application in regulations form-based codes focus on what is desirable While a variety of factors have worked adopted by local jurisdictions, based upon a rather than what is forbidden, the underlying together to promote development trends, selected case study. These questions are: principles having their foundation in a vision such as the loss of traditional urban form ■ How comprehensive is its application? or plan developed through community work- and proliferation of commercial strip devel- Does it address the entire community or shops and . Regulatory standards opment and “cookie cutter” subdivisions, discrete areas within the community? Does prescribe physical elements, such as building zoning has been identified as a primary cul- it replace or supplement conventional zon- height, setbacks, lot size, parking location, prit. On the one hand, the separation of ing systems? etc., to achieve quality in context with uses and limits on density have contributed ■ How does it deal with the regulation of use, surrounding areas. They also seek to integrate to excessive consumption of land (suburban the focus of conventional zoning? private development with the public realm, sprawl). On the other, zoning’s lack of a ■ How is it working in practice? typically addressing the character of civic positive prescription for physical form has Form-based development codes are an buildings, public streets, and civic spaces. facilitated the intrusion of incompatible emerging concept implemented by a small In theory, form-based coding is a com- development types into traditional urban but increasing number of jurisdictions to prehensive, communitywide approach neighborhoods and districts. date. Because those codes are relatively designed to achieve better physical devel-

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ASK THE AUTHOR JOIN US ONLINE!

During June 21-July 2, go online to participate in our “Ask the Author” forum, an interactive About the Authors feature of Zoning Practice. David Rouse, AICP, and Nancy Zobl, AICP, will be available to answer David Rouse, AICP, is a Senior Associate with questions about this article. Go the APA website at www.planning.org and follow the links to Wallace Roberts & Todd, LLC (WRT). Nancy the Ask the Author section. From there, justsubmit your questions about the article using an Zobl, AICP, is a planner with WRT. e-mail link. The authors will reply, posting the answers cumulatively on the website for the benefit of all subscribers. This feature will be available for selected issues of Zoning Practice at announced times. After each online discussion is closed, the answers will be saved in an online archive available through the APA Zoning Practice web pages.

opment patterns throughout a city or The Columbia Pike Initiative is a long- eters for building form, including height, set- region. In practice, current applications are range economic development vision to create backs, and fenestration. They also set broad limited to specified geographic areas due a vibrant commercial corridor and urban center parameters for mixed uses allowed on the first to the newness of the concept, the inten- along a 3.5-mile section of Columbia Pike. The and upper floors, except that the neighbor- sive effort needed to develop a form-based Pike had experienced little development activ- hood frontage sites are primarily restricted to code, and political environments that are ity in the past 40 years, despite its location in residential uses with some allowances for slow to accept change. California communi- the high-growth Capital Area. The Columbia home offices. ties have been among the first to adopt the Pike Master Plan was adopted in 2002 after The form-based code is applied as an concept, primarily as an implementation numerous public charrettes. The subsequent overlay option to the existing zoning districts. mechanism for the specific plan, a provi- Columbia Pike Special Revitalization District Developers are provided a variety of incen- sion in the state code authorizing legisla- Form-Based Code was prepared by Geoffrey tives to select this option, including an expe- tively adopted development plans for geo- Ferrell Associates (as subconsultants to Dover, dited permitting process for developments of graphic subareas of a community. Two Kohl & Partners) and adopted in February 40,000 square feet or less (larger develop- notable examples include the Pleasant Hill 2003. This code was designed to implement ments are subject to special exception BART Station Form Based Code in Contra the vision of the Columbia Pike Initiative, review), financial incentives such as modified Costa County, California, and the Regulating including creation of a pedestrian-oriented, tax increment financing and rehabilitation tax Plan for the Central Hercules Plan in mixed-use district with a variety of retail, resi- credits, and relaxed parking requirements. Hercules, California. dential, and office uses. According to Richard Tucker, county plan- Elsewhere in the country, a number of The new code contains three main com- ner for the Columbia Pike Initiative, the develop- communities are developing or adopting ponents: the regulating plan, building enve- ment community has expressed considerable form-based codes (e.g., Iowa City, Iowa, lope standards, and architectural and interest in the form-based code since its adop- Woodford County, Kentucky, and Chicago). streetscape standards. Analogous to a zoning tion. Developers, architects, and members of One recent example is Arlington County, map but much more detailed in its prescrip- the Home Builders Association have praised the Virginia, which has implemented a form- tion of physical form, the regulating plan iden- clarity of the code and the streamlined review based code to revitalize Columbia Pike, an tifies the building envelope standards to be process. Several pending mixed-use develop- older commercial corridor. applied to specific properties, which are ment proposals are the direct result of the form- coded by their street frontage (Main Street, based code. Citizens also support the new Special conditions: within 100 feet of Main Street Avenue, Local, and Neighborhood). The build- code, having been directly involved in shaping it required building line; Wakefield to Four-Mile Run, maximum ing envelope standards establish basic param- through several design charrettes. four stories Within 40 feet of local street lot or existing single-family Maximum use; maximum 32 feet eaves Despite the appar- or parapet height six stories ent initial successes, Minimum Tucker notes some chal- three stories Street walls required on RESIDENTIAL MINIMUM alley and common lot lines; HOME lenges related to the NINE FEET, seven feet maximum height OCCUPATIONS FOUR INCH CLEAR newness of the code. RESIDENTIAL PARKING 15 FEET HOME ACCESSORY CLEAR OCCUPATIONS UNIT Issues tend to arise as 18 INCH MAXIMUM

