You Avatar

Getting at the Heart of the Issues

Dec 01, 2009

It’s time to lay crucial groundwork for Fitchburg’s zoning update. So let’s spend a couple hours together Wednesday night, December 2, getting up to speed and talking about what’s important and how we want to focus our efforts.

Everybody’s invited. It begins at 6 p.m. in the Oak Hall Room at the Fitchburg Community Center, 5510 Lacy Road.

In addition to City officials, members of the PlaceMakers consulting team will be on hand to talk about the upcoming big event, the planning charrette, February 8-12. It’s the week where, through an ongoing series of collaborative meetings and presentations, we’ll shape the rules for Fitchburg’s future growth by customizing a model ordinance called the SmartCode. The SmartCode is what’s known as a form-based code (as opposed to our current zoning, which is use-based) and provides a better regulatory framework for pursuing the goals set out in our Comprehensive Plan. It will serve as an additional option under our existing code.

(We’re in good company. Take a look at all the communities heading down the same path we are, as well as those who’ve already completed the process.)

Residents contribute to development of Fitchburg's Comp Plan.

Residents contribute to development of Fitchburg's Comp Plan.

A charrette is a special kind of intensely focused workshop that moves from ideas to an action plan quickly. For the February event to be most effective, it should start with a firm grasp of the issues most important to the full range of Fitchburg residents, property owners, and business people. From the City’s work on its new Comprehensive Plan, the project team has a pretty good grasp of key topics. But we want to use the Wednesday workshop to make sure we’re on track.

We need to hear your ideas and concerns. So come on out to the Community Center.

If you can’t make this introductory event, then be sure to mark your calendars for the charrette in February and follow the action on these web pages. We’ll be adding more and more info about the zoning rewrite as we head into the charrette; so you don’t have to miss anything. Use this site to not only get info but to give it, as well, by submitting your own thoughts and ideas below. We’d love to hear from you.

FILED UNDER:   Project InfoTAGS: , ,

SHARE:
| More

4 Responses to “Getting at the Heart of the Issues”


  1. Steve Arnold says:
    December 2, 2009 at 1:10 pm

    Many have asked a variation of the question, “What cities like Fitchburg have adopted a development code based on the SmartCode?” To answer this question, please see the link at the bottom of the right column of the home page for this site, “SmartCodes Adopted”. Explore the map and click on pins to learn more. For example, to find a snowy place with a SmartCode implementation, check out Saratoga Springs in upstate New York.
    You’ll also find Fitchburg listed at the “SmartCodes in Process” link.
    Enjoy! Your feedback is welcome.

  2. Susan De Vos says:
    February 8, 2010 at 11:28 am

    This has to do with PARKING.

    In Madison, all new residential units are required to have at least one off-street stall for automobile parking. That is horribly expensive, unnecessary and WRONG. As I occupy a unit on Midvale Blvd. in Madison that was designated as a handicap unit, buying the parking stall (for $7,000) was optional. That is not an option for most people. Not only do they have to buy it (or pay for it in their rent) but they have to pay tax on it. Better that money was being spent helping to pay for a bus.

    In the short-term, there are actually residents of Hilldale Row that want there to be MORE parking. For example, a number of couples have 2 cars, and asking them to pare that back to 1 car is a hardship. They cannot park on the street during the winter because the street needs to be clear for plowing. That’s where transit, bicycling and walking come in because it should not be a hardship for them to pare back to 1 car that only needs to be used periodically rather than for commuting to work. It should not be necessary to own any car at all as we have options such as Community Car or car rental. They would not have a car requiring ANY parking in that case.

  3. Richard Bloomquist says:
    February 10, 2010 at 8:07 am

    [...] You have a lifestyle that is what you want, I support your ability to make that choice. Some residents of Fitchburg have made a choice to live in not so dense surrounding as yourself. I do not support a “smart” plan that forces high density and lack of housing choices on current and future residents.


Trackbacks/Pingbacks

  1. Fitchburg Zoning Update | Workshop Tees Up Feb. Charrette 03 12 09

Share Your Own Thoughts and Ideas

This online forum is an extension of the public process with the same expectations for civility. Comments may be moderated for relevance and decorum -- but will not be edited for idea content.

← Issue Identification Public Workshop
Workshop Tees Up Feb. Charrette →

  • Our Task: To Code for Growth
    In Line with our Values

    We need rules that ensure our future growth is as inspired as the goals we've set out.

    That’s the simplest way to explain our ambitions to augment Fitchburg’s current zoning code to bring it in line with the City’s new Comprehensive Plan. That 2009 Plan is based on core principles of Smart Growth and on long-term sustainability on three levels – economic, environmental, and social. And the fact is, says Fitchburg Mayor Jay Allen, “our current zoning code does not adequately accommodate the values we want to shape our future.”

    Old-style zoning, created in an era when the object was to protect neighborhoods from dangerous industrial practices, focused on segregating building uses – offices, retail and residences – to keep people safe from noxious industry. But with the rise of the automobile, this seemingly practical approach began to super-size, devouring land out of proportion to our rate of population growth and creating ever-greater separation between the things we do and need.

    That’s taken its toll on our environment, our budget, our free time and our ability to be a real community. But now we have the chance to do something about it.

    Icon of Streetscape      

    Over the coming months, we’ll be exploring a new approach to zoning – one that focuses more on how buildings are arranged and less on how they’re used – to broaden our existing code to better foster the kind of growth envisioned in our Comprehensive Plan. We’ll look at setbacks and building frontages, the widths of streets and sidewalks, the interplay between private space and public space and the appropriate mixes of use in selected spots – all with an eye towards neighborhoods where residents can, if they choose, accomplish many daily tasks on foot.

    Through all of it, we’ll be customizing the code addition to the things we value. So the process will involve a lot of discussion about achieving the right look and feel in the right place.

    That means the process is committed to the same sort of public involvement as the process that created the Comprehensive Plan. At the heart of this effort is a public “charrette,” a multi-day collaborative workshop in which everyone is invited to join with a team of expert consultants to establish key components of any new zoning designation.

    That workshop will take place February 8-12. “All issues,” says the mayor, “are on the table, and anyone who wishes to participate in the process will have that opportunity. Together, we’ll look at ideas, ask questions, develop answers, come up with options, and choose the best direction. By the final night we will have a consensus on the first draft of this new addition to our code.”

    It’s a “once-in-a-lifetime opportunity,” says the mayor, “to create the tools we need to handle new growth without over-extending City services.”

    Check this site often to keep up with the process. Not only will you find an ongoing overview of where we are, you’ll also have opportunity to weigh in on the different issues being discussed.