Bourne only third town in MA to pass new ‘form-based’ zoning codes

For Release, Bourne, MA (October 23, 2008)

At a town meeting this week, the Town of Bourne passed a new zoning plan for downtown Buzzards Bay based on form-based codes. This makes Bourne only the third town in the state to adopt this type of zoning, behind Lowell and Southfield (the former South Weymouth Naval Air Station).

Form-based codes focus on the relationships of elements in an area, rather than numerical parameters like setbacks and parking densities. Developed by Boston consulting firm Stantec, Bourne’s new regulations are intended to strengthen Downtown Buzzards Bay by expanding the opportunity for mixed-use development and capitalizing on the area’s natural, social, and cultural assets.

“ Buzzards Bay has always served as the core of the civic and business communities of Bourne,” says Ted Brovitz, Stantec planner and author of the proposed codes. “But as zoning changes shifted more to highway-oriented commercial development over the years, it resulted in a lot of single-use, disconnected buildings with deep setbacks and an emphasis on the automobile over pedestrians.”

Bourne’s new downtown zoning bylaws are based on a form-based code that promotes Smart Growth principles. Compared with conventional zoning that encourages development to be separated and dispersed, Smart Growth encourages urban communities that are diverse, compact, and walkable. 

Stantec has helped a number of Cape Cod towns in the last few years in launching economic development and planning strategies. Towns such as Bourne, Eastham, Barnstable , and Sandwich are all involved in new initiatives, including a green business park, new town centers, activity center revitalization, corridor management, and streetscape enhancements.

Stantec provides professional consulting services in planning, engineering, architecture, interior design, landscape architecture, surveying, environmental sciences, project management, and project economics for infrastructure and facilities projects. We support public and private sector clients in a diverse range of markets, at every stage, from initial concept and financial feasibility to project completion and beyond. Our services are offered through approximately 9,000 employees operating out of more than 150 locations in North America . Stantec trades on the TSX and on the NYSE under the symbol STN.

Stantec is One Team providing Infinite Solutions

Despite the uncertainty of the financial turbulence we allhave been experiencing these dark days of autumn, a bit of light and dare I sayit, hope, is emanating from the corner office on Beacon Hill.  Governor Patrick and his developmentcabinet have been quietly crafting their own planning policy, which they call“The Importance of Planning Ahead.” 

            Asa professional planner I am excited to hear our Governor and his developmentcabinet using the term planning, let a lone practicing it.  This has come about over time throughlong study, dialog with a variety of development constituencies (includingplanners – APA, MAPD, the Consulting Planners, and MARPA have regularly scheduledmeetings with the Commonwealth’s Development Ombudsman, Gregory Bialecki), andengagement with these constituencies around a variety of issues such as theSouth Coast rail initiative and zoning reform. 

            Manyof you may remember that during the last gubernatorial election, APA, MAPD,MARPA and the consulting planners put together a white paper on planning toserve as a guidance document for the new administration.  The Spring after GovernorPatrick was elected, I was contacted by Greg Bialecki, who commented that ourwhite paper was the most balanced and even-handed piece he had read on planningin the Commonwealth.  He wanted tomeet with the organizations that had created this document and he has beendoing so on a regular basis ever since. One of the recommendations in the white paper was for bettercoordination among state agencies in the various areas planning impacts.  Well, the administration has recognizedthe “importance of planning ahead in a coordinated way,” among state agencies,between the state and local governments, among local governments, and it hasrecognized the relationship between permitting and infrastructure as well therole of regional planning agencies can play as a coordinating agency.

            Whatis nearer and dearer to my heart is that they have coupled this commitment toplanning ahead to the previous administration’s Sustainable DevelopmentPrinciples, showing that they can recognize a good idea, no matter itspolitical origin. They have placed their own stamp on these principles, adding an emphasis on energy and renewables found in their Green CommunitiesAct, which makes an excellent addition to the Sustainable Development principlesand the Commonwealth Capital checklist for communities.  They have truly shown that SustainableDevelopment Principles they have retained are for the Common Wealth, not just asingle administration.  I hope thisapproach is kept by future administrations.

