Codes make a difference in California, Virginia
New Urban News Article with images, 7/1/2004
Adoption of form-based codes in Petaluma, California, and Arlington County, Virginia, is quickly paying off with new buildings that line the sidewalks and streets. In Petaluma, which enacted a version of Duany Plater-Zyberk & Company’s SmartCode in July 2003, a retail and housing development called Basin Street Landing is nearing completion. It occupies former parking lots in part of the 400-acre area regulated by the new code (see July-August 2003 New Urban News). Laura Hall of Fisher & Hall Urban Design, which tailored the SmartCode to the 56,000-population community, says over $100 million in development has been approved since the code’s adoption, including Basin Street Landing, which contains 20,000 square feet of office and restaurant space on the ground floor and 43 apartments above.
Petaluma’s historic Brannerd Jones building has been renovated and leased to food and beverage retailers such as Peet’s Coffee. Under construction are a 12-screen cinema, a 500-space parking garage with ground-floor commercial space, and a 50,000-square-foot waterfront office building. They will be followed by 105 apartments, 48 rowhouses, and a three-story project containing ground-floor commercial space and 76 apartments.
