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HomeMy WebLinkAboutPlan Appendix A Best Practices  Town  of Ithaca 2014 Comprehensive Plan A‐1 APPENDIX A    IMPLEMENTING BEST PRACTICES    Town  of Ithaca 2014 Comprehensive Plan A‐2   Town  of Ithaca 2014 Comprehensive Plan A‐3 IMPLEMENTING BEST PRACTICES  Land development and regulatory practices form the foundation for implementing a comprehensive plan, and establishing the future direction, character, and sense of place of the community. This appendix includes demonstrated and proven best practices in planning that are recommended for implementing the goals and policies of this plan. Implementation of the plan should not be limited to these practices alone, though. A.1 Smart Growth  In the Town of Ithaca, there is growing concern that the current development pattern, dominated by what some call "sprawl", is no longer in the long-term interest of the community. Though supportive of growth, residents and community leaders are questioning the economic and social costs of continued vehicle-oriented low density development. Smart Growth is a planning strategy with the goal of accommodating development and growth, while also considering and addressing its negative effects, to create more livable, sustainable and humane communities. There are many definitions of "Smart Growth." Perhaps the most encompassing comes from the City of Austin, Texas Neighborhood Planning Glossary. "A perspective, method, and goal for managing the growth of a community. It focuses on the long-term implications of growth and how it may affect the community, instead of viewing growth as an end in itself. The community can vary in size; it may be as small as a city block or a neighborhood, or as large as a city, a metropolitan area, or even a region. Smart Growth promotes cooperation between often diverse groups to arrive at sustainable long-term strategies for managing growth. It is designed to create livable cities, promote economic development, and protect open spaces, environmentally sensitive areas, and agricultural lands." The American Planning Association adopted the following definition of smart growth. "Smart Growth is the planning, design, development and revitalization of communities to promote a sense of place, the preservation of natural and cultural resources, and the equitable distribution of the costs and benefits of development. Smart Growth enhances ecological integrity over the short and long term and improves quality of life by expanding the range of transportation, employment, and housing choices in the region in a fiscally responsible manner." Spurring the Smart Growth movement are demographic shifts, a strong environmental ethic, increased fiscal concerns, and more nuanced views of growth. The result is both a new demand and a new opportunity for smart growth. The United States Environmental Protection Agency identifies the following ten principles of Smart Growth: 1) Create a range of housing opportunities and choices. 2) Create walkable neighborhoods. 3) Encourage community and stakeholder collaboration. 4) Foster distinctive, attractive communities with a strong sense of place. 5) Make development decisions predictable, fair and cost effective. 6) Mix land uses. 7) Preserve open space, farmland, natural beauty and critical environmental areas.   Town  of Ithaca 2014 Comprehensive Plan A‐4 8) Provide a variety of transportation choices. 9) Strengthen and direct development towards existing communities. 10) Take advantage of compact building design. The Town of Ithaca has little control over whether its population will grow. However, it can control how it grows. Smart growth introduces new, sound planning principles that will help make the Town a more livable, desirable and sustainable community. Smart Growth principles  Create a range of housing opportunities  and choices.  Many young adults are finding they can't afford to buy a home in the City or Town of Ithaca, and are resorting to lower-priced housing in distant communities with long commutes. Many senior citizens, now empty nesters or living alone, can no longer maintain or heat homes that were originally built to accommodate a large family. Providing quality housing for people of all generations, income levels and social groups is an integral component in a smart growth strategy. Housing is a critical part of the way the Town grows, and constitutes a significant share of new construction and development. More importantly, it is a key factor in determining households' access to transportation, employment, retail and social amenities, schools, and consumption of natural resources. By using Smart Growth techniques to create a wider range of housing choices, the Town can mitigate the environmental costs of auto-dependent development, use its infrastructure more efficiently, ensure a better jobs-housing balance, and generate a strong foundation of support for public transportation, mixed use neighborhood centers, and other amenities. Create walkable neighborhoods.  Walkable communities are seen as desirable places to live, work, and play. Residential areas in the City of Ithaca, and pedestrian-oriented neighborhoods in other Upstate New York cities, are experiencing renewed life and increasing real estate values. Walkable neighborhoods are seen as desirable, because housing, retail and entertainment uses, and places of employment are conveniently located an easy and safe walk from each other. Walkable communities also make pedestrian activity possible, thus expanding transportation options, and creating a streetscape that better serves pedestrians, bicyclists, transit riders, and automobiles. Prospect New Town, Longmont, Colorado.  (Prospect New Town)  Shaker Square, Cleveland, Ohio.  (DT)    Town  of Ithaca 2014 Comprehensive Plan A‐5 Development in the Town of Ithaca is dispersed and largely auto-dependent, built under design practices that reduce pedestrian activity. A conventional zoning ordinance makes mixed land use development difficult. It would be impossible to recreate historic Upstate villages such as Skaneateles, Cazenovia, or East Aurora today. Land use and community design play a pivotal role in encouraging pedestrian environments. By enabling development with multiple destinations within close proximity, where the streets and sidewalks balance all forms of transportation, the Town will have the basic framework for encouraging walkability. Encourage community and stakeholder collaboration.  Growth can create great places to live, work and play, if it is channeled into a community's own sense of how and where it wants to develop. Each of the Town's "hills" has different needs and will emphasize some smart growth principles over others. Citizen participation can be time-consuming and frustrating. Encouraging community and stakeholder collaboration, though, can lead to creative resolution of development issues and greater understanding of the importance of good planning and the "big picture." Plans and policies developed without strong citizen involvement will, at best, have no staying power; at worst, they will be used to create unhealthy, undesirable communities. When stakeholders feel left out of the planning process, they will be less likely to become engaged when tough decisions need to be made. Involving the community early and often in the planning process improves public support for Smart Growth and often leads to innovative strategies that fit the unique needs of each community. Foster distinctive, attractive communities with a strong sense of place.  Retail architecture conforming to corporate prototype design, and residential development in a conventional subdivision of large lots and cul-de-sacs, dilute the identity and character of a community. Smart Growth encourages communities to craft a vision and set standards for development that responds to community values of architectural beauty and distinctiveness, as well as expanded choices in housing and transportation. It seeks to create interesting, unique communities that reflect the values and cultures of the people who live there, and foster physical environments that supports a more cohesive community fabric. Smart Growth promotes development that uses natural and man-made boundaries and landmarks to create a sense of defined places. It encourages construction and preservation of buildings that contribute to the unique look and feel of a community. Guided by a vision of how and where to grow, the Town is able to identify and use opportunities to make new development conform to their standards of distinctiveness and beauty. Contrary to the current mode of development, Smart Growth ensures that the value of development is determined as much by its accessibility as its physical orientation to and relationship with other buildings and open space. By creating high-quality communities with architectural and natural elements that reflect its character, there is a greater likelihood that buildings, and their surrounding neighborhoods, will retain their economic vitality and value over time. Make development decisions predictable,  fair and cost effective.  For Smart Growth to be successful, it must be embraced by the Main Street, Williamsville, New York.  (DT)    Town  of Ithaca 2014 Comprehensive Plan A‐6 private sector. Only private capital markets can supply the large amounts of money needed to meet the growing demand for smart growth developments. If investors, bankers, developers, builders and others do not earn a profit, few Smart Growth projects will be built. Fortunately, the Town can help make Smart Growth profitable to developers. Since the development industry is highly regulated, the value of property and the desirability of a place are largely affected by regulation and investment in infrastructure. Sound infrastructure and regulatory decisions wilt foster fair, predictable and cost effective smart growth. Despite regulatory and financial barriers, developers have been successful in creating examples of Smart Growth. The process to do so, however, requires them to get variances to existing codes; often a time-consuming and costly requirement. For Smart Growth to flourish, the Town must make an effort to make development decisions more timely, cost-effective, and predictable for developers. By creating a fertile environment for innovative projects, local government can provide leadership for smart growth that the private sector should support. Mix land uses.  Zoning emerged as a response to the unregulated nature of land use in the early 20th century, and the noxious character of many businesses and industries of the time. Early zoning codes were intended to protect homeowners from uses such as slaughterhouses, tanneries, and glue factories, which would be a nuisance that could devalue residential properties. Today, some contemporary zoning codes prevent the mixing of residential and commercial uses, even for a well-planned project where the threat of a nuisance is nonexistent. Smart Growth supports the integration of mixed land uses into communities as a critical component of achieving better places to live. By putting uses in closer proximity to one another, alternatives to driving, such as walking or biking, once again become viable. Mixed land uses also provide a more diverse and sizable population and commercial base for supporting viable public transit. Mixed uses can enhance the vitality and perceived security of an area by improving the attitude and increasing the number of people on the street. Not all mixed use is desirable; for example, storage of heavy equipment or operation of construction yards on residential property, as occasionally seen in rural areas. Well planned mixed use development helps streets, public spaces and pedestrian-oriented retail again become places where people meet, attracting pedestrians back onto the street and revitalizing community life. Smart Growth provides a means for the Town to alter the planning context that now renders mixed land uses illegal. Shalebrook Farm, Town  of Ithaca.  