2023 Spring Issue - 35

Real estate developers
are essential constituents
and partners in efforts to
enact zoning reform. Some
experienced, well-sourced
developers may be adept
at navigating complex local
bureaucracies and may see
zoning regulations as fixed
frameworks. But reform can
make development easier.
the United States and because
levels of government have systematically
imposed residential segregation
for over a century, including
through racial zoning and redlining.
(Resources, including The Color of
Law by Richard Rothstein and Arbitrary
Lines by Nolan Gray, provide
important information on the history
of racism and zoning.)
The nature of proposed solutions
to create more equitable
cities may be perceived as unwelcome
changes to " neighborhood
character. " The inequitable, unhealthy,
and racist land use patterns
many zoning policies uphold
are often taken as a fact of life
rather than as a predictable (and
often intended) product of explicitly
exclusionary policy.
To produce meaningful zoning
updates, multiple stakeholders
need to work together-including
city leaders, community members
and groups, real estate developers,
and nonprofit organizations.
Addressing the long history of
harm in communities is often
difficult and emotional, and
cross-sector collaboration can be
challenging because it concerns
people's homes, property values,
community features, and economic
opportunities.
Yet, with patience and strategic
outreach by city leaders that
includes collaboration with trusted
community institutions, small
businesses, and residents, zoning
update processes can lead to
actionable policies that advance
locally defined priorities, promote
real estate success, and support
the creation of places where all can
thrive well into the future.
How Zoning Reform Can
Streamline the Development
Process
Real estate developers
are essential constituents
and partners in efforts to
enact zoning reform. Some
experienced, well-resourced
developers may be adept
at navigating complex local
bureaucracies and may see
zoning regulations as fixed
frameworks. But zoning reform
can make development easier
and can broaden the spectrum
of those that can participate
in the development market,
such as small-scale developers
and people from underserved
communities.
Advancing zoning reform can
create more flexibility in the
development process, potentially
making projects less expensive
and risky. Outdated zoning policies
can make projects that aim
to support in-demand types of
development illegal or difficult,
time intensive, and costly to complete.
Outdated zoning may make
projects riskier for developers and
investors, may lead to expensive
legal bills, and may even stall or
end projects.
In contrast, zoning that advances
local priorities and responds to
market demand for healthier and
more environmentally friendly
projects allows more projects to
be approved by right, making
outcomes for development applications
more certain.
Approaches and Provisions
Certain instruments and
provisions are increasingly
being used to advance zoning
reform with the potential to
promote a healthier, greener,
and more equitable and resilient
future. When aligned with
complementary city policies and
programs-including building
and energy codes-zoning
reforms can promote public- and
private-sector investment that
advances key goals.
To achieve this goal, zoning
policies across the country may
undergo comprehensive overhauls
through processes that include
extensive outreach. Public officials
may also take more targeted
approaches, such as providing
incentives for land uses that are
likely to support locally defined
goals, creation of overlay zones-
special districts placed over existing
zones-or including provisions
in addition to those already present
in zoning policies. Form-based
codes, which are land development
regulations that use physical
form (rather than separation of
uses) as the organizing principle
for the code, are another approach
certain cities are using to support
their land use goals.
For example, in 2017, Buffalo
completed a comprehensive overhaul
of its Unified Development
Ordinance (UDO) to promote walkability
and promote green and
smart growth principles. As part
of the update, Buffalo became the
first major U.S. city to eliminate
minimum parking requirements
citywide. The UDO update, known
as the Buffalo Green Code, was a
nearly seven-year effort to overhaul
the city's zoning that included participation
from thousands of community
members across the city.
In 2021, Indianapolis created
a zoning overlay to make it more
straightforward to develop higherdensity
projects near transit. The
overlay includes new design standards
to ensure that developments
are pedestrian oriented. Overlay
districts can also be applied to
protect vulnerable communities
from potential climate-related
impacts, including fire, flood, and
storm damage. Among the numerous
examples of U.S. communities
that have adopted overlay districts
to protect properties from flood
damage are Boston, through its
Coastal Flood Resilience Overlay
District, and Fairfax County, Virginia,
through its Water Supply
Protection Overlay District.
Zoning incentives can make certain
public benefits more attractive
or financially feasible for developers.
Arlington County, Virginia, uses
incentives to move toward its 2050
carbon neutrality goal. A major tool
that has helped advance building
sustainability has been the
Green Building Density Incentive
Program, which has gone through
multiple iterations since its inception
in 1999. As of 2022, Arlington
allows increased floor/area ratios
for development projects that
achieve LEED Gold building certification
and meet specified energy
optimization criteria, among other
provisions.
The techniques many cities are
using to update zoning are familiar,
but they are being employed
in innovative ways. By taking an
integrated, collaborative approach
SPRING 2023
URBAN LAND
35
2023 Spring Issue

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of 2023 Spring Issue