            ThePatrick-Murray administration is planning for the Commonwealth’s future through their ratification of the SustainableDevelopment Principles, their alignment of State Capital Spending with theSustainable Development Principles through tools such as CommonwealthCapital, and their creation of adevelopment cabinet to coordinate between agencies.  In addition, they have supported transportation corridorplanning for the South Coast Rail Initiative and signed the Ocean ManagementAct (given our current planning and zoning legislation, we may well have betterplanning legislation for our water bodies than we do for dry land).  The fact that Ombudsman Bialecki andthe administration has engaged the Zoning Reform Task Force in a discussionabout improving our worst in the nation land use laws is reason enough forcelebration. 

            Yes,even in these tough economic times there is reason to hope for the future ofplanning in the Commonwealth.  Whatis more encouraging is that the Governor appears to practice what hepreaches.  He put together a fiveyear capital improvement plan for the Commonwealth and filed it with the legislature.  They, in turn, passed a bond bill tofully fund and implement the plan over the next few years.  The executive office can proceed toimplement the plan without going back to the legislature for the foreseeablefuture.  Now that is planning ahead!

Peter Lowitt, AICP

Immediate Past President,

Massachusetts Chapter APA

A once-desolate stretch ofWashington Street in the South End and Lower Roxbury has gained nationalrecognition as a model of planning and development.

The1.4-mile segment of the street from Interstate 90 to Melnea Cass Boulevard wasnamed a 2008 Great Street through the American Planning Association’s (APA)Great Places in America program. Washington Street was chosen as an example of“planning's ability to create accessible, affordable, and sustainable placesthat both preserve the past and embrace the future,” according to the APA’swebsite.

MaryKnasas, a senior planner for the Boston Redevelopment Authority (BRA),emphasized the importance of the public and private partnerships in the successof the Washington Street planning and development.

“Thecommunity really coalesced around [the idea of] how can we change WashingtonStreet,” Knasas said. “It was really an effort of public and private.”

Duringthe planning process, Knasas said the city committed to increasing density inthe area and creating a diverse mixed-use zone of business, residential andpublic spaces while preserving the historic elements of the neighborhood.

WashingtonStreet is the oldest and longest street in the City of Boston. In 1907, anelevated train track was built over Washington Street, and as a result, manyfamilies moved out of the neighborhood. According to the APA, the South Endlost two-thirds of its population between 1950 and 1970. Entire blocks of thestreet were left vacant.

“Itwas a desolate strip,” said Sheila Grove, former executive director ofWashington Gateway Main Street, an organization that helped lead theredevelopment process. “Nobody wanted to be over there because there was a lotof prostitution and drug dealing.”

In1992, Grove began working with the neighborhood association presidents to lookat how improvements could be made to the street. In 1995, the city formed theWashington Street Task Force, and two years later, Grove became executive directorof Washington Gateway.

Over60 new stores have opened and $571 million has been invested in improving thestreet. Grove noted that only about $150 million of the investment in thestreet came from the city, and the rest was private.

ASilver Line bus runs down the street, and new landscaping and wider sidewalkshave made the area more inviting to pedestrian traffic. Roughly 60 percent ofthe 1,750 new and renovated housing units are affordable, according to the APA.

 “Wehave people coming from all over the world to see what we did,” Grove said.

In 1973 James (Jim) Woglom of Metcalfand Eddy invited the planning consultants in the Boston area to a meeting athis office in Boston to consider  the  Comprehensive Planning Assistance Program (i.e., the Section701 Program), funded by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development. Governmentagencies were using these funds to prepare comprehensive plans, which the privateconsultants considered unfair competition and the result “boiler plate plans.”There also were administrative problems with the program; e.g., the long delayin getting 701 Federal applications approved, receipt of final payments forcompleted “701” projects, and excessive required paperwork.

Planners attending this meetingwere Jim, Charles E. Downe, Morton Braun (the Planners Collaborative), StephenWaxer, Philip Herr, Carol Thomas (Thomas Planning Services), Charles Zettek ofEdwards and Kelcey and Carl Zellner. Under Jim’s leadership the organization ofplanning firms was created and called Massachusetts Association of ConsultingPlanners (MACP). John Brown, representatives of Anderson Nichols, KennethKreutziger,  Burt Ketcham andDuncan I. Hughes of Parsons, Brinkerhoff, Quade & Douglas, Inc. soon joinedthe group.