Elmwood Village, Buffalo, New York  (DT)    Town  of Ithaca 2014 Comprehensive Plan A‐7 Preserve open space, farmland, natural beauty and critical environmental areas.  Development pressure and the impact of urbanization on agricultural uses are threats to the Town's remaining farmland. With large lot residential development increasingly commonplace, it now takes fewer people and houses to occupy a section of land than in the past. Smart Growth uses the term "open space" broadly to include natural areas that provide important community space, habitat for plants and animals, recreational opportunities, farm and nursery land, places of natural beauty, and critical environmental areas. Open space preservation supports Smart Growth goals by protecting the character of rural and semi-rural communities, preserving critical environmental areas, improving the region's quality of life, and guiding new growth into existing communities and areas where there will be less impact on the natural environment. Protection and maintenance of open space provides fiscal benefits that include increasing local property value, encouraging tourism, and reducing the cost of providing new infrastructure. Preservation of open space benefits the environment by combating air pollution, attenuating noise from busy highways, providing erosion and wind control, moderating temperatures, and protecting watersheds and pristine rivers. Provide a variety of transportation choices.  Traffic congestion is an issue in some parts of the town. Although the Ithaca area doesn't face the same traffic woes that beset many North American cities, increasing urban sprawl is resulting in longer commutes and increased travel times. Providing people with more choices in housing, shopping, communities, and transportation is a key aim of Smart Growth. Communities are increasingly seeking these choices, particularly a wider range of transportation options with supportive development patterns, to help improve beleaguered transportation systems. Strengthen and direct development towards existing communities.  Smart Growth directs development towards established communities already served by infrastructure, seeking to use resources that existing neighborhoods offer, and conserve open space on the urban fringe. Development in existing neighborhoods also represents an approach to growth that can be more cost-effective, and improves the quality of life for its residents. By encouraging development in established cities and villages, they benefit from a stronger tax base, closer proximity to a range of jobs and services, increased efficiency of already developed land and infrastructure, reduced development pressure in edge areas, and stronger rural and estate communities. The ease of greenfield development remains an obstacle to encouraging more development in existing neighborhoods. Nevertheless, some communities are recognizing the opportunities presented by retrofitting and infill development. Take  advantage of compact building  design.  Smart Growth provides a way for the Town to incorporate more compact building design as an alternative to conventional, land consumptive development. Compact building design suggests Fairview Village, Portland, Oregon.  (Brett VA/Creative  Commons license)    Town  of Ithaca 2014 Comprehensive Plan A‐8 that communities be designed in a way which permits more open space to be preserved, and that buildings can be constructed to make more efficient use of land and resources. Compact building design is necessary to support wider transportation choices because a minimum level of density is required to make public transit networks viable. It also provides cost savings for localities, because it is less costly to provide and maintain services like water, sewer, electricity, and other utilities in more compact communities. A.2 Traditional neighborhood development  In his book A Better Place to Live: Reshaping the American Suburb, Philip Langdon described East Aurora, a village of about 7,500 residents 15 miles southeast of Buffalo, as a "nearly complete", "compact and walkable" community where "nearly everything the inhabitants needed, except a full range of employment, was close to home." Traditional neighborhood development (TND) or neotraditional development is a form of development that takes its inspiration from the "nearly" complete communities of the past; villages like East Aurora, and urban and suburban neighborhoods built between World Wars I and II. TND includes a range of housing types, network of interconnected streets, human-scaled public spaces, and amenities such as shops, schools, parks, and places of worship within walking distance of all residences. There is growing support for creating denser, more walkable and interconnected neighborhoods in the town, with housing and amenities that appeal to a broader range of households, lifestyles, life stages, and income ranges. TND can better accommodate this than the collections of disconnected subdivisions, cluster developments, semi-rural frontage development, and apartment complexes now prevalent. Major differences between TND and conventional suburban development include: Traditional neighborhood development Conventional suburban development  Street networks are interconnected, with multiple routes  between destinations.  