Intro | Agenda

Workshop Agenda:

Welcome
Roger Dickinson, Supervisor, Sacramento County (co-emcee)
Judy Corbett, Executive Director, Local Government Commission

Overview
Paul Zykofsky, Local Government Commission [Presentation] (PDF, 1.9 MB)

Paul Zykofsky will discuss the Ahwahnee Principles, smart growth and how code reform can help get the type of neighborhoods that residents tell us they’d like to live in.

Let Me Build Livable Communities: A Smart Growth Developer’s Perspective
John Anderson, New Urban Builders [Presentation] (PDF, 1.8 MB)

John Anderson will discuss obstacles that he has faced when trying to develop smart growth projects under conventional zoning and land development regulations.

Form-based Codes: What They Are, How They Work, & How to Prepare Them
Paul Crawford, Crawford Multari & Clark Associates [Presentation] (PDF, 5.5 MB)

Paul Crawford will provide an overview on the problems with conventional zoning codes and the innovative responses developed in recent years by new urbanist/smart growth practitioners. Mr. Crawford, whose firm has worked on dozens of code reform efforts, will discuss different approaches to code revision and the process that jurisdictions typically use to adopt them.

Devil is in the Details: Administering a Smart Growth Code
Steve Tracy, Local Government Commission [Presentation] (PDF, 468 KB)

Steve Tracy will describe the LGC’s “Smart Growth Zoning Codes: A Resource Guide” and how communities can use it to revise their codes. He will also touch on the importance of insuring that the code can be administered in a simple, straightforward manner.

Getting Street Designs that Support Walkable, Livable Communities
Paul Zykofsky, AICP, Local Government Commission [Presentation] (PDF, 6.5 MB)

Street design is key to creating livable communities in which residents are encouraged to walk, bicycle and use transit. However the street standards used by many jurisdictions often get in the way of narrow, slow, safe, tree-lined streets. Paul Zykofsky will discuss the problems with conventional street design and how to design a street system that supports livable communities based on “Street Design Guidelines for Healthy Communities” written by Dan Burden of Walkable Communities and published by the Local Government Commission in 1999.

Lunchtime Presentation: Connecting Community Design and Health
Dr. Alex Kelter, Chief, EPIC Branch, California Dept. of Health Services [Presentation] (PDF, 1.3 MB)
Introduced by Mayor Heather Fargo, City of Sacramento (co-emcee)

In recent years public health professionals have joined the discussion about smart growth and community design. Alex Kelter of the California Department of Health Services will discuss why public health is focusing more attention on these issues.

Reforming Parking Requirements: Less Traffic, Better Places
Patrick Siegman, Nelson\Nygaard Consulting Associates [Presentation] (PDF, 2.7 MB)

By reforming parking requirements — which often dictate the shape of buildings, the financial feasibility of projects, and the beauty of a place — a group of leading American cities, from large to small, are proving that they can reduce traffic, increase economic performance and protect the environment. Patrick Siegman will discuss how communities can carefully regulate parking design and provide enough parking, while still building walkable, beautiful places.

Case Study: Petaluma Wins Support for Infill through a Form-Based Code
Laura Hall, Fisher & Hall Urban Design [Presentation] (PDF, 2.4 MB)

Several years ago Petaluma took on the challenge of planning, designing and building a new urbanist neighborhood, using the SmartCode™ developed by Duany Plater-Zyberk to overcome years of controversy and adopt a plan for an infill site in its town center. Laura Hall, the urban designer that worked with the city, will share with participants how this community developed their new code and how well it is working.

Case Study: Hercules Creates New Town Center Using a Form-Base Code
Steve Lawton, City of Hercules [Presentation] (PDF, 3.6 MB)
Daniel Parolek, Opticos Design [Presentation] (PDF, 2.2 MB)

The City of Hercules, a bedroom community in the San Francisco Bay Area, is using a from-based code developed through a design charrette led by Dover Kohl and Associates in 2003 to plan and build a new, mixed-use town center and adjacent residential Waterfront District. Steve Lawton, Hercules’ Community Development Director, and Dan Parolek, whose firm administers the code in its capacity as “town architect,” will discuss how the code was adopted and how they are working with developers and builders to implement it.

Final Q&A with Expert Panel

Got any remaining burning questions for any of the speakers? If so this session with most of the day’s speakers will give you a chance to get them answered.