The Walk of Valor

I really don't know too much about this other than what I've read on the City of Roswell website and through this Roswell Neighbor article.  However, from what I can tell, this is going to be a fantastic addition to our city's already great monuments in the public realm.  Kudos to the Roswell Rotary Club.

Thought of the Week: On Groveway Form Based Code

If the City is striving for Urban Ecology, then it should strive to create a human scaled streetscape and sense of place.  You can still be progressive without sacrificing the small town village vibe.  Call it nostalgia with an edge.  Great design cannot be distilled to a bucketful of rules and numbers only.  The City needs to think in terms of the contextual cohesiveness of Charleston or Annapolis, not Atlantic Station.  Well illustrated and designed guidelines as well as incentives to control utilities will assist the city of Roswell, stakeholders, and developers achieve a specific district or neighborhood feel that reflects the very wonderful essence of Roswell.

Couldn't have said it better myself.  This was excerpted from an independent Review of the Groveway code that has been presented to the City Council by Community Concepts of Marietta, Studio 4 Design of Knoxville and Chapman, Coyle, Chapman of Marietta.  They do feel that this is a good first step. The problems they outline are mostly of a design nature and the document not being detailed enough.  The document is 24 pages with several illustrations and images.  I believe, at this point, that the council will send the code back tomorrow night for some additional tinkering.

Groveway Hybrid Form-Based Code - Draft Review

 

I had some time this week to take a look at the draft copy of the Groveway Hybrid Form-Based Code that is being reviewed by the city for approval.  At first glance, it's revolutionary for Roswell.  In 20 years, the Groveway Community as we know it will be almost unrecognizable and that's not a bad thing.  The reason I say that is this... What we will get is just plain better than the current mish mash of old houses, public housing and light industrial buildings that is currently there today.  

Overview

• 2 districts - The area is divided into two distinct district types.  Those are Neighborhood Mixed-Use (NMU, red) and Neighborhood Residential (NR, blue).
• Different Building Requiements and Approved Uses - Each area NMU and NR has a different mix of what can go there.
• Intersection Focal Points - 6 High Visibility Intersections are to be focal points of development.
• Maximum Heights - Maximum building height of 5 stories or 66 feet.

Let's start off with the few bad things that I could find...

Accessory Dwellings - This code doesn't seem to specificially permit Accessory Dwellings (granny flats) in either the NMU or NR.  I could be missing something but I couldn't find any mention of them in the permitted use section.  I think this may be an oversight becuase they are discussed in other sections such as the NMU Building Orientation section.  However, I think it would be best to define them outright in the building types section.  There's only one area in Roswell that I've seen that does these well and that is the Legacy Village subdivision off Woodstock.  If you want to see them put to much better use, you need to drive up to Vickery Village.  These should be standard development tools for single family lots in the Historic District.

Parking Minimums - It doesn't go far enough to reduce parking minimums.  In a truly walkable community, you just don't need them.  Nashville has gone as far as removing parking minimums in its downtown zoning code. If Nashville can get away with it, surely Roswell can.

Municipal Complex Grounds - This code doesn't really address the void that the inward facing City Hall and municpal complex create.  It does nothing with the grounds around City Hall... I think there is something creative that can be done to further engage City Hall and the municipal complex with the rest of the community.  I'm not referring to the area between the butt of City Hall and Atlanta Street wherethe new Walk of Valor will be.  Rather, I'm referring to the area along Hill Street and Forest Street that could undoubtedly be better used.  Additionally, instead of a big giant roundabout infront of the steps, that area could be turned into a plaza to be used more effectively for special functions and eventually become a central gathering place for the community.

Historic District vs Groveway District? - There seems to be some confusion as to what district a developer would be developing in.  This is a problem and is inherently confusing.  Why are we overlaying complexity.. We have existing codes overlapped by this code overlapped by the historic district.  If we were thinking holistically, the entire historic district from the River to Woodstock Rd would be part of the same code with slightly different architectural nuances for the different sections of the district.

What is Historic? - I think this is a question that many people have been asking.  How much are historic buildings protected and what exactly is historic? Is the AT&T building historic?  Should it be protected?  We need to better define what buildings NEED TO GO eventually and which ones should stay.  Don't preserve a shack just because it's old.  Think Spiced Right.. Love the food! Hate the building.  Should we be preserving those types of buildings?

Now, here's what I love about it...

Placemaking - This code really makes an attempt to create a place for people.  In turn, community and business will thrive.  This is ground up through a community charrette process rather than top down through a major developer (i.e. Avalon in Alpharetta).  The drawing below is just one of the visions that are detailed in the draft document.

