Will the Unified Development Code Divide Us?

You may have recently received a mailing from the city of Roswell regarding the “Initiation of Proposed Map Amendments.”  Essentially this letter was sent to inform some residents, roughly 13,000 of them, that their property may be rezoned as part of the Unified Development Code, an effort to update the city’s antiquated zoning ordinances.  The letter I received was careful to point out that “all of the existing rights allowed on the property will remain,” and that if I am “satisfied with the suggested conversion of my property category, I do not need to do anything.” In case you are wondering, I am satisfied and I’m not doing anything and according to Brad Townsend, planning and zoning director, only about 20 people have voiced their concerns.  I am excited to be moving from “C-3 Highway Commercial” to “DX Downtown Mixed Use!”  The overwhelming majority of residents will see no change in the way their property is intended to be used.

To be blunt, I’m skeptical of zoning.  I think it’s mostly unnecessary.  Most of the best places in our country and the world were built before the advent of zoning.  Many of the great places in Roswell were built without zoning.  Prior to zoning, people generally knew what made sense to build in a certain spot.  Granted, industry encroached on residential areas in inappropriate ways as the industrial revolution picked up steam, especially in large cities.  The natural response was to create regulations that separated incompatible land uses.  Our obsession with single use zoning began in the 20’s & 30’s and by the time the 50’s rolled around, post-war construction was booming and we had relegated virtually every land use to a specific place on a map whether it made sense or not.  Now, virtually every city in the country has a similar zoning code and those codes for the most part mandate a suburban development pattern.  Question to ponder... is suburbia a product of the free market or government regulation?

That said, the unintended consequences of 40+ years of post World War II zoning and suburban development started to become noticeable in the 1990’s as some people began to see sprawl as a problem.  More and more data started to point to our highly zoned and segregated development pattern as a contributor to many issues such as the obesity epidemic, global warming, environmental degradation, declining social capital and placelessness.

We built a country so uniform that it is now difficult to tell whether you are in Florida or Kansas except that one state has small rotating storms and the other has big rotating ones. A rough estimate is that 30 million buildings have been constructed in the past 50 years.  Out of those, 99+% are wholly unremarkable from an architectural standpoint.  Try to think of one place that was built in the past 50 years that is incredible that did not require some sort of variance to get built.  What I’m saying is that our modern zoning creates mundane places that are in no way memorable.  

Now, I’m a realist and understand that no American municipality would dare try to completely repeal it’s zoning codes.  But they can change them. The famed architect and planner Andres Duany is fond of saying “no one has ever dismantled a bureaucracy, not Napoleon, not Hitler. You can, however, change what they administer.”  Ideally, we want to create more Canton Street and Sloan Street and less Alpharetta Highway and Holcomb Bridge.  Our current codes can easily permit an auto oriented strip mall in most sections of the city but it’s much more difficult (impossible) to replicate the section of Canton Street from Norcross to Magnolia which is arguably the most successful 300 feet of retail and residential OTP.  Why would a zoning code make it illegal to replicate that?  Is it unsafe? Is it unsightly?

The UDC begins to help alleviate this problem.  It’s not radical but it is a change.  It even has pictures to illustrate design requirements.  It works to bring the 2030 Comprehensive Plan to life by coding for what we want to see rather than coding for what we don’t want to see.  The new code is intended to help everyone, from layperson to developer, understand what development on a certain property or roadway should look like.  Code Studio, the firm that was selected to write the UDC, is top notch.  They have worked with a committee of stakeholders from our city to draft a document that will help the city achieve the goals set forth in the 2030 comprehensive plan.  They have written similar codes for Raleigh, Denver and Memphis which tells me that they know what they are doing.  

At this point, most of the work is done but there is still time to opine.  There will be public comment meetings held August 19-21 around town.  Times and locations can be found on the city website.

Overview of the Unified Development Code

If you are looking for a quick primer on the Unified Development Code that Roswell will be voting to implement later this year, this is a relatively quick video.  This will be a big win for the city.  The code even has woonerf as a street type.  How European of us...