Arlington County, GeoffreyArlington County, Ferrell Associates proposals are submit- ted by developers who The Columbia Pike Revitalization Initiative: Illustrates the vision for change along the 3.5-mile corridor under the have problems with the Columbia Pike Revitalization District Form-Based Code. standards of the code,

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To implement this concept in a politically opers have embraced the form district concept acceptable manner, a new Land Development as a progressive option that allows flexibility for Code was developed as a “two-tiered” innovative design. Overall, the development approach. This approach combines the use community and residents seem to prefer the regulations of the preexisting 39 zoning dis- form district concept because it establishes a tricts with form districts that regulate density sense of predictability in design that is not and intensity and prescribe contextual design overly restrictive, but promotes compatibility standards, such as build-to lines based upon with adjacent development. the established development pattern. All While asserting that form district zoning dimensional regulations and standards were is a change in a positive direction, the moved from the zoning districts to the form Louisville Metro staff acknowledges the learn- districts. Wallace Roberts & Todd, LLC and ing curve required for its implementation. As a Clarion Associates were consultants to new process for all involved, the impacts are Louisville and Jefferson County in the develop- not yet fully measurable and a number of ment of the form districts. issues have been raised regarding the appli- Adopted by Louisville Metro and the cation of the form district design standards to cities of Hurstbourne and Lyndon, the new site-specific conditions. To address these Land Development Code took effect in March issues, revisions to the regulations will be 2003. Several other jurisdictions in Jefferson made over the next year. At this time,

Arlington County, GeoffreyArlington County, Ferrell Associates County are in the process of adopting the new Louisville Metro is about two years away from The Columbia Pike Corridor is an illustrative code. The application of the form districts on considering a transition from the two-tiered vision for revitalizing a segment of Columbia a regional basis is a departure from the nor- approach to a more complete integration of Pike, an urban corridor that has seen little malapplication of form-based coding to spe- conventional zoning with the form districts. development over the past 30 years. cific geographic areas within a community. Nevertheless, according to the planning and However, existing use including build-to lines, parking standards, and density regula- and standard prototypesthatvary from the tions were maintained prescribed physical form. The county intends to minimize the politi- to reevaluate the code to address some of calissues inherent in these issues before applying the form-based rezoning the entire approach to other areas. region. According to FORM DISTRICT ZONING Louisville Metro plan- Form districts emerged as a concept in the ning and design staff, Cornerstone 2020 Comprehensive Plan for the initial reaction of Louisville and Jefferson County, Kentucky (devel- developers to the oped in the mid-1990s and adopted in 2000). adopted form district The Cornerstone 2020 planning process regulations has varied. Be