Simplicity - It might be a little long but the key parts are simple.  Anyone can read it and figure out building requirements and really get a vision of what the area might look like in 10-20 years.  If all other codes were thrown away and this one were the only one that was applicable to the area, it would be a great step in the right direction.

Consistency - Buildings will be consistent but not identical.  This uniformity creates a sense of place.  Compare Canton Street to Alpharetta Hwy and you will see what consistent building typology and hodgepodge really does to an environment.  

Mixed-Use - The Mixed-Use district is huge.. wow!  This could truly be the heart of the historic district one day.  This only makes sense since it is the only area with a moderately functional networked road system.  One small concern is that too many uses have been labeled as conditional or prohibited.  This is especially true in the purely residential area which might be better with a few more uses permitted and a little bigger mix of single family and townhomes together rather than being segregated out.

Storefronts - Great care is taken in describing how stores and buildings should address the street.  Storefronts are required to have at least 60% transparency making them feel permeable.  This helps create a comfortable envirnment for walking.  If you've ever walked past the AT&T building or the Jail, you'll know what I mean.  Now compare that to walking in front of Roswell Provisions along Canton Street.  There is no comparison.  Those are two extremes of the spectrum but this code will prevent the negative side of the spectrum from invading the public realm.

Prohibited Materials - There's a place for industrial materials.  That place is not the heart of a city.  This code prohibits certain building materials in new construction such as mirrored glass, chain link fence and back-lit vinyl awnings.

Blank Walls are Prohibited - Again, think AT&T building.  There's nothing less interesting to walk by than a solid blank wall.  This code does a good job preventing that from happening.

There is still time to voice your opinion.  So, I suggest you contact the city council if you feel strongly about this.  To sum it up, there are a few things that I hope get worked out.  However, I would love to see this pass and it will be a great step in the right direction for Roswell. 

All Images from the Groveway FBC Draft via RoswellGov.com

Quote of the Week: Strong Towns on Hidden Costs

When I bought my computer, it came with a printer costing me no more than $20. At the time I thought “Sweet, free printer!” But since using the printer, I’ve had to frequently purchase ink costing $60 a pop. Over the life-cycle of the printer, I’ve realized I’ve spent more in the printer and ink combined than had I purchased a laser printer costing $250. The upfront costs of a more expensive printer are significant, as is the toner, but I would end up paying less than the subsidized printer in the long run. In other words, I was seduced by the free machine that ended up costing me a lot of money.

Here is the connection to Strong Towns. Federal and State subsidized projects are like the $20 printer. Initially communities think “Sweet, free bridge.” But, once you figure the cost of keeping the bridge in working order, it turns out to be a major expense for communities. This is an expense that if a community couldn’t fund the bridge to begin with, likely wouldn’t have the wherewithal to maintain.

Solution: Purchase the bridge (printer) at full cost, without a subsidy. If you can do that, then you can likely afford the cost of maintenance (ink).

This is another great metaphor that the Strong Towns organization has passed along.  It reminds me of the Johns Creek roads dilemma that the AJC recently wrote about here.

Walmart in Downtown Athens

Up front, in full disclosure, I'm a Gator and there are a lot of things about Athens that I'm not a fan of ;) However, the downtown is truly one of the incredible spots in Georgia. It is a special place that should be protected. That's why I was disgusted to hear that WalMart is trying to put a 100,000 sq.ft. super center in the historic downtown. That's not a joke. Big box has its place and it's not in a downtown historic district. This video is a well presented argument against the Walmart primarily featuring local business owners who will be significantly impacted. One of the best points is that the Walmart will not really increase tax revenues. Rather, it will shift them from the local businesses to the big box while at the same time increasing infrastructure costs for the city in the form of road widening. I'd love to see Joe Minicozzi do some research on the productivity of the Athens downtown versus that of the proposed development. Check out the video:

For further info on the issue check out the People for a Better Athens website.

Strip Malls.. Does Roswell Need More of the Same?

It's not easy to do right.  Anyone can put lipstick on a pig but it doesn't change the fact that it's still a pig.  One of my all time favorites and it might be apt in this case is that 'you can't polish a turd.'  That being said, I recently heard that the Holcomb Woods Village shopping center was sold and the new owner is looking to do a little remodeling.  I was able to find the plans on the city's website and am slightly disappointed.  The first thing I'm going to take up is the name.. please change it.  A village is a small community or group of houses in a rural area.. it is not a strip mall with no residents along a major collector highway.

