Implementing the Charrette Report
What Form-Based Codes and Other Recommendations Mean for Damariscotta
If you've been following the community planning process in Damariscotta, you've probably heard about our recent charrette and a recommendation for implementing form-based codes. And if you're anything like most citizens, you may be wondering what in the world they are and what they mean for our town. Over the past three years, the Damariscotta Planning Advisory Committee (DPAC) has been collecting the stories and opinions of Damariscotta residents and drafting a vision for the future of the Town through our Heart & Soul Community Planning initiative. In late October 2009, DPAC hosted a Town-wide planning charrette to focus the ideas of the public and professional designers and planners on how the town might grow and how we might realize our vision. Over 500 people have been involved in this effort so far. DPAC released the final Charrette Report in April, providing an illustrative plan to help guide growth and development in Damariscotta for the next 40+ years. The Report's recommendations run the gamut from small improvements like installing wayfinding signs to major capital improvements such as updating the School Street/Route 1-B intersection; from quick turn-around projects like improving signage, landscaping and repainting the back parking lot to multi-year initiatives; and from physical improvements like to policy and zoning changes. One of the most important and unfamiliar recommendations in the Report is to consider "form-based codes" - a type of policy or ordinance that guides development based on how we want our Town to look and feel. In contrast, our current codes are "use-based codes," which regulate what activities can occur on a parcel of land, but don't address how a new building or renovation fits in with local character. Form-based codes encourage mixed-use development, focusing instead on building facades, the scale and types of streets and blocks, and ensuring that development enhances the public realm. They can lead to more walkable, livable communities with better integration of local services. In contrast, use-based codes segregate land uses into oversimplified retail, residential and commercial pods. For example, they tend to restrict small businesses from operating in a residential neighborhood or manufacturing facilities from moving downtown, neglecting how a place looks and feels and whether or not if fits the character of the community. These traditional codes have contributed to suburban sprawl, making it more likely that people need to drive to work and stores. The regulations in use-based codes are typically based on abstract and disconnected parameters like dwellings per acre, setbacks and parking ratios. The regulations and standards in form-based codes are tied to diagrams and words that designate the appropriate form and character of development, as determined by the community through a public process, such as our Heart & Soul Community Planning initiative. Form-based codes allow a community to be proactive about the kinds of development that occur by clearly communicating to landowners and developers what type of place is desired. In exchange for building in a way that respects the larger vision, developers are rewarded with a faster and less combative review process because they already know what the public wants. Developers also tend to prefer form-based codes because the regulations are simpler and clearer and they have more flexibility in terms of what they do inside their buildings. Ultimately, a form-based code is a tool; the quality of development outcomes depends on the quality and objectives of the community plan it's based on. Form-based codes may not be appropriate for all situations or all areas of town. Acknowledging this, Town Manager Greg Zinser said that, "If the Town should decide to adopt form based codes, it would be as an amendment or addition to current Land Use Ordinance, and would specify exactly to which geographic areas they would apply." A DPAC subcommittee, working in collaboration with the Town, is examining how and where form-based codes might be most appropriate. Piper Commons and some sections of Business Route 1 were identified as potential areas during the charrette process. The Board of Selectmen is also carefully considering the larger implications of form-based codes and other Report recommendations. According to Chairman Dick McLean: "We are all closely examining the recommendations to ensure that future development will be consistent with the vision and values defined by the community." |
Neighborhood Meetings
Do you have something you want the Damariscotta Planning Advisory Committee to know about your neighborhood and what you think could be done to improve life in Damariscotta? Do you want to make sure someone hears your opinion about which recommendations in the recently published Charrette Report are most important? Well, the Damariscotta Planning Advisory Committee is once again offering you a chance to give your two cents at neighborhood meetings.
Four neighborhood meetings have been scheduled and more are soon to be added. These meetings will be hosted by residents and a DPAC member will attend to hear your opinions. The purpose of the meetings is to gather people's opinions on the recommendations in the charrette report and to discuss what people think are the most important recommendations to address first. The neighborhood meetings are also an avenue for the public to have their voices heard because DPAC reports regularly to the Select Board to keep them apprised of the public's concerns. It is hoped that these meetings will turn into a new regular method to collect public opinion to make sure it is heard by community leaders.
Scheduled meetings to date are
- For Belvedere Road area residents on June 6, call David Atwater at 563-1366 for time and location.
- For Keene Woods area residents on June 9, call Dave Wilbur at 563-5490 for time and location.
- For Lewis Pt Road/Elm Street area residents on June 17, call George Parker at 563-8754 for time and location.
Call the host or DPAC member listed for times, locations and more information. Additional neighborhood meetings will be scheduled when hosts volunteer. If you would like to host a neighborhood meeting, please call the Heart and Soul Coordinator Jane Lafleur at 380-4802 or e-mail dpac@damariscottame.com. To review a copy of the Charrette Report, visit the town Offices, the Public Library, the Chamber of Commerce and various downtown restaurants and coffee shops. The report is also available on line at Charrette Report . |
