Jerry Summers
While reviewing the August 30, 2023 article in our local surviving major newspaper on the titanic battle over views of the beautiful Tennessee River between two apartment complex developers on the congestion free North Shore area along Manufacturer Road I came across the above term which (still is) foreign to my limited legal education from the Columbia mail order College of Law.
My curiosity was further whetted (Southern for aroused) when a qualified legal authority expressed an opinion that the Choo Choo City fathers, mothers, etc. had “made a mistake in adopting” said mechanism as part of the re-imaging campaign of the city.
Rather than getting into the dispute initially cited above it is respectfully suggested that any interested party or individual in the topic go to Chattanooga.gov and review the entry on the FBC zoning ordinance that was adopted on June 21, 2016 and which has been amended at least six times.
No effort will be made to evaluate, support, or oppose FBC but it will be simply stated from a historical perspective to report that the concept allegedly is “a variety of development regulations that emerged at the end of the 20th century as an alternative to the Euclidean zoning codes (whatever that is) that determined most development patterns in the United States throughout the 20th century and into the 21st century.
A further point is made that “while traditional zoning codes focus first on the use of land, FBC’s prioritize the form of buildings based on the belief that form is more important than the use in determining community character.”
Both types of codes state that “their purposes are to implement the vision established for a community during a planning process.”
(Multiple sources discuss the legal tool of FBCs. The study of ordinances to determine goals and objectives, composition and background of the FBC Committee involved with staff to make recommendations to adequately represent Chattanooga’s 185,000 population might be informative!)
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You can reach Jerry Summers at jsummers@summersfirm.com