Louisville Metro’s form-based code experience: new office develop- in collaboration –Prindle Architects rry revealed a general dissatisfaction with conven- One developer of a ment in the Traditional Marketplace Corridor Form District. tional regulations and practices that result in small shopping center the separation of uses, sprawling development in the neighborhood patterns, and the imposition of suburban forms form district, who was in traditional neighborhoods. A Community initially skeptical of the Form Committee was charged with seeking new new code, has since ways of addressing future development pat- incorporated the recom- w

terns, recognizing the need for increased diver- mendations of the ith Abney–Huninghake Design Groups sity, certainty, and flexibility in the regulatory staff, process. The resulting form district concept including buildings established 11 districts that prescribe desired arrayed around a development patterns in context with the sur- pedestrian-scale central rounding environment, from the downtown parking area that func- urban core to traditional neighborhood and sub- tions as a “town urban marketplace (commercial) districts. square.” Other devel-

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, Charles Cash, Louisville Metro The SmartCode is made available to com- Any use is allowed in the T-6 zone and each is looking towards larger future development munities to purchase as a license, establishing new use proposed in the T-4 and T-5 zones goals that conventional zoning may not sup- a regulatory template to build upon and tailor requires a special use permit with a flexible port. to their individual circumstances. The tem- review process. plate includes general parameters for transect According to city planner Geoffrey THE SMARTCODE zones, ranging from T-1 (the “Natural Zone”) to Bornemann, several new mixed-use develop- The SmartCode has its foundation in the con- T-6 (the “Urban Core Zone”). Sample design ments have been proposed in the city since cept of transect planning, an approach to the standards, including building height, frontage, adoption of the code. Whether this develop- implementation of New Urbanist and Smart intensity of uses, and street design, are pro- ment interest can be attributed to the code is Growth principles advocated by Andres Duany vided for each transect zone. not certain since there is already a strong real and Emily Talen. Drawing on ecological analo- The theory behind the SmartCode is to estate market in Saratoga Springs. However, gies, transect planning establishes a series of encompass the spectrum of landscapes within the flexibility of the new code is attracting environments – called “ecozones” – on a con- an entire community or region. In practice, developers who are responsive to more inno- tinuum from rural to urban. These ecozones however, similar to the form-based codes that vative design practices. More traditional are distinguished by varying density and char- have been adopted, the initial application of developers, who were at first skeptical, are acter of the built environment. The transect the SmartCode has been to distinct areas also starting to embrace the new code. incorporates the New Urbanist principles of within a community. Nashville and Davidson Saratoga Springs is already seeing posi- mixed land uses, the importance of public County, Tennessee, has incorporated the tran- tive results from the SmartCode but is still , and pedestrian accessibility through- sect planning concept on a regional basis into about two to three years away from replacing out the continuum. These principles are its comprehensive plan and is beginning to all existing zoning districts with the transect expressed at different scales and in different translate the concept to the zoning regulations zones. The city is planning to extend the con- forms depending upon location on the tran- on a neighborhood or subarea basis. cept to residential neighborhoods next to sect (e.g., hamlet, village, and downtown). The city of Saratoga Springs, New York, incorporate more mixed use. As opposed to the normal process of writ- was one of the first communities to adopt the ing a comprehensive plan and then modifying SmartCode to implement comprehensive plan CONCLUSION zoning and development regulations to fit it, principles, including enhanced urban infill in the The general intent of form-based develop- transect planning views the plan and the code downtown core as an alternative to the sprawl- ment codes is to replace the conventional as inseparable. The transect zone system has ing development patterns facilitated by conven- Euclidean zoning model with regulations that been coded by Duany Plater-Zyberk and tional zoning. The transect model was applied shape the form of development across the Company and copyrighted as the “SmartCode.” as a new approach to concentrate development different landscapes within a community or in the Downtown District, region. At this time, communities that have which was one of the adopted form-based coding and the seven special develop- SmartCode have taken an incremental regula- ment areas identified in tory approach by addressing specific geo- the comprehensive plan. graphic areas, typically beginning with the The Downtown District was urban core. Further experience is required to divided into three urban determine the potential for expansion to transect categories that other parts of the community, although the replaced the existing zon- SmartCode provides a more complete system ing districts: the Urban that addresses suburban and rural as well as Neighborhood (T-4), urban contexts. Louisville Metro appears to Neighborhood Center be the first jurisdiction to adopt the concept (T-5), and Urban Core (T-6). on a regional scale through the form districts. Design standards Based on the experience to date, the issues were established for set- inherent in applying generalized design stan- backs, height, parking dards to site-specific conditions and expecta- location, street design, tions is one key challenge for the regional façade treatments, and application of form-based development