Stop the Madness: Two Unnecessary Signs

This one is driving me nuts.  Last year, the one way on Plum Street was reversed so that traffic could more easily flow off of Canton St.  That made sense to me.  But these signs don't.  First up, why do you need a one way sign where traffic enters a one way street?  There should be a one way sign at the end where cars exit to alert drivers that you can't turn into that street but putting one where you enter is just adding to the littany of signs cluttering our landscape. Hmmm...  So, the one way sign in this picture is completely unnecessary.  

Second, why in the world would you need a Do Not Enter sign here?  IF, in the off event a car did make it's way to that spot by going the wrong way down Plum St, they certainly SHOULD enter Canton St to get off of Plum St.  If there is an appropriate place for a Do Not Enter sign on a one way street, it would be at the point of entry,  not at the point of exit.  But, there would be no reason for a DNE sign at the entrance if there is already a one way street sign.  That would be redundant... but as we all know... there is no shortage of redundant signs on our roads.

Take these two signs down.  They are completly unnecessary.  

More Roundabouts Please!!

This is a cross-post from my monthly column, Community Design Matters, in The Current.

If you have driven around North Fulton lately, you may have come across a roundabout in your travels.  Until recently, roundabouts were mostly a foreign phenomena.  Roswell got the dizzying party going just over two years ago with the first roundabout in North Fulton at the Grimes Bridge and Norcross St intersection.  At this point, the roundabouts of North Fulton are few in number but their impact cannot be larger and as you will see, we should build more.. a lot more. 

Did you know that over 7,000 people are killed and nearly 1 million are injured annually in the US in intersection related crashes?  A high percentage of these are right angle collisions that occur at signalized or signed intersections.  Roundabouts significantly reduce crashes especially severe ones.  Statistics from the Insurance Institute of Highway Safety show that roundabouts reduce crashes by about 35%.  This is done in part by fully eliminating left turns across opposing traffic, which just happens to be the most dangerous maneuver a driver can make.  They virtually eliminate high speed and right angle crashes as well.  By doing this, they reduce injuries by 76% and fatalities by 90%.

Roundabouts are also safer for pedestrians as they reduce speeds, make drivers more cautious , prevent drivers from making left turns and allow a pedestrian to cross traffic that is moving in only one direction.  

For a driver just trying to get around, there is less stop and go which saves time and money.  Most impressively, a roundabout can handle between 4 and 5 times the amount of traffic in a given time period when compared to a standard signalized intersection.

For cities, they lower operational and maintenance costs and in most cases building one is comparable in price to building a standard intersection.  However, retrofitting a standard intersection as roundabout can be more expensive.

Currently, there are three operational roundabouts in North Fulton and at least five more are planned.  This is great but how do we compare to Carmel, Indiana the most roundabout crazed city in the US?  Carmel is an Indianapolis suburb of 79,000 people and it has at least 80 roundabouts.  They have done away with 78 traffic signals (over 80% of their intersections).  That’s amazing!

All of these benefits are fantastic and straight forward.  However, whenever a new roundabout is proposed, there are always going to be nervous or skeptical people.  Overcoming those fears and objections is fairly easy and North Fulton cities have done remarkably well in this area.  Cities should install their first roundabouts in non-critical locations which will help the fearful and skeptical overcome their fears and objections over time.  Having followed the Roswell roundabout for two years, this pattern is evident.  Online comments on news articles moved from concerned to positive quickly and anecdotal conversations follow the same trend.

So, with all of these benefits? Why aren’t we jumping on every opportunity to build a roundabout?

If you're interested in learning more, check out this video from the Federal Highway Administration:

Stop the Madness: This Sums Up My Feelings...

This video pretty much sums up my feelings on road signs...

High Quality Trails Just Work...

I loved this StreetFilms video of the Cultural Trail that recently opened in Indianapolis.  It's a completely separate bicycle and pedestrian trail that connects Indianapolis' downtown amenities.  I immediately thought of how successful the Beltline Eastside Trail has been when I saw the traffic on this trail.  

We can and should build the Roswell Loop as soon as possible and also look to create as many path connections through the center of our city as possible.

The Indianapolis Cultural Trail: The Next-Gen in U.S. Protected Bike Lanes from Streetfilms on Vimeo.

Ponce City Market is Going to Look Nice

I can't wait to see the renovation of the old Sears building in the Old Fourth Ward!  Ponce City Market posted a nice fly through of what it will look like.  Enjoy...

