Infill Development Standards and Policy Guide STUDY PREPARED BY CENTER FOR URBAN POLICY RESEARCH EDWARD J. BLOUSTEIN SCHOOL OF PLANNING & PUBLIC POLICY RUTGERS, THE STATE UNIVERSITY OF NEW JERSEY NEW BRUNSWICK, NEW JERSEY with the participation of THE NATIONAL CENTER FOR SMART GROWTH RESEARCH AND EDUCATION UNIVERSITY OF MARYLAND COLLEGE PARK, MARYLAND and SCHOOR DEPALMA MANALAPAN, NEW JERSEY STUDY PREPARED FOR NEW JERSEY DEPARTMENT OF COMMUNITY AFFAIRS (NJDCA) DIVISION OF CODES AND STANDARDS and NEW JERSEY MEADOWLANDS COMMISSION (NJMC) NEW JERSEY OFFICE OF SMART GROWTH (NJOSG) June, 2006 DRAFT—NOT FOR QUOTATION ii CONTENTS Part One: Introduction and Synthesis of Findings and Recommendations Chapter 1. Smart Growth and Infill: Challenge, Opportunity, and Best Practices……………………………………………………………...…..2 Part Two: Infill Development Standards and Policy Guide Section I. General Provisions…………………….…………………………….....33 II. Definitions and Development and Area Designations ………….....36 III. Land Acquisition………………………………………………….……40 IV. Financing for Infill Development ……………………………..……...43 V. Property Taxes……………………………………………………….....52 VI. Procedure………………………………………………………………..57 VII. Design……………………………………………………………….…..68 VIII. Zoning…………………………………………………………………...79 IX. Subdivision and Site Plan…………………………………………….100 X. Documents to be Submitted……………………………………….…135 XI. Design Details XI-1 Lighting………………………………………………….....145 XI-2 Signs………………………………………………………..156 XI-3 Landscaping…………………………………………….....167 Part Three: Background on Infill Development: Challenges and Best Practices Chapter 2. Identifying Smart Growth–Infill Development………………….…181 3. Property Acquisition and Infill……………………………………....191 4. Financing Infill Projects……………………………………………….230 5. The Property Tax and Infill……………………………………….….263 6. Procedure and Infill…………………………………………………...306 7. Infill Design…………………………………………………………….324 8. Zoning and Infill………………………………………………………358 9. Subdivision Standards—Parking and Infill………………………...391 Bibliography…………………………………………………………………...437 iii AUTHORS DAVID LISTOKIN† and † CAROLE C. WALKER †† REID EWING † MATT CUDDY † ALAN CANDER with † MATTHEW CAMP † JENNIFER SENICK ††† HENRY NEY ††† RALPH ORLANDO † CUPR RESEARCH ASSOCIATES RESEARCH ORGANIZATIONS † CENTER FOR URBAN POLICY RESEARCH (CUPR) EDWARD J. BLOUSTEIN SCHOOL OF PLANNING & PUBLIC POLICY RUTGERS, THE STATE UNIVERSITY OF NEW JERSEY NEW BRUNSWICK, NEW JERSEY †† THE NATIONAL CENTER FOR SMART GROWTH RESEARCH AND EDUCATION UNIVERSITY OF MARYLAND COLLEGE PARK, MARYLAND ††† SCHOOR DEPALMA MANALAPAN, NEW JERSEY David Listokin wrote chapters 1-6, sections I through VI, X, and XI-1 of the ordinance and policy guide (OPG) and contributed to other portions of the document. Carole Walker wrote chapter 7, parts of chapter 8, sections VII, XI-2, XI-3, and parts of XI-1, and the commentary for VII, VIII, and XI of the OPG, as well as contributing to other portions of the document. Reid Ewing wrote section VIII and contributed to section IX of the OPG. Matt Cuddy developed the model in chapters 8, wrote chapter 9, and contributed to chapter 2 and section IX of the OPG. Alan Cander contributed to chapter 3 and wrote parts of chapter 8 and section VIII of the OPG. Matthew Camp contributed to chapter 6 and provided invaluable research assistance. Jennifer Senick added comments on sustainable development and green building throughout the document. Henry Ney and Ralph Orlando contributed to portions of section IX and X of the OPG. CUPR research associates provided important assistance throughout the study. iv CUPR research associates include Mary Uschack, Tim McManus, John Renne, Jessee Sherry, David Downs, and Ian Litwin. v Part One Introduction and Synthesis of Findings and Recommendations Chapter 1 SMART GROWTH AND INFILL: CHALLENGE, OPPORTUNITY, AND BEST PRACTICES Smart growth creates a supportive environment for redirecting a share of regional growth to central cities and inner suburbs. At the same time, growth pressures are reduced in rural and undeveloped portions of the metropolitan area. Public and private strategies shift the demand for growth from outer-suburban and peripheral areas to existing central cities and inner suburbs so that growth is more evenly spread and takes advantage of existing infrastructure. Metropolitan areas employing smart-growth strategies reap several benefits: the regional economy is strengthened, residents’ quality of life is enhanced, and outer-area natural resource systems are protected and restored (Burchell et al. 1998). Infill development is a key component of smart growth. It generally occurs in central cities and inner suburbs on scattered sites, including vacant lots. If sprawl onto greenfields is to be curbed, then development must be accommodated elsewhere. Infill