ity of Springs Sarasota Ordinance Zoning creation of a public codes. C The Sarasota Springs Transect: The Neighborhood Center Transect realm. The transect zones The status of conventional zoning as the Zone permits a wide mix of uses, building types, and quality civic regulate use in a limited accepted paradigm for regulating development spaces to enhance the pedestrian environment. capacity to encourage presents another challenge for form-based mixed-use development. development codes. Saratoga Springs is the

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only one of the three communities discussed REFERENCES above that has effectively replaced existing zon- ing (at least within a specified area) through the ■ Duany, Andres, and Emily Talen, “Transect Planning,” Journal of the American Planning SmartCode. Arlington County applies the form- Association, Vol. 68, No. 3, Summer 2002. based code as an overlay option to the existing ■ Freund, Adrian P., “FORM, Character and Context in Jefferson County, Kentucky,” APA San code while Louisville Metro has retained the Diego Conference Proceedings, 1997. existing zoning districts to regulate use and density, shifting design standards to the form ■ Katz, Peter, “New Approaches to Development Regulation: Draft Introduction,” The districts. In general, form-based codes regulate Brookings Institution Center on Urban and Metropolitan Policy and the American Planning Association, January 2003. use but are less proscriptive than conventional zoning, typically encouraging mixed uses and ■ Parfrey, Eric, “Duany, New Urbanists, and ‘Form-Based’ Zoning Dominate State APA housing types. Again, the experience to date Conference,” Planners Tabloid, Sacramento Valley Section, California Chapter, American suggests that replacement of conventional zon- Planning Association, January 2004. ing with form-based systems will be an incre- ■ Peirce, Neil, “Zoning: Ready to Be Reformed?” The Washington Post Writers Group, February mental process as the concepts are further 2, 2003. tested in practice and political acceptance ■ Talen, Emily, “Help for Urban Planning: The Transect Strategy,” Journal of Urban Design, grows. “Hybrid” codes that integrate aspects of Vol. 7, No. 3, October 2002. form-based and conventional approaches are likely to be common responses. Geoffrey Ferrell, Geoffrey Ferrell Associates LLC; Ann funding for pubic works, infrastructure, parking, Overall, representatives of each of the Hammond, Assistant Executive Director, and streetscape improvements to the area. All case study communities describe positive Nashville/Davidson County Planning Commission; these improvements have been substantially outcomes from their limited experience with and Richard Tucker, Planner, Arlington County funded by sales tax revenue generated by retail the form-based development codes, including Planning Commission. ■ uses. Pedestrian activity and the quality of the increased urban infill development and some downtown business mix are also concerns. higher-quality site and pro- Highland Park analyzed land use in the posals. However, as with any new concept, business district and found that uses not gener- they also acknowledge some issues, primarily ating sales taxes account for 30 percent of the the need for adjustments to address unfore- NEWS BRIEFS total first-floor uses in the business district, and seen, site-specific circumstances. ILLINOIS COMMUNITIES LIMIT BANK financial institutions represent 12 percent of The application of form-based develop- BRANCHES AND NONRETAIL USES IN RETAIL those uses. However, when looking at the ment codes is new, and the few communities DISTRICTS actual square footage of the first-floor space that have adopted various forms of these codes By Rebecca Retzlaff, AICP occupied by those uses, nonretail uses occu- have done so in the last year or two. Therefore, Responding to concerns over the potential loss pied 34 percent of the district’s square footage, it is not yet possible to provide a definitive of sales taxes and pedestrian activity in com- and financial institutions used 67 percent of account of the comparative benefits and detri- mercial districts, several suburban Chicago com- that portion. The analysis also found that the ments of different approaches, or overall suc- munities recently issued temporary moratoriums median linear building frontage for uses gener- on development of nonretail uses and financial ating sales tax in the district is 40 feet, whereas cess of these approaches as an alternative to institutions in central business districts. it is 37 feet for those not generating sales tax, conventional zoning. A follow-up evaluation of The cities of Highland Park, Long Grove, and 200 feet for financial institutions, which the experience of these and other communities Batavia, Libertyville, Lake Forest, Hinsdale, and often locate in prime corner storefronts. in several years is needed to provide a more Buffalo Grove, Illinois, have each passed or are Highland Park is now considering the conclusive assessment of the success of form- considering passing moratoriums that restrict creation of an overlay district on the major based development codes in practice. development of nonretail uses in their down- pedestrian-oriented streets in the business The authors would like to thank the following indi- town districts, in order to gain time to figure out district. According to planning technician Ben viduals for sharing their experiences with form- how to deal with their negative impacts. Carlisle, the purpose of the overlay zone is “to based development codes: R. Wayne Bennett, Highland Park passed a 130-day morato- limit the impact of non-sales-tax-generating Context Town Planning (formerly Director of the rium on new permits for street- business uses on our core pedestrian streets.” Carlisle Louisville/Jefferson County Division of Planning and and personal services, office, professional, says that the main issues that concerned the Development Services); Geoffrey Bornemann, City communications, recreational, educational, and city were the impact of nonretail uses on sales Planner, City of Saratoga Springs; Deborah Bilitski, financial uses in its central business district, in taxes, pedestrian traffic, and the city’s goals Esquire, Jefferson County Attorney’s Office; Charles order to consider limiting nonretail uses in the for maintaining its retail core. Cash, Director, Louisville Metro Planning and Design district. The moratorium was passed because of Long Grove adopted a 90-day morato- Services; David Hulefeld, Assistant Director, concerns that development of nonretail uses in rium in February 2004 for new nonretail uses Louisville Metro Planning and Design Services; the central business district would jeopardize in its business districts, following the comple-