Street networks are dendritic, or take a "loop and lollypop"  form, with limited routes between destinations.  Some mixed use: e.g.  apartments above storefronts, accessory  offices at intersections, different types of housing may share a  block.  Different uses and building types are segregated into pods. Range of housing types in close proximity, providing for a  variety of income ranges and life stages.  Very  limited variety of housing types, separated into physically  disconnected pods with limited or no access between them.  Anchored by a village center or commercial district, located  within walking distance of most residents.  Commercial districts isolated in strips along busy roads, usually  beyond walking distance of most residents.    Village of East Aurora, New York.  (DT)    Town  of Ithaca 2014 Comprehensive Plan A‐9 Traditional neighborhood development Conventional suburban development  Commercial districts built on a pedestrian scale; building  entrances and storefronts face the street and front the  sidewalk.  Commercial districts built on a vehicular scale; buildings are  placed behind a parking lot, and building entrances often do  not face the street.  Civic uses (town halls, post offices, places of worship, schools)  are placed in or near a neighborhood or village center, or in  prominent but accessible locations.  Civic uses are scattered throughout the community with no  regards to accessibility; often in areas outside of  neighborhoods.  Gathering places are in the public realm (main street,  sidewalks, squares, etc).  Gathering places are in the private realm (shopping centers,  subdivision and apartment building common buildings, etc).  Parks are located in prominent locations, and front on public  streets.  Parks and open space are placed on remnant parcels, often in  linear corridors behind back yards.  Streets are narrower, and designed to accommodate  pedestrians and vehicles.  Streets are wide, designed mainly for efficient, high‐speed  traffic flow.  On‐street parking is accommodated in all areas.  Off‐street parking is preferred. Commercial areas have no on‐ street parking.  Buildings are placed closer to the sidewalk. Buildings are placed as far away from the street as possible,  distancing occupants from street life and their neighbors.  A neighborhood conveys a strong sense of place.A subdivision could be anywhere.  A comparison of traditional neighborhood development to conventional suburban development. (Post, Nadine M., "Putting Brakes on Suburban Sprawl," Engineering News–Record, May 9, 1994, pp. 32–39.)  Reduced sprawl and farmland conversion.  TND is more compact than conventional suburban development, and will slow the conversion of agricultural land and open space to urban uses. Compact development also uses land, energy, water, and materials more efficiently and wisely than conventional suburban development.  Lower service costs.  TND services a similar number of residences with far less infrastructure. Development and maintenance costs are lower because the same length of road and utilities can serve more residences.  Expanded housing choice.  TND accommodates a wider range of housing types than conventional suburban development. It addresses a disconnect between the supply of housing in the town (development catering mainly to traditional families with children, and low- moderate income households) and demand (growing percentage of households comprising professional singles, childless couples, single parents, empty nesters, retirees, and non-traditional households). Housing can be made more affordable through increased density rather than expensive subsidies or lowered standards.  Appeal to younger adults and a new generation of  retirees.  Those who belong to Generation X and Generation Y (born between 1965 and 1995) have a marked preference for living in more walkable, compact and diverse neighborhoods compared to previous generations. Such neighborhoods may also appeal to recent retirees, who are increasingly choosing to settle in culturally vibrant college towns such as Ithaca instead of age- segregated communities or Sunbelt destinations. A comparison of traditional neighborhood development  (top) to conventional suburban development (bottom).   (Nadine Post, "Putting Brakes on Suburban Sprawl,"  Engineering News–Record, May 1994.)    Town  of Ithaca 2014 Comprehensive Plan A‐10  Safer public spaces.  Parks, streets, and civic spaces are safer and more defensible, because they are more accessible and visually prominent, and get more use.  Community for the carless.  Residents who cannot drive, including children and many senior citizens, can more easily take part in the day-to-day life of the community, and not be physically or socially isolated. TND also increases the viability of public transit by providing a simple street network, increased population density, and an environment that makes a walk to a bus stop more interesting.  Reduced vehicle trips.  Providing some retail and commercial services within walking distance of residents will reduce the need to drive outside of the neighborhood to find those services.  Healthier living.  Likelihood of obesity and health issues due to a sedentary lifestyle is reduced by having a mix of uses and services within walking distance. TND should be the preferred form of development in the Town of Ithaca, as opposed to conventional subdivisions, frontage development, and podded cluster development.   Stapleton: traditional neighborhood development in Denver, Colorado.  (DT)  A.3 Form‐ and transect‐based codes  A.3.1 Form‐based codes  Form-based codes regulate development of the built environment by placing an emphasis on guiding the form that development takes, rather than focusing on land use as with traditional zoning. Form-based codes are intended to create a more predictable physical outcome than traditional zoning, and achieve a specific urban form. Form-based codes usually include the following elements:  Regulating plan: shows the locations where different building form standards apply.  