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Day Two: Listening, Clarifying

Feb 09, 2010

Before exploring what a Fitchburg zoning update will do to shape the future of the City, it’s important to clarify what it will not do to existing neighborhoods and businesses. That was one theme of Tuesday meetings with developers, business people, neighborhood groups, and others. To see an overview, click on the video below.

City staffers and members of the PlaceMakers consulting team reassured attendees that the proposed SmartCode will not be a wholesale rewriting of current zoning regulations. And current home owners, developers, and business people will likely not have to change they way they’re operating under current rules.

The new SmartCode will be an optional “floating zone” that can be requested by developers for large-scale projects in areas where there is currently no development or in areas designated for redevelopment. It’s most effective use may be in bringing order and predictability to the current Planned Development District process. It adds choice where none now exists.

What sort of choices? In Tuesday meetings project team members discussed alternatives to current development patterns in rural areas and in closer-in sections where walkable, mixed-use neighborhoods might meet future market demands. If developers and residents choose, they can even achieve through the SmartCode a small town Main Street feel in a place that can become a future Fitchburg town center.

While opinions were by no means unanimous, many of the attendees were curious about how new development might look under a SmartCode. So the PlaceMakers designers and planners will sketch ideas to “pin up” on Wednesday night. For a schedule of the Wednesday night open house and of events leading up to the final presentation on Friday, go here.

The most engaged session on Tuesday may have been the one involving longtime farmers. They heard a presentation by PlaceMakers consultant Andrew von Maur about a SmartCode-appropriate option for rural residential clusters. Instead of clustering a group of homes in untillable, wooded sections of their property, farmers might want to consolidate “splits,” their options for developing lots, in parcels with easy road access. Such clusters would take the form of rural hamlets of perhaps six to 10 units.

The hamlet option will be among those explored further in the Wednesday night “pin up.”

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2 Responses to “Day Two: Listening, Clarifying”


  1. Michael Zimmerman says:
    February 10, 2010 at 12:37 pm

    What will be done through this process to update our existing euclidean zoning code to solve past situations in Fitchburg such as a manufacturer who wants to have an in house day care operation open to their employees children and those from outside the company?

    While our existing manufacturing/industrial businesses will retain their current zoning, in new areas like the business park identified in the Northeast Neighborhood, and the eventual expansion of the Fitchburg Commerce Park in the North Stoner Prairie Area, what will be the zoning code options available for industrial parks? Will there be a manufacturing/industrial special district? If so, when and how will that special district be calibrated? Will we seek the input of our existing large format manufacturers to determine that calibration?

    What updates are going to be done to the sign code for existing areas? Businesses have requested the ability to integrate electronic message boards to advertise specials like Sunday brunch or live music. Will that option be offered as a recommendation?

    What modules (i.e. architectural, transportation) are going to be included in a Fitchburg zoning code? Are the modules on this web site some where for people to review or where can we obtain a copy of them?

    Thank you!

  2. Susan Henderson says:
    February 10, 2010 at 1:25 pm

    Thanks for the good questions, Mike.

    Some tweaks will be made to the existing Euclidean zones to deal with inconsistencies, however no restructuring will be done. Mixed use scenarios such as you describe will be permitted under the SmartCode.

    Regarding the new Business Park Special District that permits clean industry, we’ve been working closely with some of your development community that provide these structures for manufacturing. They’ve provided us with a number of building configurations and we’ll be posting our first draft of this Special District for review at the pin-up tonight. We’re looking forward to feedback from the development and manufacturing communities.

    The sign code is under discussion. It hasn’t been decided yet if the existing code will be edited, but we welcome a list of suggestions that we can discuss with staff.

    All modules are available at http://www.smartcodecentral.com. We will be using the Thoroughfare Module and it is currently being calibrated by our transportation planner with direction from Public Works and Fire. The model Architectural Standards will be posted for edit at the pin-up tonight. Hope to see you.



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  • 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.