A new project intended to take a fresh look at the vision for downtown Chattanooga was presented Wednesday night by a consulting company hired by the city. Code Studio, based in Austin, Tex., will work with the Regional Planning Agency (RPA) to develop a form-based code for Chattanooga’s urban core.
In this type of zoning, there is no established model; instead, it relies on input from the people who live and work in the area to determine what they want to see happen there.
For this to occur, people must participate. Mayor Andy Berke said involvement of the people is the way this new plan will create value. The large crowd that came to the kick-off showed that “people here are interested in our great city,” he said.
Lee Einsweiler, principal and founding partner of Code Studio, said that form-based code is really just a different approach to zoning.
Five neighborhoods in downtown Chattanooga will be the focus of the new plans - Northshore, Riverfront, City Center, MLK, and the Southside. These areas will be considered as separate neighborhoods and codes will be customized and unique for each.
Chattanooga has done a lot of city planning in the past that has demonstrated the desire to have an urban downtown area, which includes having high quality districts for work and livability, said Mr. Einsweiler. The problem, he said, is that current zoning is out of date and does not support the items included in the plans for the downtown neighborhoods.
Form- based code will help establish methods for creating the traits that make a neighborhood a good place to work, live and play. These codes are very visual, said Mr. Einsweiler. Consistency of design features such as requiring buildings to have large windows and doors that look out to the streets is one case in point. This would ensure, for example, that the building next door does not have a solid brick wall with a loading dock facing the same street.
The placement of buildings close to the sidewalks is one of the most important things for an interactive environment with people inside and on the sidewalks, he said. There should not be an abrupt transition in building heights, and he said that more interesting environments were produced with the measurement of building heights being regulated by using stories not feet. Public spaces provided by either the private developer or the public entity is also desirable as is the way parking is managed. Both are issues that affect the atmosphere of a street and a neighborhood.
These things will help create an environment promoting walk-ability which is a characteristic that has been identified as desirable for downtown Chattanooga. This “public realm” considers not only codes for buildings but also the spaces surrounding them. Changing the streetscapes to enhance the areas by planting trees, removing poles and wires and adding street lights has an effect on how a pedestrian feels about the space and their safety, the audience was told.
There also is a focus on planning with form-based code by establishing and writing the policies so people can understand them. This is intended to promote economic development by streamlining requirements so that it evens the playing field for large and small developers. There would be a checklist of conditions that must be met, not negotiated, before property is zoned. This method of “meet the code and get a permit,” would prevent “negotiating a developer to death,” said the consultant. Form-based codes should have clear and predictable results.
The next step in developing the new zoning codes will be a hands-on neighborhood design workshop on Saturday, March 7, from 8:30 a.m. to noon. The consultants will filter what they know about the specific areas in Chattanooga to custom craft solutions for each. Those interested are encouraged to attend and give input for what they wish to see happen. Workshops for each of the five areas will take place in consecutive meetings throughout the day on March 8. On March 9 will be a lunch meeting concerning economics of the new city codes, a meeting on preservation on Tuesday and additional information about form-based coding on Wednesday.
A design studio will be set up at the Bessie Smith Cultural Center where the consultants will be putting the plans onto paper as they evolve so there will be visual representation of what the community envisions for each of the five areas being targeted. This studio will be open to the public, from 9 a.m.-12 p.m. on Sunday through Wednesday. A work-in progress presentation will be made March 12 from 6-8 p.m.
Updates on the plans can be seen at www.CHA-FBC.com . Contact Karen Hundt at the RPA office or at hundt_karen@chattanooga.gov for more information.