Public space standards: specifications for the built environment in the public realm; types of streets, street profiles, planting areas and landscaping, sidewalks, light poles, drainage, and so on. Celebration, Florida.  (DT)    Town  of Ithaca 2014 Comprehensive Plan A‐11  Building form standards: regulations controlling the configuration, features, and functions of buildings that shape the public realm. This also includes architectural design, signage, lighting, landscaping, and drainage requirements. Building type may also be regulated. Major differences between conventional zoning and form-based codes include: Form‐based code Conventional zoning code Implements a comprehensive plan by regulating the physical  character of specified areas.    Implements a comprehensive plan by limiting types of uses to  specified areas.  Intended to address development issues of the present; avoid  effects of sprawl, create sense of place, create neighborhoods,  provide housing diversity.  Intended to address development issues of the past;  tenements and urban overcrowding, noxious and intrusive  nuisances, growing automobile ownership.  Focuses on the form of a building as it relates to the street and  adjacent uses.  Focuses on the use and development of individual lots. Regulates with primary emphasis on form (buildings and their  relationship to the street and each other), secondarily on use  and management.  Regulates with primary emphasis on use (separation of uses),  secondarily on management and form.  Placement of buildings on the lot is regulated by build‐to lines,  which specify building location relative to lot lines.    Placement of buildings is governed by uniform minimum  setbacks that create a building envelope.  The location and  form of a building in a building envelope is unpredictable.  Street standards vary based on the regulating plan and the  desired character for a street.  Street standards are independent of zoning districts and land  use.  Regulates parking design in understanding that poorly  designed parking undermines pedestrian activity and interest  in a place.  Parking  is placed behind buildings to develop  walkable streetscapes.    Location and form of parking is usually not regulated.  Required parking is based on reasonable need, also considers  availability of on‐street parking.  Required parking is based on worst‐case scenarios; e.g. Black  Friday at the peak of an economic boom.  Street standards are designed so that pedestrians feel safe and  to encourage walkability.  Street standards are designed primarily to maximize auto  volume and speed.  Physical outcomes and building placement are predictable.Physical outcomes and building placement are unpredictable,  especially if there is a large building envelope.  Permitted uses are based on building form, street type, and an  underlying regulating plan.  Permitted uses are based on underlying zoning.  Compatibility of uses is achieved through design and building  orientation.  Compatibility of uses is achieved through grouping of similar  uses, strict separation of uses, and buffers.    Form‐based codes accommodate development that is  compact, mixed use, and pedestrian friendly.  The structure of traditional zoning codes makes it difficult to  accommodate pedestrian‐oriented and mixed use  development.  Development standards are prescriptive, ensuring a  predictable design and approval process.  Development standards are sometimes negotiable (site plan  review, local laws, vague planned unit development standards),  prolonging the design and approval process.  Regulates to create places. Regulates to create buildings. A.3.2 Transect‐based codes  A transect-based code is based on the ecological concept of a transect; a cross-section of the environment showing a range of different habitats. A transect-based code establishes a number of transect zones, each distinguished by its density and shared character. Transect zones that form the foundation of most transect-based codes usually include:  T1: lands approximating or reverting to a wilderness condition, including lands unsuitable for settlement.   Town  of Ithaca 2014 Comprehensive Plan A‐12  T2: sparsely settled lands in an open or cultivated state.  T3: lower density residential areas next to higher density zones that have some mixed use.  T4: mixed use but primarily medium density residential urban/prewar suburban fabric.  T5: higher density mixed use buildings that accommodate retail, offices, rowhouses, and apartments.  T6: highest density and height, with the greatest variety of uses, and civic buildings of local importance. Rural‐to‐urban transect.  (Duany Plater‐Zyberk and Company)  The scope of transect zones is less granular than conventional zoning districts, where there may be only minor differences in minimum setbacks or permitted uses. Transect zones are intended to be balanced in a neighborhood structure based on pedestrian sheds, or areas where every resident in a neighborhood is a short walk from any other habitat, such as a village center, civic space, or farmland. All transect-based codes are form-based codes, because they are based on the physical form of the built and natural environment. Major differences between conventional zoning and form-based codes include: Transec t‐based code Conventional zoning code Implement a comprehensive plan by create communities with  a range of human habitats, from most rural to most urban.  Implements a comprehensive plan by limiting types of uses to  specified areas.  Regulates with primary emphasis on form (buildings and their  relationship to the street and each other), secondarily on use  and management.  