Planetizen Newswire
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Zoning Codes
Housing deregulation for the sake of housing affordability made progress in both Democratic- and Republican-led states last year.
City Journal
There's no draft rezoning plan for SoHo yet, but there's plenty of controversy.
Gothamist
A new metric for measuring land use regulation traces the evolution of land use regulations over the past decade, finding that U.S. municipalities on a net basis adopted slightly more restrictive land use regulations from 2006 to 2018.
The National Bureau of Economic Research
The city of Milwaukee will require new commercial developments to include a 15-foot "street frontage zone" to encourage walking.
Urban Milwaukee
The Philadelphia City Planning Commission made a "rare how of power" in using a variety of "pocket veto" to kill proposed height and roof deck restrictions in the Far Northeast section of Philadelphia.
WHYY
As a response to rising rental prices and low vacancy rates, Vancouver planners have created a package of zoning and process changes to provide incentives for new multi-family developments.
The Vancouver Sun
The vacancy rate in Toronto has been estimated as low 1.1 percent, but the province has approved regulations intended to restore units that have been taken off the long-term rental market by short-term rental platforms like Airbnb.
The Globe and Mail
Recent political interest in local land use regulations requires a thorough and nuanced understanding of the strengths and limitations of the methodologies available for measuring the effects of zoning.
Brookings
Move over Minneapolis. An Indiana college town joins the avant-garde of planning innovation by nearing the finish line with a new Unified Development Ordinance that would allow duplexes, triplexes, and fourplexes in single-family neighborhoods.
Hoosier Times
Covington, Kentucky is seeking feedback from the public on a new zoning code after 18 months of work.
WCPO
The first deliverable in the process of updating the city of Detroit's zoning ordinance is publically available.
Curbed Detroit
The new form-based zoning code under consideration in the affluent Philadelphia suburb of Lower Merion "has something to teach Philadelphia and other big cities about how to organize density smartly," according to Inga Saffron.
The Philadelphia Inquirer
Redwood City, located on the San Francisco Peninsula, will make it harder to build homes that take up more than 45 percent of a residential lot.
The Mercury News
Current zoning restrictions hearken back to an America that long longer exists. It’s time to update codes and stop perpetuating housing segregation and inequality.
The New York Times
Looking for a way to describe zoning codes, and their role in city planning, to a newcomer to the field? Maybe start here.
CityLab
The city of Des Moines is working on a new zoning code intended to ease the process of developing homes. The proposed regulations have triggered warnings from affordable housing advocates as well as local and nation home builders.
Des Moines Register
Until now, mixed-use projects have required a lengthy discretionary approval process in San Diego. That could change with a zoning change given preliminary approval by the City Council this week.
Times of San Diego
A local labor organization wanted larger hotels to help workers create unions, so they sought a zoning change to make it harder to develop smaller hotels in light manufacturing zones.
The Real Deal
The Los Angeles Department of City Planning has released a draft of the DTLA 2040 plan. In addition to the changes it proposes for the downtown area, it's the first community plan update to roll out the city's new zoning code.
Urbanize LA
Many gardeners in Florida celebrated this week, as Senate Bill 82 went into effect, by planting fruits and vegetables in their yards, legally, whether their city liked it or not.
NPR
