#zoning code

With Austin in the middle of rewriting its zoning code, Martin Hättasch, a lecturer at the University of Texas at Austin School of Architecture, decided to investigate the possibilities of a new type of medium-density housing, one that would fit into the increasingly crowded neighborhoods that ring downtown, and counteract the skyrocketing rents and land values that are pushing out longtime residents.

At the end of last year, Buffalo, New York approved the first major overhaul to its zoning code in 63 years old. 

It is officially called the Buffalo Green Code Unified Development Ordinance, but, not surprisingly, most people seem to be just calling it the Buffalo Green Code. Its name should give you clues as to what it is trying to accomplish.

Here’s a snippet from a City Journal article by Aaron M. Renn:

The Green Code is a so-called “form-based code,” encouraging mixed uses. Buffalo will be only the third major city in the U.S. to adopt a citywide form-based code. The goal is to encourage development of buildings in a more traditional, Main Street style.

As an older city, Buffalo is already built like this in many areas. But past zoning choices have had lingering negative consequences. “Sixty years ago planners sought to replace the city with a suburban auto-dominated (dominated, not oriented) model,” says Brendan Mehaffey, Buffalo’s executive director of strategic planning. “Most of the city as built was non-conforming with the existing development. Through urban renewal and other programs, planners sought to replace the city’s built environment block-by-block.”

Perhaps one of the most noteworthy changes being ushered in with the Green Code is the complete elimination of parking minimums. This change makes Buffalo the first city in the United States to remove this requirement on a citywide basis.

The Green Code also dramatically simplifies the current code, taking it down from 1,802 pages to 338 pages.

Excerpt:

Portland's city council unanimously voted on Wednesday to adopt zoning code changes that ban the construction of new major fossil fuel terminals—and the expansion of any existing ones—in Oregon's largest city.

This is likely the first time an American city has wielded its zoning code to halt such a large array of fossil fuel projects. Under the new ordinance, which will take effect next month, new large terminals for transporting and storing coal, methanol and various natural gas and oil products can't be built in the city. The rules also forbid expansion of Portland's 11 existing facilities—one liquefied natural gas (LNG) plant and 10 terminals for petroleum fuels.

"In order to make our intention real, to not be party to the increase in fossil fuels, we had to go down into the details of our zoning code and change it and say that these uses are prohibited," Portland Mayor Charlie Hales told InsideClimate News before the vote, which was 5-0. He added: "What we've done in Portland is replicable now in other cities. Everybody has a zoning code."

Portland's zoning code update is just the latest example of how communities are finding creative ways to prioritize  public health, safety and the climate ahead of new fossil fuel infrastructure. Earlier this year, city council members in nearby Vancouver, Wash., passed an ordinance to ban future oil terminals, and officials in Oakland, Calif., approved a ban on all coal infrastructure, effectively rejecting a proposed coal terminal.

Houston Sunrise by Cliff Baise on 500px

Urbanists generally don’t like to talk about cities like Houston. It sprawls. It’s car oriented. It’s over air-conditioned. In other words, it's the antithesis of the dense and walkable cities that urbanists today like to tout as being exemplary. 

But despite all this, Houston is one of, if not the, fastest growing city in America. According to The Economist, the population of the Houston metro area grew faster than any other city in America between 2000 and 2010. And between 2009 and 2013, its real GDP grew by 22%.

So why is that? Here’s a snippet from that same Economist article (“Life in the sprawl”):

Paradoxically, perhaps the city’s biggest strength is its sprawl. Unlike most other big cities in America, Houston has no zoning code, so it is quick to respond to demand for housing and office space. Last year authorities in the Houston metropolitan area, with a population of 6.2m, issued permits to build 64,000 homes. The entire state of California, with a population of 39m, issued just 83,000. Houston’s reliance on the car and air-conditioning is environmentally destructive and unattractive to well-off singletons. But for families on moderate incomes, it is a place to live well cheaply.

So while Houston may not check off all of Jane Jacobs’ boxes, it does provide one important thing: cheap housing. And that’s clearly valuable for a huge number of people.

But the other interesting thing about the snippet above, is that it starts to illustrate how frequently supply constrained markets operate with housing deficits. 

The fact that the entire state of California issued only about 30% more building permits than the Houston metro -- which you could easily argue is closer to a “perfect market” -- tells me that there’s probably a lot of people bidding for the same housing in California.

A new Post has been published on http://www.dailybrian.com/2015/01/28/victory-citizens-stand-up-to-agenda-21-in-alaska/

VICTORY: Citizens Stand Up To Agenda 21 In Alaska

A Remarkably Simple Idea to End the Cycle of Abandoned Factories - Emily Badger - The Atlantic Cities