Overlaying Form-Based Zoning

Columbus, Ohio has been experimenting with zoning overlays, which do not change the underlying land use regulations but add a set of form-based regulations focused on livability.

1 minute read

March 9, 2011, 7:00 AM PST

By Tim Halbur


With the imminent construction of a new casino on the city's revitalizing West Side, city and county planners are preparing the corridor for the spill-over effects of the casino - a $400 million injection into the neighborhood - through "zoning overlays":

"The overlays are intended to be flexible - a cookie-cutter approach is not what is sought - but offer guidance and long-term thinking so that communities are developed thoughtfully and with the kind of amenities that make them nice places in which to raise a family, run a business or retire."

"As developers of the Penn National casino prepare to break ground on the West Side, development is expected to sprout around W. Broad Street between the Hilltop and I-270, and beyond. These development guidelines are a much-needed preemptive strike to prevent the haphazard approach of the past."

Thanks to Scott Ulrich

Monday, March 7, 2011 in Columbus Dispatch

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I love the variety of courses, many practical, and all richly illustrated. They have inspired many ideas that I've applied in practice, and in my own teaching.

Mary G., Urban Planner

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