Codes

Daniel Parolek, Karen Parolek, and Paul Crawford have identified nine errors that people commonly make when designing and applying form-based codes (FBCs).

The City of Flagstaff, Arizona, unanimously approved a traditional neighborhood development (TND) ordinance closely modeled on the SmartCode in November, 2007, according to Roger Eastman, the city’s code administrator. New thoroughfare standards that go along with the code were approved in December.

In 1999, Wisconsin passed the first and only state law in the US requiring municipalities to have traditional neighborhood development codes. Eight years later — and five years after the initial deadline for adopting these ordinances — many municipalities still have not enacted a TND statute, according to Kevin Pomeroy, planning director for 1000 Friends of Wisconsin. “There’s no penalty for not adopting the ordinance, so there is no rush to comply,” Pomeroy says. All municipalities of more than 12,500 population — a total of 65 — are covered by the law.

A Romanian town with a famous castle hosts a charrette, and helps set a path for European architectural education.

Prince Vlad the Impaler is thought to have visited a fortress that was begun in the 13th century in what is now the small Romanian town of Bran. By the late 19th century, lore associated with Vlad inspired novelist Bram Stoker to write his famous story of Count Dracula — with the result that in recent years Bran has been deluged with tourists eager to visit what’s often (through a leap of imagination) called “Dracula’s castle.”

Sarasota County, Florida, commissioners unanimously endorsed a zoning ordinance amendment in August, establishing form-based code as an option for mixed-use, commercial development, according to the Sun newspapers. “If someone is considering whether to pursue a development project, they can look through the code and see what paths they have to get approved,” Bill Spikowski of Spikowski Planning Associates told the reporter. “This one is really customized for mixed-use, in-fill development.” The code calls for design charrettes prior to approval of projects, the report said.

By Chad Emerson

Environmental Law Institute, 2007, 104 pp., paperback, $22.46.

Pass Christian, one of the Mississippi communities hardest hit by Hurricane Katrina, adopted the SmartCode in principle in April. The expectation is that after the city draws maps and meets with residents of neighborhoods to make adjustments, the Board of Aldermen will formally enact the code into law.

A form-based redevelopment code was recently approved for Blue Springs, Missouri, a city in the Kansas City area. The code was written by 180 Degrees Design Studio. The new zoning classifications are designed to streamline approval of redevelopment projects in the commercial area, Kevin Klinkenberg of 180 Degrees Design Studio told the Kansas City Star.

Montgomery, Alabama, approved the SmartCode as mandatory regulation for downtown development. Montgomery County, centered on the city, is a SmartCode hotbed. In 2005, the county’s only other incorporated municipality, Pike Road, approved the SmartCode as well. Pike Road’s code is mandatory for several key growth corridors, and optional for the remaining areas. Pike Road is located in the sprawling eastern part of the county. One of the most successful TNDs of recent years, The Waters, is located in Pike Road and designed to SmartCode standards.

York Township, Pennsylvania, approved a traditional neighborhood development (TND) ordinance in 2005 and now the municipality has five TND projects proposed, all adjacent and connected to one another, according to Will Selman, a new urbanist planner who is consulting with the municipality.