Quality Infill Quality Infill - Idaho Smart Growth

Recommendations

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Instances Found in Literature (dark) Workshop Results (light) 35 30 25 20 15 10 5 0 1.Reform Zoning & Regulations 2. Make Infill Compatible 3. Create Priority Infill Areas Recommendations Recommendations Recommendations for for Quality Quality Infill Infill After reviewing the literature, the committee found ten recommendations as most important to improve infill and make it easier to build. Reforming zoning and regulations to permit smaller lots, urban setbacks, taller buildings, higher densities and more allows infill development to meet the planning goals and deliver the positive community impacts that it promises. Other recommendations range from ensuring zoning changes are appropriate and successful by engaging in collaborative processes and educating all parties, to making infill easier by preparing sites and streamlining processes. 4. Educate about Infill Recommendations Recommendations 1. Reform Reform Zoning oning and and Regulations Regulations – to to support support support building building forms, forms, densities, densities, and and dimensional dimensional standards standards consistent consistent with with infill infill projects projects 2. Make Make Infill Infill CCompatible C ompatible – be respectful of existing existing neigh neighbors neigh bors and and and neighborhood neighborhood character character 3. 3. Create Create Create PPriority P riority Infill Areas – concentrate incentives and remove barriers in these areas areas 4. 4. 4. Educate Educate about Infill Infill Infill – include include all stakeholders, utiliz utilize utiliz e innovative innovative technologies, technologies, such such such as as visualizations visualizations 5. Employ Employ Design Design GGuidelines G idelines – develop a a set set of of principl principles principl es and and goals, goals, allow allow allow flexibility flexibility 6. Require Require CCollaborative CC ollaborative Methods Methods – ensure ensure participation participation that that includes includes includes all all all stakeholders stakeholders 7. Streamline Streamline Infill Infill Processes Processes – coordinate coordinate and and make make transparent transparent between between disciplines and and agencies 8. Improve Improve TTransportation TT ransportation Choice Choices Choice – enhance enhance pedestrian/bike facilities, tra transit tra nsit service service and and and mix mix of uses, uses, and and connect local destinations in in infill infill areas areas areas 9. Enhance Enhance Enhance the the the Public Public Realm Realm Realm – iimprove i mprove and and and create create better better public public spaces spaces spaces and infrastructure near near infill 10. Prepare Prepare Sites Sites for for Infill nfill – through clean clean-up clean up up, up , land land assembly, etc etc. etc The number of instances each recommendation was found in the literature is shown in the chart below compared with the opinions of participants at a series of workshops the project sponsored. The workshop results are based on how important each recommendation was judged to be by participants. The literature review results are shown in the darker color bars; the adjacent lighter color bars show workshop results. (See Appendix C for workshop details) 5. Employ Design Guidelines 7. Streamline Infill Processes 6. Require Collaborative Methods 8. Improve Transportation Choices 9. Enhance the Public Realm 10. Prepare Sites for Infill Quality Infill Recommendations and Tools Page 8
All of the recommendations have important attributes. In order to fully implement a successful infill program, Idaho communities should explore how each of the recommendations is pertinent locally and implement them to meet local conditions. Some communities may find that their own priorities are different from the experience of committee members and workshop participants cited in this report. The ten recommendations are described below in the order that the committee agreed was the highest priority. Each deals with a specific issue of encouraging infill. We have identified tools to help you implement each of the recommendations. (See Appendix A for tools.) Develop Develop Guiding Guiding Principles Principles supporting supporting Infill; Infill; provide provide a a policy policy basis basis for for infill infill strategies strategies After examining the findings from the literature review and workshops the committee chose to make one overarching recommendation. For infill to be successful, your your community community needs needs to to build build public public consensus consensus and adopt adopt guiding guiding principles principles principles that that define define why why infill infill is is desirable desirable for for yo your yo ur community community. community The principles should address how to overcome unfounded perceptions, eliminate negative consequences and reduce barriers to infill and should provide a foundation for infill development that is high quality at the same time it provides Lowe Lower Lowe Lower r Costs Costs with with Incentives certainty to developers. 1. 1. Reform Reform Zoning Zoning and and Regulations Regulations – to to support support support building building forms, forms, densities, densities, and and dimensional dimensional standards standards consistent consistent with with infill infill infill The literature review revealed that revamping zoning and other regulations is by far the most common recommendation for a community that wants to encourage quality infill development. Suggested reforms include reviewing lot size, setback, parking, height, sidewalk and other requirements and to consider form based codes in order to encourage good urban form. The committee agrees that appropriate regulations are a necessary step, but also feel strongly that by itself this step will not assure high quality infill or diminish community opposition to infill. 2. 2. Make Make Infill Infill Compatible Compatible Compatible – be be be respectful respectful of of existing existing neighbors neighbors and and neighborhood character Compatibility is a key to creating infill that is supported by the community. It can only be defined by involving all of the effected stakeholders. It is more than design, though design is an important element. It must also address how new buildings fit into the pattern of the existing built environment including; harmonizing with the existing streetscape, determining acceptable setbacks from existing buildings, transitions both in height and visible building mass to its surroundings, and where parking is located. In places where new development is called for, such as along corridors, it is important to identify transitions into the existing neighborhood fabric. All of the recommendations can be considered incentives; however there are specific ones that save money for developers. These are the actions that directly address the most often cited barrier – the high cost of infill. In our recommendations, the suggestion of creating Priority Infill Areas – recommendation #3 – offers the opportunity to concentrate incentives in areas where the community has reached wide agreement that infill is to be encouraged. Actions such as fast tracking processes, reducing fees – including impact fees – and reducing parking or setbacks need broad community and political support to succeed. Cost saving actions most often cited are: 1. Reducing development fees – our #3 – includes prorating impact fees so as to waive or reduce them in areas where infrastructure already is sufficient; and waiving, reducing or changing the timing of application and occupancy fees. 2. Streamlined application process – our recommendation #7 – as an incentive the literature talks about fast tracking where infill meets the requirements to save money. 3. Reforming the regulations – our #1 recommendation – so that requirements such as parking, lot size, and setbacks support increased density. 4. Making public investments to support infill – our recommendations #8, 9 , 10 – if infill is truly a priority it may require the public to invest in high priority infill locations. Quality Infill Recommendations and Tools Page 9
Page 1 and 2: Produced Produced by by Idaho Idaho
Page 3 and 4: Table Table of of Contents Contents
Page 5 and 6: Introduction Introduction Infill is
Page 7 and 8: Density Density Density is often fa
Page 9 and 10: Perceptions Perceptions AAffect AA
Page 11: Compatibility Compatibility com·pa
Page 15 and 16: 8. 8. Improve Improve Transportatio
Page 17 and 18: NJ Dept of Transportation, PA Dept,
Page 19 and 20: 1997, investment in rehabilitation
Page 21 and 22: 3) ) Create PPriority P riority Inf
Page 23 and 24: 5) ) Employ Design GGuidelines G ui
Page 25 and 26: 7) ) Streamline Infill Processes Pr
Page 27 and 28: Truckee Meadows Regional Planning A
Page 29 and 30: Appendix Appendix B B Co Committee
Page 31 and 32: Require Require a a a participatory
Page 33 and 34: Literature Literature Reviewed Revi
Page 35 and 36: Public market, mixed use infill pro

Quality Infill Quality Infill - Idaho Smart Growth

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