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LAND on aesthetics and design often require building elevation USE drawings and a list of all proposed building materials. Site plans provide an invaluable means of evaluating • LAND the on- and off-site transportation impacts of corridor VALUE TRIPS development activity. Vergil G. Stover and Frank J. Koepke, authors of the Institute of Transportation Engi- neers Transportation and Land Development, recommend that site plan approval be required as a precondition of all development and redevelopment activity. According ACCESSIBILITY TRANSPORTATION NEEDS to the authors, a thorough site plan review process should include consideration of a number of details. (See box.) TRANSPORTATION I FACILITY\ TRAFFIC IMPACT ANALYSES While site plans can provide some measure of the off- site traffic consequences of a development project, a traf- In the absence of proper planning and design standards, fic impact analysis is often necessary to gauge a project's land-use changes and transportation improvements can full range of transportation impacts. Urban corridors are create a cycle of functional obsolescence. (Source Highway not the only areas of a community in which the traffic- Research Board) generating potential of new land uses must be considered. They are, however, usually very heavily travelled, espe- ciapeak hours, drive-in banks, fast-food restaurants, quick-service food ncrlea esrinindtraffic volumesnd, hence, very sensitive to stores, and service stations would have an adverse impact Citrus County, Florida, requires the preparation o on traffic service levels, public safety, and community traffic studies for major projects within its Corridor Plan- appearance. The district regulations require the approval ning Zone. The special corridor zone applies to all unin- of an access plan for these uses, with preference given to corporated land within 400 to 1,000 feet of the right-of- alternatives other than direct driveway access to adjacent way of three major highways in the county. Traffic impact thoroughfares. The overlay regulations also prohibit the analyses are required for nonresidential corridor projects outside storage or display of goods within the corridor with an aggregate size of 40,000 square feet or more and and place restrictions on the ancillary operations of gaso- for residential projects with more than 50 units. line service stations. Santa Fe's corridor zoning standards also require devel- • Overlay standards developed for the El Camino Real opers to prepare and submit traffic impact analyses for corridor in Carlsbad, California, restrict commercial and corridor projects. If a traffic study shows that a proposed office uses to major intersections along the route.Accord- project will have an adverse impact on off-site traffic gat- ing to the ordinance's design guidelines, these uses should terns, a mitigation plan that includes necessary improve- extend no further than 2,000 feet from major intersections. ments, cost estimates, and proposed cost-participation When traffic congestion and compatibility with nearby ratios must be developed. land uses are primary concerns, corridor ordinances may also attempt to mitigate the overall effects of corridorwide ACCESS CONTROLS development activity by placing limits on building inten- The relationship between transportation and land use sity. In New Orleans, overlay regulations significantly is sometimes described in terms of a continuous cycle of reduce permitted development intensities by imposing obsolescence. The construction or reconstruction of a additional floor area ratio (FAR) limitations on corridor roadway provides increased accessibility to an area, which land uses. The maximum FAR permitted by the commu- drives up land values and spurs development or redevel- nity's interstate corridor zone ranges from 1.0 for most opment. As development occurs, traffic continues to land uses to 2.0 for intensive commercial development. mount. More business development along the roadway Santa Fe's Highway Corridor Protection District, which brings more driveways, more conflicts, and more conges- applies to all property within 600 feet of the right-of-way tion. Eventually traffic service levels drop so low that fur- line of five major roadways in the community, establishes an across-the-board 25-foot height limitation for all cor- ridor development and strict FAR limits for professional and TABLE 2.CORRIDOR INTENSITY LIMITS medical office projects. (See Table 2.) SANTA FE, NEW MEXICO SITE PLANNING Site plan review requirements are a common feature Use FAR of almost all corridor zoning regulations. Typically, site Professional Office(one-story) 0.25 plans must indicate the nature of the proposed use and include a depiction of all site features, including building Professional Office(two-story) 0.35 location, topography, landscaping, drainage, utility place- Medical Office(one-story)00 , ent, driveway location and design, and on-site circula- 0 n facilities. Those ordinances with a strong emphasis Medical Office(two-story) 0.30 16