At the same time theMassachusetts legislature was considering licensing of planners.  The proposed bill, which was drafted byMorton Braun and patterned after the Michigan law, was opposed by the State Associationof Land Surveyors and the local chapter of the American Society of CivilEngineers because it did not grandfather their members as planners.  The first action of the MACP was totestify against this grandfathering. The spokespersons were Sidney N. Shurcliff, who was a signer of theletter of opposition, representing the Boston Society of Landscape Architectsand Jim Woglom.  The bill did notget out of Committee.

Meetings of MACP moved to theoffices of Anderson Nichols. Under the leadership of Carl Zellner and theeffort of the representatives from Anderson Nichols, bylaws were prepared, a Codeof Professional Ethics was adopted and a consultant directory was prepared.Monthly brown bag lunch meetings were held usually at the office of a membercompany.  Originally the focus of the meetings was oncompetition from government agencies, uniformity of plans that resulted fromthese plans and ethics.

In the years since  the 1970s  the MACP has grown to an organization of over 60 firms with agoal of improving the quality of planning and cooperating with otherorganizations in development  oflegislation benefiting planning in the State.

MACP is one of only three stateswhere such an organization of private planning consultant firms exists; theothers are Michigan and New Jersey, which both license planners. The MACP hasnot endorsed licensing planners. Neither have the American Planning Association (APA) and itsprofessional subsidiary, the American Institute of Certified Planners (AICP).

There are two nationalorganizations representing consulting planners.  One is the Private Practice Division of the APA, anorganization of individual consulting planners.  The other is the American Society of Consulting Planners, anorganization of planning consulting firms.  Both organizations collaborate onprojects, issues and meetings.

In late September I traveled to Arcosanti, an urban laboratory for architecture and ecology situated about 70 miles north of Phoenix Arizona. On the trip, I participated in the Arcosanti Workshop Week learning about the history and workings of Arcosanti and Arcology Theory (architecture + ecology) on which the site’s design is based. I also spent the week evaluating opportunities for partnerships with Arcosanti through my role as Director of Community and Learning Partnerships at Wentworth Institute of Technology.

Arcology, the concept of architecture and ecology fused into complex urban forms, is a term first coined by Italian-born architect Paolo Soleri. Soleri, who briefly studied under Frank Lloyd-Wright, is a prodigious architectural and urban theorist. In 1956 he and his late wife Colly established the Cosanti Foundation devoted to further support his work. In 1970, the foundation broke ground on Arcosanti as a prototype Arcology with the express purpose of research and education.  Over the past 38 years Arcosanti, which is situated on 860 acres of high desert steppe, has grown to include resident housing, foundries for ceramics and bronze-casting (for Soleri Bells), educational spaces, performance spaces, lodging and agricultural facilities.

During the workshop week I witnessed first-hand the unique construction and architectural methods deployed in developing Arcosanti. The workshop provided me insight on the day-to-day operations of every department and a hands-on look at silt-casting, a fabrication technique used for everything from modular building panels to ceramic and bronze Soleri Bells, which are a significant source of revenue for the project. After participating in the Workshop Week experience I am now looking to find connections for Wentworth students and faculty to visit Arcosanti and engage in the project. There’s a lot of untapped potential for building relationships with the Cosanti Foundation to participate in this project. Throughout Arcosanti you see experiential, hands-on learning for everything from architecture to construction to management and even information technology. There also are abundant opportunities to connect the ongoing project with work in the planning community. Terms such as green building and sustainability may be the latest take on how to address the problems of human settlement and environmental impact. Yet, Soleri’s work pre-dates these sometimes trendy ideas and seems just as relevant in exploring the problems and finding solutions.

Personally, the trip was a momentous experience, decades in the waiting. Having learned about Arcology theory as a child, the concepts have long influenced my views and efforts within my professional work. Arcosanti of course is but only one manifestation of the Arcology concept. After participating in the workshop week I have come away from the experience understanding that Arcosanti is not meant to be an idyllic commune but rather a laboratory of ideas and practices for urban development. Of course you simply can’t visit the project once. My tickets are already booked to return so I can have my small part in this most intriguing experiment.

The Guidelines and Performance Benchmarks Draft 2008 will be available for download and public comment beginning on November 10, 2008 at www.sustainablesites.org/report. The public comment period will close January 20, 2009.   Public review and comment is essential to the successful development of these guidelines and performance-based benchmarks.   To participate in the review process, visit www.sustainablesites.org/review.