Consultant Lee Eisenweiler
The new form-based code designed to revolutionize traditional zoning may be in place in Chattanooga by the end of the year.
Lee Eisenweiler, principal at Code Studio of Austin, Tex., said the maps are now ready for the focused areas of the Southside, the MLK District, Downtown and the Central Business District, and the North Shore.
He said the maps can still be adjusted, and there are certain areas that are still being studied and discussed with residents and business owners.
Mr. Eisenweiler said the idea is for future use of parcels to be agreed up front. He said instead of the developer "getting beat up" while going through the current process that projects can go forward if they meet the established parameters.
He said the team working on the Chattanooga project can now "start working on the actual zoning."
Asked if the form-based code would eliminate the need for such processes as C-7 reviews, he said not necessarily. But he said that had been "a bandaid on a broken zoning code."
Karen Hundt of the Regional Planning Agency said every effort has been made to involve citizens. She said many took part in an initial charette and in follow-up sessions.
She said the process may eventually be utilized in other sections of town.
Changes made during the process of working with stakeholders included dropping allowable heights in the Bluff View area from eight stories to four stories and adding allowances for a six-story tower and a four-story tower near 20th Street.
Mr. Eisenweiler said the process was highly successful in a run-down section of Memphis - without any government aid. He said prior to the meeting to begin setting up a form-based code there that a sniper stronghold was found on top of a nearby building and police had to do a prior sweep of the area for prostitutes.
Carol Berz, who chairs the City Council, said she hopes the process may cut the need for contentious "TIFs and PILOTs."
A form-based code is described in Wikipedia as "a land development regulation that fosters predictable built results and a high-quality public realm by using physical form (rather than separation of uses) as the organizing principle for the code. A form-based code is a regulation, not a mere guideline, adopted into city, town, or county law."
To view the maps, click here.