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<br />. <br /> <br />. <br /> <br />. <br /> <br />New Urbanist Codes <br /> <br /> <br />Overview <br /> <br />Sessions <br /> <br />Workshops <br />Special Events <br />Hot Topics <br />People <br /> <br />2/3/2005 <br /> <br />Page 1 of2 <br /> <br />American PlaJl'lning Association <br />,lihking #Jf'IJ$i !.YJ$imtUlitJi'JN kMpfJf%J <br /> <br />_Saturday I Sunday I Monday I Tuesday I Wednesday <br /> <br />New Urbanist Codes <br /> <br />Sunday, April 25, 2004 <br /> <br />By Lynn Ross <br />APA Research Associate <br /> <br />New Urbanist Codes, the second session of Sunday's Bettman Symposium, offered a <br />variety of perspectives on this type of regulation to a large and engaged audience. <br /> <br />Moderator Dwight Merriam began with a brief session overview and discussion of the <br />different ways to regulate. Merriam noted that land use regulation generally falls <br />into three categories: <br /> <br />. Codes the regulate the physical form <br />. Codes that regulate land use and density <br />. Codes that regulate operation and daily use <br /> <br />New urbanist codes operate under a very simple general principle: Regulate the <br />physical form and everything else (land use, density, operation, and daily use) will <br />fall in line. As more communities adopt new urbanist or form-based regulations, <br />questions are raised regarding the legality and practicality of these codes. What <br />does it mean to have a form-based code? What are the legal issues with this type of <br />regulation? How does the form-based code measure up to traditional zoning? These <br />three important questions were addressed with the expertise of three leaders in the <br />field: Victor Dover of Dover, Kohl & Partners Town Planning; Bob Sitkowski of <br />Robinson & Cole; and Chris Duerkson of Clarion Associates. <br /> <br />Victor Dover, AlCP, addressed the first key question. Dover pointed out that new <br />urbanist or form-based codes are not a new concept - some of the earliest plans <br />ever created feature the same principles promoted by these regulations. Form-based <br />regulations code by building type, street type, or neighborhood sub-area/transect <br />zone. These codes are generally composed of four key elements: <br /> <br />1. A Reguiating Plan <br />2. Urban Standards <br />3. Architectural Standards (optional) <br />4. Street Standards <br /> <br />Form-based codes can be applied for a variety of purposes, from fixing setbacks and <br />creating mixed use to overlay plans to citywide implementation. Regardless of <br />application, all form-based codes begin with a phYSical vision of what the community <br />considers ideal. This vision is then heavily illustrated in the code itself. <br /> <br />Attorney, architect and planner Robert Sitkowski followed Dover with a discussion of <br />the legal aspects of new urbanist codes. Sitkowski outlined what he terms "the legal <br />transect" of form-based coding: authority, prescription, and delegation. <br /> <br />Authoritv_ The ability to regulate form dates back to the 1926 <br />Standard State Zoning Enabling Act. Despite the focus on form, <br />Sitkowski noted that form-based codes cannot abandon the regulation <br />of uses. Doing so would pit these codes directly against current <br />federal laws including RLUIPA and Fair Housing, which specifically <br />