Form-based Code Recommendations

• Create one form-based code for all of the City’s commercial corridors, recognizing that there are differences in character and environment along each corridor and allowing for standards in the code to be calibrated to each corridor segment
• Engage the community to ensure that the resulting code standards are thoughtfully developed and tailored to meet the community’s needs
• Promote predictability Form based codes work best when applicable to all properties within the established boundaries. This as-of-right development, pursuant to established standards, promotes predictability across the community and supports a cohesive development pattern along the corridor.
• Allow for flexibility – the code should provide an avenue for approving administrative-level variances to account for site constraints and unexpected or unique challenges.

Public Realm Recommendations

• Emphasize the right-of-way treatment – by placing added emphasis on the right-of-way treatment, requiring wide pedestrian walkways separated from
  the roadway, preferably native and ample landscaping treatments, and ongoing maintenance, the City can positively impact the pedestrian experience and create
  a streetscape that is walkable along the entire length, not just in particular segments.
• Create a menu of frontage types – a menu of recommended frontage types will allow for a good mix of building types and styles and assist developers in understanding their building parameters, increasing process predictability.
• Harmonize the ground floor with the street – the public realm should assist in future harmonization efforts due to planning for sea level rise
• Focus on the pedestrian experience – prioritize or incentivize the creation of habitable ground floor spaces to create active, lively ground-floor environments
• Emphasize canopy structures and shade trees – creating shade structures
  along the sidewalks and encouraging the use of shade trees in plantings can provide pedestrians with much-needed relief from the heat and sun
• Create streetscape guidelines – by establishing strong and clear guidelines that support the City’s Public Works Department and requiring alignment by developers working on corridor-based projects, the City can improve the overall walkable experience along the corridors.

Placemaking Recommendations

• Recalibrate open space requirements – the City should recalibrate its open space requirements to encourage developers and property owners to dedicate more land for public use, allowing the creation of a more robust public realm and bolstering walkability along corridors
• Encourage activation, outdoor seating, and transparency – every effort should be made to increase the vibrancy of the sidewalk and pedestrian experience by making ground-floor spaces more active and visible
• Use build-to-lines in place of setbacks – to positively influence the corridor experience
• Improve curbside management – reduce the number of curb cuts along thoroughfares in order to make walking a safer and more enjoyable choice

Neighborhood Transition Recommendations

• Improve and expand mobility in order to preserve and improve community cohesion as density along the corridors increases
• Enhance street connectivity to create additional connection points between projects can help ease the volume of traffic on the main corridors by facilitating off-street movement between projects.
• Planning today for the addition of public transit in the future can help build community support and ensure that the public realm is ready for the addition of bus routes, light rail, or other future transit options.
• The City should create a menu of options that would promote and incentivize smoother, gentler transitions involving landscaping, pocket parks, or other dual-purpose buffers in place of concrete walls.
• The City should also consider how and where developers could be incentivized to work with the surrounding community to jointly determine potential community benefits that could be folded into a project.