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tion of a business district plan. The village is requirement has been difficult to enforce.” Although each of these communities has drafting a new list of permitted and special Spoden says the current requirement is based approached this issue differently, one com- uses for the business district. According to vil- on the linear street frontage, and there have mon factor is that the proliferation of bank lage planner Edmond Cage, the village is “not been questions about which buildings are branches in retail districts was the impetus for looking to overly restrict these particular uses; covered under the ordinance. reviewing the impacts of nonretail uses in they just want the ability to review them.” In response to these concerns, the retail districts. The moratoriums were enacted Because the village does not have any Libertyville planning commission created a because of concerns about the impact of non- sales taxes, and has a limited amount of avail- subcommittee consisting of representatives retail uses on pedestrian traffic, parking, eco- able commercial property, the proliferation of from the economic development commission, nomic development, sales taxes, and the new bank branches in the business district the Main Street program, and city staff, which quality of the business mix, and to give city hasraised concerns for township officials. recommended revising the ordinance. “What officials time to devise possible solutions. As Cage says, “Banks predominantly have raised we are looking at,” Spoden says, “is putting Cage says, “The concern was that there was the concern, but whether it is a bank or an aside this percentage requirement and saying going to be a bank on every corner.” office building does not matter. The result is a that, in the front 35 feet of all buildings, Rebecca Retzlaff, AICP, is a researcher with the loss of sales taxes.” According to Cage, the offices and financial institutions are not American Planning Association and a Ph.D. purpose of the moratorium and the proposed allowed on the first floor.” However, the rest student in urban planning and policy at the ordinance is to assure that “whatever com- of the footprint on the first floor may still be University of Illinois at Chicago. mercial development comes into Long Grove used for office and financial uses. Spoden is the best that Long Grove can get.” notes that the 36-foot dimension is based on A complimentary packet of information on con- Batavia established a moratorium on the studies of the footprints and dimensions of trolling the proliferation of bank branches and issuance of new permits for banks in its retail- buildings in the downtown area. The village other nonretail uses is available to Zoning oriented business district. This ordinance was hasscheduled public hearings to discuss the Practice subscribers by contacting Michael enacted in response to the proliferation of new proposal. Spoden says, “We are trying to Davidson, Co-Editor, Zoning Practice, American bank branches in the city’s prime retail corridor. increase the retail opportunity in the down- Planning Association, 122 South Michigan It was passed based on the idea that, because town while recognizing that we do have a Avenue, Suite 1600, Chicago, IL 60603, or send banks do not rely on drive-by traffic, they are pedestrian-oriented downtown.” an e-mail to [email protected]. inherently destination uses, which unnecessar- Buffalo Grove passed a moratorium in ily compete with strictly retail uses, which do March 2004 on the development of new banks Cover photo provided by Urban Advantage.com rely on drive-by