Now that I've covered that, let's get back to the plans.  The new owner, Hawthorne Retail Partners, has put together a plan that essentially dresses this little piggy up.  Here's the pic... nothing changes in the curent layout of the site.

image: City of Roswell

For those readers unfamiliar with the property, it is the strip mall behind Aqua Blue and Wendy's along Holcomb Bridge Rd about a mile east of 400.  The shopping center itself is probably about 40% leased (guessing) and isn't in very good condidtion.  The premiere tennant currently is Twisted Taco.  Most of the property, as with every strip center is dedicated to parking.  The outparcels where Aqua Blue, Wendy's and Goodyear sit are not part of the center and they cause a problem because they sit uphill from the shopping center.  Thus, drivers along Holcomb Bridge cannot easily see the shopping center.  When car traffic is your only source of business, this poses a problem.

the owner has three options ranging from cheap to cost prohibitive.  Here's a look at each of them. 

Three Options

Dress it up...  This is the default plan and it looks to be the intent of the company.  It is fairly consistent with the Roswell 2030 Master Plan given that this site calls for mixed-use no rise (1-2 stories). Our issue with the plan is that it is essentially adding no value to the city.  It may increase the tax rolls near term but in the long run, it is the same retail model that is failing nationwide.  In 15-20 years, we'll be in the same spot once again.  Looking at an aging strip mall that is half empty.  Here's a sample of some remodels Hawthorne has done in other places.

image: City of Roswell

Change it up...  This will require a little investment and innovation.  Create some additional buildings and potentially a gathering space where families will want to come and spend some time.  Reaching back into the Roswell 2030 plan, one of the stated objectives for this area is to "seek to create a village environment."  A shopping center with the word village in its name does not make this a village.  The first thing we would do is shop out the parking lots to an apartment developer and look to bring some full time residents to the area.  Think 2-3 stories along the east side of the parcel all the way up to HBR.  Internally, consider the Avenue Concept where there is a building in the middle of the horseshoe.  Or, maybe a water feature/sprayground where people could sit and hang out.  You sacrifice some parking but it could be made up along the periphery with parallel parking.  That spot is fairly well shielded from the noise on HBR so it could be a pretty cool spot.  The other thing to consider is to look into using the water retention area as a water feature.. it's downhill from the main building where the "wedge" is and could actually look nice.

Start from Scratch..  This is a longer term idea.  We should be taking the first steps to revitalize the area.  It's going to happen incrementally anyway.  So, why not start here.  Not every city is Alpharetta with a $200M benefactor just popping up to save the day.  The first thing that would be needed is to work out deal with current owners of the outparcels.  There are too many ideas to list here but someone with some imagination could do something nice.

What does the market want?

Honestly, it's hard to tell.  The one thing we can be sure of is that the market isn't screaming for a new, renovated or dressed up strip center.  Sure, Hawthorne will gain some tenants and this will probably encourage the developments surrounding it to redevop to ensure they don't lose their tenants.

As far as mixed-use with shopping and residential is concerned, we think there is a market there.  There have been proposals made and projects approved on that side of town but nothing has gotten off the ground.  That's more of an issue with the types of proposals made (i.e. Charlie Brown) and the timing of the approvals (Centenniel Walk) than an overall aversion.  The lot is close to 400.  It is near the Big Creek Park.  There is a private school within walking distance.  A grocery store and a gym within a reasonable walk or short drive.  It's walking distance to the largest employer in Roswell (Kimberly Clark).  Plus, the redevelopment potential in the area would likely encourage an apartment developer to get into the mix.  The parcel sits pretty close to what is the biggest redevelopment opportunity in Roswell...  just sayin.

So, in our minds, this project could be a catalyst that would jump start the redevelopment of that area but in it's current form, it doesn't encourage much beyond the same 'ol same 'ol strip mall development that we already have for miles and miles along Holcomb Bridge Road.

Food Trucks in Roswell... Soon (hopefully)

You may know that the city recently approved a food truck ordinance.  We decided to take a look at the ordinance to see where we might see some food trucks. 

At first glance, it seems pretty restrictive.  It's fine to protect existing businesses and I don't want any of our eating establishments to go out of business but I think that the new ordinance may put too much power in the hands of the restaurant owners without taking into account consumer demand.  Here are some of the requrements from the ordinance (link to full ordinance): 

• The mobile food vendor shall not conduct business or operate under this article on the public right-of-way.
• The mobile food vendor shall not operate on any private property without the prior consent of the owners.
• Mobile food vendors shall be located a minimum of 200 feet from the main entrance to any eating establishment or similar food service business unless just eating establishment grants written permission for the mobile food vender to be located closer than 200 feet.
• Mobile food vendors shall not be located within 15 feet of any street intersection or pedestrian crosswalk or 10 feet of any driveway.