Regulates with primary emphasis on use (separation of uses),  secondarily on management and form.  Development is structured into neighborhood patterns  (clustered land development, traditional neighborhood  development, and town center development).  Development is not intentionally structured into particular  patterns, and there is no goal of creating coherent  neighborhoods.  Requires a mix of housing types and sizes in a walkable  neighborhood.  Most standards are applied across all zones as one‐size‐fits‐all  regulations.  Districts are based on shared character. Districts are based on shared use.  All zones are mixed use to some degree.   Most zones prohibit mixed uses.  A planned unit development  is necessary to build a mixed use development.  Requires a mix of uses within a walkable neighborhood.Allows development of vast areas of a single land use. Walking  distance to other uses is not a factor.  Creates a diverse variety of immersive environments, ranging  from the most rural to the most urban.  Mostly low density suburban residential development is  scattered among natural areas and agricultural land, creating  homogenized or contradictory environments.  Requires development of connected street networks.No specific street layout requirements.  Allows development of  dendritic street networks.    Town  of Ithaca 2014 Comprehensive Plan A‐13       Transect‐based development under the SmartCode.  (Marley Porter of Living Architecture for the City of Hutto, Texas  Planning  Department.)  A.3.3 The SmartCode  The SmartCode is an open source, form-based and transect-based land development code. The SmartCode is designed to create interconnected, walkable neighborhoods across the spectrum of human settlement, from the most rural to the most urban, incorporating a transect of character and intensity within each. The SmartCode is intended to be calibrated to local and desired conditions by professional planners. The SmartCode regulates development based on a nesting relationship of the town or city, neighborhood, transect zone, and building lot.  Regional scale: growth sectors contain designated types of community units.  Neighborhood scale: community units contain designated ratios of transect zones.  Transect  zones contain the building elements and functions appropriate to them.  Lot / building scale. Regional scale  A regional scale plan designates growth sectors, each establishing the location where certain types and intensities of community units (PND or pocket neighborhood development, CLD or clustered land development, TND or traditional neighborhood development, and TCD or town center development) are permitted. The regional scale plan applies only to development under the SmartCode. This system addresses development and open space preservation on a townwide scale. Sector locations are well defined on a transect development guidance plan, and follow tax parcel lines and other fixed boundaries. Neighborhood scale  Growth sectors permit one or more types of community units. The type and allocation of transect zones permitted in a community unit varies, depending on the underlying growth sector. There can be more than one community unit in   Town  of Ithaca 2014 Comprehensive Plan A‐14 a development, even of different types, each based on a pedestrian shed, an area that is centered on a common destination. A community unit should be a five to 10 minute walk from the common destination to the edge. The SmartCode also regulates street layout, and types and placement of open space in a community unit. A regulating plan is an approved, legally binding plan that shows how a specific area will develop. It includes explanatory text and maps showing community unit areas, transect zones, civic areas, and thoroughfare network. Transect  scale  Transects are described in the previous section. Transect zones include standards that encourage diversity similar to that of organically evolved settlements. Lot/building scale  Charts and tables in the SmartCode regulate the type, bulk, placement, and frontage features of buildings on a lot. Regulating form  Tables and illustrations in the SmartCode regulate different attributes of development in each of the transects; including base residential density, block size, thoroughfare types, lot dimensions, building envelopes, and other attributes. The SmartCode also includes architectural design standards, signage requirements, and additional modules that can be modified to reflect desired community character. Regulating use  The SmartCode regulates specific functions and uses, but unlike conventional zoning it's not the basis of the code. A table in the SmartCode identifies functions that are permitted by right and special permission in each transect, their intensity, and their permitted location on a block. The general function of a building is determined upon site plan approval. A use may be permitted in a transect, but only in designated buildings or sites on the community plan. A regulating plan may also designate mandatory and recommended retail frontages along certain blocks, or confine retail uses to designated frontages. Uses are grouped into broader categories than in a conventional zoning code. For example, the SmartCode may permit a retail building under certain circumstances, while conventional zoning codes typically include a long list of various retail uses. Adoption strategy  Most communities that adopted some form of the SmartCode have not abandoned traditional zoning. Different approaches have been taken, such as making SmartCode mandatory for certain neighborhoods or corridors, making it an option for new development, or requiring it for new projects of a certain size or scope. Some communities have incorporated elements of the SmartCode into a hybrid zoning code. Only a few communities have completely replaced their old zoning codes with the SmartCode. Public space standard for public streets from the SmartCode 9.0 template.    