Stacked Flats Coming to Roswell

This is a cross-post from my monthly column, Community Design Matters, in The Current.

You can call the project whatever you want; apartments, stacked flats, too dense, gentrification, revitalization, progress, catalytic.  But, no matter where you stand, it increasingly looks like we will soon see the first major redevelopment in Roswell’s historic district under the new Groveway code.  Lennar Multifamily is planning on dropping $43 million+ into the parcel of land where the Frazier Street Apartments currently sit and the Roswell City Council allowed Lennar to take a major step forward last month when it approved the site plan by a 5-1 vote.  It should come as no surprise to readers that I am a proponent of this project.  I actually purchased a home in April that quite literally backs up to this project, not in small part due to my strong convictions about the project’s value to the surrounding community.

That said, there have been no shortage of arguments made as to why this is a bad idea.  These tend to center around six main themes; Density, Mix of Uses, Cars, Schools and Displacement.  If you were able to attend the May 13th City Council meeting you would have seen Chris Cassidy, Regional VP, Lennar Multifamily, address these concerns with the council and audience.  Here’s a recap with color. As far as density is concerned, this project will be 32 units per acre (320 units on 10 acres) which is an increase from the roughly 16 units per acre currently.  Given the cost of the property and need for profitability, this is the optimum amount that Lennar believes is suitable.  Additionally, people living in close proximity to amenities is what creates truly walkable places.  

Another big concern was that it did not adhere to the Groveway code because it was not mixed-use.  First, there are many varieties of mixed-use from vertical to horizontal.  Second, not every building or parcel in our historic district needs to be mixed use and the code does not require that.  All mixed-use all the time is a nice vision but realistically, it doesn’t always work.  Putting space for retail on the ground floor doesn’t magically bring a business to fill it. Ideally, these apartments will provide patrons for what should eventually be a vertical mixed use parcel right next-door where the Value Village and Southern Skillet strip mall currently sits.  These apartments will be the spark needed to finally get that parcel redeveloped.  

Probably the single biggest concern centered around the car.  Yes Roswell, we are preoccupied with our cars, but not just our own cars.  We are preoccupied with everyone else’s cars and what they do with them.

The evil twins of Traffic and Parking came up numerous times and were addressed well by Mr. Cassidy.  On parking, Lennar feels that the number of spaces they are requesting (a variance, as they are requesting fewer spaces than our minimum parking reqs. require) is appropriate given the usage in other similar properties.  They have found that they require approximately .9 spaces per room in similar projects.  This means that the 420-445 that they are considering would be appropriate and they will tweak the # of spaces to meet the number they feel is appropriate.  Big concerns were raised by councilman Igleheart as well as others in the audience that this would not be enough and the “what if’s” were flying.  But, you must remember that apartments are rarely 100% leased, people vacation, take business trips, work at different times and some don’t even have cars (some).  The point is that you don’t build the church for Easter Sunday and we shouldn’t build our parking lots with excess capacity.  It’s a waste of space and money.

It’s as simple as this.  Lennar and Mr. Cassidy understand apartment parking needs far more than an ordinary citizen going off their gut feelings.  If Lennar isn’t interested in doing more projects in Roswell, it would be shocking considering they are putting such a sizable investment into the heart of our city.  Gambling on parking requirements and upsetting the city seems like a losing deal for them.  Additionally, we want walkability in this area.  NOTHING kills walkability more than the blank expanses of surface parking lots.  Mr. Cassidy referred several times in his presentation to the Highlands of West Village project in Smyrna as being a good comparison for what they are looking to construct here.  The parking allotment there is roughly the same as what they are looking to do here without any significant issues.
The car dominated another discussion which was about what cars do when they aren’t parked.  Arguments were raised that the traffic counts would be unbearable and that we would grind to a halt in that part of town.  The city’s traffic studies suggest otherwise (these are the same people that were crazy enough to suggest that the round-a-bout would not be a total disaster).  Lennar had the most conservative analysis possible done.  They did not remove the Frazier St Apartments traffic from the count and added the estimated traffic from their project on top of that.  The models showed increased traffic but not significant enough congestion to warrant concern from DOT. 