development provides one “smart” way to do so. Smart growth and infill development (smart growth–infill) are not new; they draw from past growth management, land preservation, and community development practices and influences in the United States. Smart growth–infill has staying power because it provides a sensible approach to growth that is supported by a growing national commitment. In addition, smart growth–infill is in tune with the new demographic demand for central places by retirees and immigrants (Burchell, Listokin, and Galley 2000). Moreover, a growing movement to incorporate best practices in sustainable design ties naturally to infill development objectives. The formulation of the U.S. Green Building Council’s LEED® (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) building guidelines has created a national standard for developing high-performance, sustainable buildings by encouraging strategies for sustainable site development, including infill development. This chapter defines smart growth and infill, briefly discusses the benefits of such development when compared with sprawl, and concludes with challenges to smart growth in general and infill in particular. The infill development standards and policy guide describes the challenges to infill development and makes recommendations for addressing them. As some of the development standards may be adopted into the form of an ordinance, the current study is referred to as the infill ordinance and policy guide, or in an abbreviated fashion as simply the guide or document. The guide’s key recommendations are summarized at the conclusion of this chapter, and full details on how to proceed are contained in part 2 of the document. 2 WHAT IS SMART GROWTH? As defined by Burchell et al. (1998), smart growth encompasses five basic activities. The first is control of outward growth movement. Growth is managed either between public jurisdictions—usually an urban growth boundary (UGB)—or within a political This chapter by David Listokin and Robert W. Burchell. jurisdiction—occasionally a UGB but most often an urban service boundary (USB). UGBs typically discourage most types of growth beyond a geographic point. USBs allow growth to proceed only if requisite services can be publicly or privately provided. The second smart-growth activity, encouraging growth back into slow-growing and more central places, runs parallel with the control of outward growth. This activity involves targeting public employment; expanding tax bases; upgrading public services and infrastructure; working with the needs and desires of community residents and representatives; and making meaningful changes in the quality of life of the targeted areas (Burchell, Dolphin, and Galley 2000). The third activity focuses urban design to help old and new neighborhoods function. This involves mixing housing types and land uses, creating meaningful central places, and introducing new forms of open space and access to neighborhoods. Strategies here include bringing the building shell closer to the street edge; locating off-street parking in back of buildings and providing for on-street parking in the front; breaking up blank walls of buildings with windows and entrances; and using upper floors to accommodate professional offices and housing (Bohl 2000). Preserving natural resources, the fourth activity, secures for the public benefit agricultural and environmentally fragile lands. Further, it reduces the overall amount of land converted in development. Strategies for preserving natural resources include establishing agricultural and environmental trust funds, down-zoning in peripheral areas, clustering of development in those areas, and purchasing easements to provide public access to the protected lands. Finally, smart growth requires reorienting transportation to reduce dependency on the automobile. This activity introduces higher densities to make various types of transit feasible. Further, it locates new development and redevelopment with services and public transit. These strategies aim to replace the automobile with other modes of transportation for regional travel and to make local travel nonmotorized. In recognizing how essential these five activities are to smart growth, the U.S. Green Building Council, the Congress for the New Urbanism, and the Natural Resources Defense Council have developed the first national standard for neighborhood design known as LEED-ND (Neighborhood Design). Four subcategories are used within the LEED-ND standard to suggest methods to integrate sustainable design practices into neighborhood design. Within each of the subcategories, one must first meet a list of 3 prerequisite requirements before earning points for meeting additional aspects of green design. The four