Town  of Ithaca 2014 Comprehensive Plan A‐15 A.4 Unified development code  Laws governing planning and land use should be transparent, accessible, and comprehendible by all town residents. When land use regulations are scattered among disparate chapters of the Town Code, as is the case for the Town of Ithaca, they can be difficult for town employees to administer and interpret; and for officials, appointed board members, and citizens to understand and easily reference. There can be conflicts or duplication with the provisions of other chapters. A growing number of communities are enacting unified development codes, which consolidate all regulations regarding development, land use and the built environment into one code. The advantages of a unified development code over separate chapters among a larger municipal code include:  More efficient administration of land use regulations and the development review process, because all involved parties only need to be familiar with one set of standards. The approval processes for all types of development are regulated in one code, not several.  The lack of redundant, conflicting, and/or inconsistent provisions found in land use control systems made up of separate codes covering zoning, subdivision, environmental requirements, and accessory uses. It reduces the likelihood for error by staff or applicants.  A more manageable document that can easily accommodate amendments without creating conflicts with other code chapters.  The opportunity to create a modern code that presents existing land use standards in tables, graphics, and plain English, without using complicated legal jargon or wordy prose. It also allows the opportunity to perform a "deep cleaning" to remove or amend outdated standards; and to integrate updated standards and new requirements for site planning, landscaping, architectural control, and other aspects of the built environment into the Town's land use regulations.  Full disclosure of all regulations that can affect a proposed development. This leads to a more predictable development process for all involved parties. A unified development code can consolidate the Town's land use standards into a single, consistent, user-friendly document. A unified development code can also integrate elements of both traditional zoning and form-based codes to create a hybrid document that better regulates the form of the built environment, but that remains familiar to those who have worked with standard zoning codes for years. Green Code, the new form‐based unified development code of Buffalo,  New York.    Town  of Ithaca 2014 Comprehensive Plan A‐16 A.5 Institutional zoning  Many communities with college campuses, including the City of Ithaca, use some kind of institutional zoning. Institutional zoning is intended to give large institutions the flexibility to plan and develop their facilities, while ensuring that surrounding areas are protected from impacts such as traffic, overshadowing buildings, noise, and other externalities from laboratories and research facilities, and from expansion of institutional uses into residential areas. Much like a planned unit development, development in an institutional zone is guided by an approved district plan based on the institution's master plan. Approval of development in institutional zones with an approved district plan may be administrative or through a more formal development review process. Some implementations of institutional zoning allow the option of formal development review for all development on campus if there is no approved district plan. Institutional zoning districts can also include standards on building bulk and siting, parking and circulation, lighting, landscaping, screening, and signage. A.6 Design standards  Design standards are intended to convey a sense of the preferred quality for a place. They supplement basic regulations of building setbacks, height, lot coverage, parking, and signage with standards for other elements of the built environment such as architecture, building orientation, and landscaping. (The Town of Ithaca now has basic standards for signage, lighting, and wireless facilities.) A.6.1 Architectural standards  Architectural regulations are one of the tools a growing number of communities use to reinforce community identity, prevent placelessness resulting from buildings constructed with the same standard design as in hundreds of other communities, reinforce a human scale, and create a built environment that will maintain a timeless appeal. Architectural regulations are one of the tools a growing number of communities use to reinforce community identity, prevent placelessness resulting from buildings constructed with the same standard design as in hundreds of other communities, reinforce a human scale, and create a built environment that will maintain a timeless appeal. Architectural regulations for commercial, industrial and civic buildings usually address the following:  Building materials, color and texture.  Building height, bulk, and roof line.  Building proportions.  Openings in the façade: doors, windows, and garage doors, and their location, amount, size and proportions. Four‐sided design.  Architectural details on the front of a building are repeated  on all sides.  Independence, Ohio.  (DT)    Town  of Ithaca 2014 Comprehensive Plan A‐17  Type and slope of roof.  Wall projections and recesses.  