The concerns raised about the impact to schools would normally apply.  The only problem is that the demographic that Lennar is targeting generally won’t have kids or won’t have them living with them.  Thus, Fulton county’s estimates of 168 to 265 students borders on absurdity.  The true number will be much lower than that and comparable properties say that the number may even be in the single digits but it is more likely between 10 and 20.  That does not account for the displacement of the school age kids that are currently living there which could end up with an overall reduction to Roswell North, Crabapple Middle and Roswell High.

Another concern raised, which I agree with, is that the current conceptual name is not appropriate.  Canton City Walk tries to play on the success of Canton Street and the fact that the target demographic will desire walkability.  However, it just doesn’t sit well with most people who hear it.  That said, the name is conceptual and will be reviewed by Lennar.  I have even heard that they may be open to suggestions.

Finally, there were some folks in the audience who were appropriately concerned with the designs.  The initial concept was exactly that, a concept.  Lennar has worked extensively with our city staff and their team of architects and advisors to put together a project with a design that will reflect some of the history and vernacular of Historic Roswell while also incorporating a new feel.  Mr. Cassidy stated that the designs had “significantly changed” since they were initially released.  Having seen them, I can agree.  The new designs should go before the Historic Preservation Commission for final approval on July 17. 

It is exciting to see a project that increases walkability, brings unique residences and cleans up the heart of our city coming to us in the near future.  if all goes well, we could see construction begin toward the end of this year and we might have some new neighbors sometime next year.  Once that happens, the true power of proximity and walkability will start to be realized in our historic district.

Why is Holcomb Bridge the worst road in Metro Atlanta?

If you are a resident of Roswell, Alpharetta, or even Johns Creek, there is a phrase that you are absolutely petrified to see when driving anywhere in Roswell: Holcomb Bridge Road.

Why is that?  It's because the traffic and congestion on this road is by far the worst in nearly all of North Fulton.  Among the many, many reasons for this congestion (i.e. WAY too many lights...), the worst of them has to be the complete lack of coordination between the stop lights.  We are all forced to drive light-to-light catching every single red light along the way.  The worst part of it has to be when we look ahead down the road and see large sections of the road completely empty because we're all back, stuck at a red light.

When I say "coordination between the stop lights", I am referring to the concept that is, for some reason, foreign to the city planners of Roswell, Alpharetta, or any other town in the Greater Atlanta area (including Atlanta).  The idea is that the lights are timed so that once the first light turns green, the next stop light will turn green 10-15 seconds later, and then next light will turn green 10-15 seconds after that, etc.

Cities like New York, Chicago, Boston, and even Los Angeles (WHAT?!) have coordination of stop lights to help traffic moving more smoothly during peak rush hour times.

Now, I do understand that people will say "Holcomb Bridge is two directions... how do you do that on a 2-direction road?"  The solution is: coordinate in the direction of rush hour traffic.  For Holcolm Bridge, coordination should happen in the direction of 400 in the morning and away from 400 in the afternoon and evening.

Lastly, and this is just perfect, the AJC had an article from March 2011 ("Turning Georgia's Traffic Signals Green") stating that the DOT was beginning an initiative to start coordinating lights throughout Metro-Atlanta and even named Holcomb Bridge Road specifically as one of the major arteries needing repair... Well, needless to say, I think there has been absolutely no action in those 2 years and things are just getting worse with the continual population growth in North Fulton County.

So, until Roswell or Alpharetta, figure out the most basic of road planning concepts (that even LOS ANGELES figured out), I'll continue to avoid Holcomb Bridge Road like the plague...  And I hope, for your sanity, that most of you do as well.

CNU Week: 30A

I had planned to attend this years CNU21 in Salt Lake City but unfortunately won't be there.  It is one of those places where people interested in walkability, place making and quality development can go to nurture their inner geek.  This week, I'll be posting  a number of my favorite things about the new urbanist movement.

If you have a 30A sticker on your car, you may be a closet new urbanist.  There are three incredible new urbanist towns along 30A that attract hundreds of thousands of visitors every year.  Those are Rosemary Beach, Alys Beach and the town that started it all, Seaside.  I could write a bunch of words about these spots but it wouldn't do them any more justice than these three videos.  The first two are about Seaside and the last is a pretty slick flyover of what Alys Beach's eventual buildout will look like...