Now...Our thoughts on Food Trucks...  For the most part, they are a fad.  But, when done properly, they can be excellent incubators of successful food concepts.  I think there will be some in the Atlanta area that stick around for years to come.  Check out the Atlanta Street Food Coalition's list of area vendors here.  Most of them will probably die out.  That being said, There are some killer concepts out there and it would be nice to see some in the historic district especially when we have festivals going on.  Taking into account the 200 foot barrier, here's where we think you may see some set up shop in the coming months (we didn't factor in the 15 foot radius from intersections/crosswalks).  The red spots are the most prime areas where trucks might be able to set up shop.

Quote of the Week: Mixed-Use Logic

Cities haven't always been organized this way. In fact, for most of history, they mixed homes with factories, businesses and shops...  The term mixed-use is a product of the fact that for the past 50 years we've experimented with forbidding mixed-use...  Pioneering mixed-use in a completely car oriented environment is not a particularly wise move. Where it makes sense is where you already have significant foot traffic or critical mass - in downtowns or older suburban settings.

Rick Cole, Ventura, CA City Manager (link)

I love the fact that we as a society have to come up with terms to define things that historically are very normal.  Mixed-Use is now viewed as some sort of building pattern that is experimental but in reality it's hte primary building type that humans did for a few thousand years.  Another term that comes to mind is organic.  What is organic compared to?  Conventional. Conventional produce is grown with lots of man-made chemicals and fertizers while organic is grown the way humans have grown for 8,000+ years.  Hmmm....

Quote of the Week: AJ Robinson on Transit

We have to get beyond the conversation in our metro area that any dollars spent on infrastructure, particularly transit, should be for reducing traffic congestion.

A.J. Robinson is the president of Central Atlanta Progress and the Atlanta Downtown Improvement District.

Link

Alpharetta's Big Project Part Deux

image: North American Properties

So, the big news out of Alpharetta lately has been the release of the site plan for the new Avalon development.  You may want to check out their promotional video as well.  Very well put together with the always catchy Temper Trap song Sweet Temptation as background.  You can comment on the plan here on the Alpharetta City website and Mark Toro will be presenting the project to the public at 7pm on Monday 2/13 at Alpharetta City Hall.  Mark seems like a good guy and his presentation will probably be top notch.  Unfortunately, I can't make it.

This project is better than what is there now.  It's not better than the original Prospect Park plan in my opinion.  All in all, it has a long way to go to earn my full approval (but what the hell does that matter).  For what it's worth, here's My feedback...

Pro

• Thus far, a well executed marketing and promotional plan.  NAP knows what they are doing on the retail side and will no doubt put together a product that will work in Alpharetta.
• Nice use of terminated vistas on the central avenue.  Retail has figured it out, now we just need our transportation engineers and subdivision developers to figure it out.
• Bold move with the apartments given the current mood in Alpharetta toward anything non-single family.  These apartments will be leased with a quickness.  

Con

• Far too much land area dedicated to parking.  I hope they are planning on using the space as a land bank for future mixed use buildings.
• A 14 story building is a show stopper in Alpharetta.  Nothing on this property should be go over 6-7 stories.  NAP will get some serious backlash if they want to push the height.
• Does Alpharetta really need another movie theater?  Good grief!  Also, what will the back end of the movie theater look like from Westside Parkway?
• Poor use of the detention ponds.  Take the Historic Old 4th Ward Park pond as an example of great use of a detention pond.  I know.. the site is topographically challenged and the detention ponds can only go in so many places but where's the creativity?
• Townhomes should surround the park instead of the single family homes.  The little park does nothing to increase the value of the single family homes that have their own little yards already.  However, the townhomes would see an increase in value.  
• Townhomes should face out along Westside Parkway.  This entire project seems to look in on itself.  That could be a byproduct of the fact that it is surrounded by multi-lane arterials that not even the most ardent traffic engineer would want to stare at all day, but that's no excuse.  They should be designed more like the Lake Deerfield townhomes along Deerfield Pkwy where the buildings on the outside address the street.  There is nothing that can help the situation along Old Milton.. you're stuck with a 6 laner + turn lanes.  However, Westside can be done well and the right addressing of the street could really change the feel through that stretch of road.
• The outparcels are very concerning and leave uncertainty.  What will be there? They are too close to the residential.. the residential should interact with the main project and not be plagued with uncertainty of what will be developed right next door.  

Maybe some of these concerns will be addressed and questions answered at Monday's meeting.  Either way, thanks to Mark Toro and NAP for bringing life to this project and working to engage the public.