Architectural details. Architectural regulations for residential structures can also include standards to prevent "snout houses" with protruding, visually predominant garages; and ensure variety in design to avoid a "cookie cutter" effect in a new development. Architectural regulations should be quantitative, with well-defined and enumerated standards that are not arbitrary or subject to interpretation. Contemporary architectural regulations are intended to help produce quality structures, regardless of architectural style. Regulation of architectural style (e.g. Craftsman, Queen Anne, Greek Revival, etc.) may discourage creativity and individuality, and perpetuate the kind of monotony that the standards are intended to prevent. A.6.2 Site planning standards  Conventional zoning codes usually establish bulk requirements: minimum building setback lines and envelopes, maximum building height, maximum lot coverage, and/or floor-area ratio. Bulk requirements are intended to prevent overcrowding, reduce potential conflicts between adjacent uses, and allow adequate light and air to reach all parts of a lot or building. However, the ultimate location and form of development inside a building envelope can be unpredictable. Site planning requirements address the unpredictability of basic bulk requirement by supplementing them with standards for arranging compositional elements and improvements on a site. Site planning requirements may address the following:  Orientation of buildings towards the street, walkways, or other features.  Arrangement of buildings in a development.  Placement and amount of walkways, open space, and/or plazas.  Placement of buildings to take advantage of and preserve views and solar access.  Placement and internal arrangement of parking areas, access drives, and circulation routes.  Placement and screening of service and loading areas.  Requirements for public art, water features, public transit stops, and other amenities.  Grading and preservation of natural topography.  Creation of defensible space through Crime Prevention Through Environmental Design (CPTED) strategies, which includes natural territorial reinforcement, natural surveillance, and natural access control. Site planning standards are more prescriptive than basic bulk requirements, but generally less prescriptive than building form standards in a form-based code. Bold colors used as accents rather than as dominant features.  The Domain,  Austin, Texas.  (DT)    Town  of Ithaca 2014 Comprehensive Plan A‐18 A.6.3 Landscaping standards  Landscaping regulations help to integrate the built environment with the natural environment, and can reinforce the identity of the Town of Ithaca as an environmentally aware community that is close to nature. Landscaping regulations usually address the following:  Amount and location of required plant materials (trees, shrubs, groundcover) for a residential, commercial and industrial site.  Required landscaping buffers and islands.  Permitted and prohibited plant materials.  Proper installation and maintenance of landscaping.  Tree preservation, removal and replacement. A.7 Context sensitive solutions  Context sensitive solutions (CSS) is a holistic road design practice that considers the context of the built, natural, and social environments along the route of a road. Rather than a one-size-fits-all approach to road design that emphasizes movement of vehicle traffic above all other considerations, CSS considers that a road should fit into its surroundings, preserving any scenic, aesthetic, historic, cultural and environmental resources, and respecting the character of developed areas it passes through. CSS also includes collaboration and consensus with stakeholders throughout the entire planning and design process, with the goal of arriving at a consensus that addresses the needs of both the transportation agency and all affected stakeholders. A.8 Complete streets  Most roads and streets in the Town of Ithaca are designed only with vehicles in mind. Although there is a growing network of recreation trails in the town, accommodation of bicycles and pedestrians on town roads is rare, and usually an afterthought where they exist. Single use streets limit transportation choices by making walking, bicycling, and taking public transportation inconvenient and even unsafe. Complete streets are roads that are designed to accommodate all users, including motor vehicles, public transportation vehicles and passengers, bicyclists, and pedestrians of all ages and abilities. Design elements of complete streets include: Landscaping area and walkway in a shopping center parking lot.  Georgetown,  Texas.  (DT)    Town  of Ithaca 2014 Comprehensive Plan A‐19  Pedestrian infrastructure such as sidewalks, defined crosswalks, accessible pedestrian signals, and seating at regular intervals  Traffic calming measures to lower driving speeds and better define the road edge, including narrower streets, shorter curb return radii, roundabouts, on-street parking, street trees, and planter strips.  Bicycle accommodations, such as marked bicycle lanes or shoulders, or shared lane marking.  Public transportation accommodations, such as shelters and accessible pads at bus stops. Complete streets policies exclude roads where the cost of accommodation would be too disproportionate to the need or expected use, and roads where accommodation is unnecessary. For example, a short residential street may need sidewalks, but not bicycle lanes or pads for bus stops. Benefits of complete streets include improved safety for all users of a street, improvement of public health by providing more places to walk and bike, and fostering stronger, more engaged communities by allowing all people to feel safe and comfortable using the town's roads. The New York State Complete Streets Act (S05411, A 8366) requires consideration of all road users—motor vehicles, public transportation, cyclists, and pedestrians—in any transportation project that uses state and federal funds.