Pearl District Form Based Code

[dcuthbertson]

As you may know, TMAPC and City staff have been working diligently for some time with the Pearl District Association  in coordination with Mary Madden of Ferrell Madden Lewis to create a Form Based Code for a pilot area of the Pearl District in the City of Tulsa.  We are prepared to present the Code and recommend approval to the Tulsa Metropolitan Area Planning Commission (TMAPC) at their Tuesday, December 7th public hearing (4:00pm in the City Council Chambers at City Hall).  If the TMAPC approves the Code it will then be subsequently presented to the City Council for adoption.  

In an effort to make the contents of the proposed Form Based Code available to the stakeholders of the Pearl District as well as interested citizens of the City of Tulsa we will hold a public meeting on Tuesday, November 16th at 6:00pm in the Activity Room of the Central Center at Centennial Park at 1028 E. 6th St.  At that meeting staff will present a brief introduction and explanation of the concepts and details related to the Code and then be available for questions.

The Form Based Code is proposed to supplant existing zoning regulation for the pilot area which can be found on page 11 of the attached draft.  The geographical limitation of the Code as proposed is a result of a reflection of the mechanism used to fund the process.  It is anticipated if the initial Code is adopted that TMAPC and City staff will work with stakeholders in the Pearl District to expand the Code to cover the remainder of the area (IDL on the west to Utica Av. on the east, I-244 on the north to 11th St. on the south).  

The proposed Form Based Code is a reflection of the goals and outcomes desired by the City's approved small area plan for the Pearl District: the 6th Street Infill Plan (adopted 2006).  The Form Based Code affectively codifies the vision established in the area's small area plan.  The Form Based Code is a significant step to implement the City's recently adopted Comprehensive Plan (a result of PlaniTulsa).  

Public Meeting                                                                                                                                 TMAPC Public Hearing
Introduction/ discussion regarding the proposed Form Based Code                         Consideration for approval of the Form Based Code
Tuesday, November 16th at 6:00pm                                                                                         Tuesday, December 7th at 4:00pm
Central Center at Centennial Park                                                                                            City Council Chambers at City Hall
Activity Room                                                                                                                                    175 E. 2nd St.,  Tulsa
1028 E. 6th St.,  Tulsa

According to the Form Based Codes Institute, A Form-based code fosters predictable built results and a high-quality public realm by using physical form (rather than separation of uses) as the organizing principle.  The code is adopted into city law as a regulation, not mere guidelines. The Form-based code is an alternative to conventional zoning.

Form-based codes address the relationship between building facades and the public realm, the form and mass of buildings in relation to one another, and the scale and types of streets and blocks. The regulations and standards in Form-based codes, presented in both diagrams and words, are keyed to a regulating plan that designates the appropriate form and scale (and therefore, character) of development rather than only distinctions in land-use types. This is in contrast to conventional zoning's focus on the classification and separation of land uses, and the control of development intensity through such parameters as dwellings per acre, setbacks, Floor Area Ratios (FAR), and parking ratios as opposed to a building form.  Not to be confused with design guidelines or general statements of policy, Form-based codes are regulatory, not advisory.

Form-based codes are drafted to achieve a community vision based on time-tested forms of urbanism. Ultimately, a Form-based code is a tool; the quality of development outcomes is dependent on the quality and objectives of the community plan that a code implements.

If you would like a copy of the Code in advance of the meeting please email me at: dcuthbertson@incog.org.  The Code shoudl be available on our website www.incog.org or www.tmapc.org by Friday.

If you have any questions or comments related to the proposed Code and/or the process please feel free to contact me at your convenience.

Duane Cuthbertson
Senior Planner, TMAPC
2 W. 2nd St.  Ste. 800
Tulsa, OK 74103
918.579.9437

[dcuthbertson]

Apologies for the layout issue.  It looked fine in the preview.

The public meeting
Introduction/ discussion regarding the proposed Form Based Code
Tuesday, November 16th at 6:00pm
Central Center at Centennial Park
Activity Room
1028 E. 6th St., Tulsa

TMAPC Public Hearing
Consideration for approval of the Form Based Code
Tuesday, December 7th at 4:00pm
City Council Chambers at City Hall
175 E. 2nd St., Tulsa

[SXSW]

Too bad this wasn't in place before the dental clinic was built at 6th & Peoria....

[patric]

The links to the most current version are all dead on the INCOG and TMAPC sites.