Mixed Use Zoning
What is it?
Most zoning ordinances specify separate single uses, meaning that residential
areas are separated from commercial (offices and shopping) areas, commercial
areas are separated from industrial areas, and so forth. Mixed use allows
different types of uses to locate within the same area, provided these uses are
reasonably related and compatible. For example, a typical mixed use district
might allow single family homes, small apartment buildings, and well-designed
shopping areas (corner drug stores, small shopping centers) to locate within the
area, thereby assuring these compatible uses are within easy walking distance of
one another.
How to do it
1. Involve stakeholders. Identify stakeholders likely to be affected by new
mixed use zoning requirements and representing various points of view in the
community. Stakeholders may include:
• local government representatives
• neighborhood organizations
• local farmers or agricultural associations
• property owners
• realtors
• home builders and commercial developers
• bankers
Educate these stakeholders about the purpose of adding mixed use zoning
provisions to your development regulations.
2. Determine appropriate areas for mixed use zoning. Work with the
stakeholder group to define specific areas in your community where new
mixed use zoning should be applied. Talk with real estate professionals about
where mixed use development is likely to work in your community. Consider
locating mixed use activity centers in each identifiable neighborhood of your
community. Investigate past requests for rezoning and variances to help
determine areas where market forces are pushing for mixed uses. Identify
areas where new development is presently taking place, or where the existing
mix of buildings and neighborhood activities would naturally lend itself to
mixing of uses.
3. Determine the mix of uses you want to allow in each area identified above.
Again, work with the stakeholder group and talk with real estate professionals
about the types of uses likely to work in these areas of the community. It is
quite likely that more than one type of mixed use area will be identified
through this process. For example, you may identify the need for a mixed use
area that is primarily residential in nature, with only limited commercial
development permitted, while other areas of the community may call for a
mixed use district that is primarily commercial with higher density apartments
mixed in. In addition to defining the allowed uses, other specifics
requirements should be defined, including specific lot size minimums, building
setbacks, and other development restrictions to apply within each type of
mixed use zoning area. Use visual images or examples to help stakeholders
grasp concepts being discussed. Remember that the purpose of mixed use
zoning is to develop vibrant, walkable areas in your community.
4. Adopt new mixed use zoning requirements. Identify the specific provisions
of local zoning and development ordinances that must be amended to
establish mixed use zoning as recommended by the stakeholder group. You'll
also want to update zoning maps to include mixed use districts. Present these
amendments to local elected officials for official adoption. Abide by the notice
and public meeting requirements of the Zoning Procedures Act, O.C.G.A. 3666-1. Ensure that these new land use provisions are consistent with your local
comprehensive plan and amend the plan if needed.
5. Publicize your new mixed use areas within the development and real estate
community. Make sure developers know about the new requirements. Speak
about mixed use districts at Builder's Association and Board of Realtors
meetings. Print materials to distribute in your building permit offices.
Things to consider before using this tool
•
Developers often find that financing for mixed use development is difficult
because lenders don't know how to analyze these projects. The Federal
Reserve Bank of Minneapolis found that a lender can analyze mixed use
projects using the same credit analysis tools they use for other projects. The
key is for the lender to analyze each component of a mixed use development
separately. A bank that lacks time or expertise with mixed use development
projects may need to partner with another more experienced institution. Your
local government can be pro-active in promoting mixed use development by
identifying willing lenders with experience in funding these types of
developments - and then sharing this information with potential developers.
•
Another barrier to mixed use development is that most developers tend to
specialize in one type of construction or development. Your local government
can help overcome this barrier by encouraging developers to undertake joint
ventures to pool their skills and resources in developing mixed use projects.
Additional Information on Encouraging Mixed Use Development
Background
•
Are residential neighborhoods, place or employment, schools, shopping, and
entertainment areas of your community separated so that residents have to
drive between typical daily destinations?
•
Does your community have zoning or similar land use regulations that prevent
innovative combinations of single family, multi-family, and commercial land
uses?
If your community is like the typical Georgia city or county, there are not many
areas of mixed use in the community. Mixed use means that three or more
significant uses (such as residential, retail shops, and offices) are located close
together, within walking distance of one another. Mixing uses effectively
demands high quality design to provide a convenient, safe, and interesting
environment for residents and workers. A mix of uses works best if housing,
shopping, employment, and civic activities are located within easy reach of each
other. By clustering an assortment of uses, convenient places are created for
people to satisfy their daily needs, whether for school, shopping, working,
playing, or just buying stamps. Possible patterns of mixed use development
include:
•
Mixing uses within buildings, such as apartments over retail shops and
offices, or "live-work" residences with a small business on the first floor.
•
Creating neighborhood centers with a mix of small retail shops, business and
personal services, and civic and cultural uses, possibly surrounded by closeknit residential development.
•
Adding residential and retail uses to business parks to allow walking to work,
restaurants, and services.
•
Building residential buildings within or next to a community or regional
shopping centers.
•
Designing office and retail developments to make pedestrian access from
adjoining neighborhoods attractive and convenient.
Absence of mixed use development is undesirable for a number of reasons:
•
By separating individual land uses and making them accessible only by car,
communities have become less convenient for their residents. For example,
the elderly, people of limited income, and children find it difficult to meet their
daily needs because use of an automobile is necessary to travel between
home and school, shopping, or place of employment.
•
Businesses and services aren't clustered together in economically
complimentary ways.
•
Automobile-dependent development is frequently less attractive than the
older, more traditional areas of the community and also leads to decreased
air quality.
The older, traditional development patterns of our communities normally included
a healthy mix of uses. Think of the typical downtown areas with their lively mix of
shops, offices and residences located in close-knit buildings. Schools and small
shopping areas were frequently located right in the neighborhoods, encouraging
people to walk to school and daily shopping. By the mid-1900's, mixed uses lost
popularity as local governments enacted zoning regulations that called for
separation of different land uses. Recent years have seen a rebirth of interest in
encouraging mixed use development, brought about by a desire to return to more
compact, self-sufficient neighborhoods, less dependent on the automobile.
But some projects referred to as "mixed use" are actually not good
representations of the concept. These are typically large-scale projects that
include residential neighborhoods, office buildings, and commercial shopping
centers within the same development, but these differing uses are not located
within easy walking distance of one-another, and street layouts may actually
discourage pedestrian connections between home, office, or shopping. It is
important to understand that the "grain" of the mixing of uses must be
appropriate for a mixed use project to work as intended - to encourage walking
between different uses. The common measure for walkability is a distance of ½
mile. If different uses are not located less than ½ mile apart, with convenient,
direct pedestrian connections linking these uses, then the project should not be
considered as true mixed use.