traffic and parking facilities. and financial institutions in the village’s busi- and Dover, Kohl and Partners. According to the ordinance, if the bank prolifera- ness districts, citing a recent drastic increase in tion trend continues, the city will see a detri- the number of development proposals for these mental impact on the economic health and uses. According to Assistant Village Manager VOL. 21, NO. 5 vitality of the business district. Ghida Neukirch, the village’s concerns included Zoning Practice (formerly Zoning News) is a monthly Batavia planner and zoning officer Rick the increased security attention and service publication of the American Planning Association. Smeaton says the city is using the moratorium from the local police department that banks Subscriptions are available for$65 (U.S.) and $90 (for- to “look at the effects of banks on traffic, pedes- require, the long-term needs of financial institu- eign). W. Paul Farmer, AICP, Executive Director; William R. trian, and parking patterns to see if they are tions, and sales taxes. The village is considering Klein, AICP, Director of Research. compatible with the surrounding retail uses.” possible changes to its zoning ordinance to Zoning Practice (ISSN 1548–0135) is produced at APA. Jim Libertyville adopted a more general ordi- address the issue. Schwab, AICP, and Michael Davidson, Editors; Barry Bain, nance in March 2004 that allows village com- Two other suburban Chicago communi- AICP, Fay Dolnick, Josh Edwards, Megan Lewis, AICP, Marya missions to establish temporary moratoriums ties have also passed moratoriums. Lake Morris, AICP, Rebecca Retzlaff, AICP, Lynn M. Ross, Reporters; on any land use in the village. Although a mora- Forest passed a moratorium on development Kathleen Quirsfeld, Assistant Editor; Lisa Barton, Design and torium on nonretail uses has not yet been of nonretail uses in nonresidential districts in Production. established, the ordinance was passed in order to review use regulations in business Copyright ©2004 by American Planning Association, 122 S. response to the proliferation of banks and non- districts in the city. The issue is being ana- Michigan Ave., Suite 1600, Chicago, IL 60603. The sales tax generators in the downtown district. lyzed in order to preserve the vitality and American Planning Association also has offices at 1776 The Libertyville zoning ordinance already commercial character of the central business Massachusetts Ave., N.W., Washington, DC 20036; limits to 10 percent the total first-floor street district. Hinsdale passed a moratorium in www.planning.org. frontage that may be occupied by office uses March 2004 for new first-floor uses that do All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be repro- in the downtown commercial district. After not generate retail sales taxes in business dis- duced or utilized in any form or by any means, electronic or that limit has been exceeded, new office uses tricts. The ordinance includes a list of 76 non- mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any in the district require a special permit. retail sales tax-generating uses that are cov- information storage and retrieval system, without permis- However, according to John Spoden, director ered by the moratorium, including banks, sion in writing from the American Planning Association. of community development, “The district beauty shops, real estate offices, tax prepara- Printed on recycled paper, including 50-70% recycled already exceeds that percentage, and the tion services, and travel agencies. fiber and 10% postconsumer waste.

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