Staff seeks council blessing to advance downtown form-based code pilot after design charrette

Long-range planning staff and consultants presented an emerging form-based code (FBC) framework for a downtown pilot area at the May 27 work session, and asked the council for direction to proceed to a draft code and adoption process this fall.

The proposal matters because a form-based code would change how downtown redevelopment is regulated — replacing use-by-use zoning with standards that emphasize building placement, pedestrian orientation, transitions to neighborhoods and predictable design outcomes.

Taranee Lehi Palma, principal planner, said staff and consultants held a March design charrette and broad stakeholder outreach and that the draft regulating plan and code framework reflect public input calling for walkability, residential growth, historic preservation and flexible, market-driven standards. "The goal is to build upon what we have already learned from the public and use that as a framework," she said.

Key elements presented: - Pilot area and outreach: staff described a pilot area composed of subdistricts within the downtown/UTA/entertainment-district corridor and said roughly 50 people participated in design events; stakeholders included the University of Texas at Arlington (UTA), neighborhood groups, developers and service organizations. - Regulating plan and character districts: staff proposed five higher-level character districts (traditional neighborhood, urban neighborhood, corridor mixed use, downtown gateway, and downtown core) derived from an earlier eight-subdistrict sketch. Examples and building-type images were shown for each district. - Building form and heights: staff proposed different height bands by district — e.g., traditional neighborhood up to 2.5 stories, urban neighborhood 3–5 stories (higher near UTA), corridor mixed-use variable, downtown core up to 12 stories, and a downtown gateway up to 24 stories — and emphasized transition buffers where taller development meets historic residential areas. - Design standards: the framework would require activated ground-floor uses on key corridors, minimum building placement on street frontages (staff cited metrics such as 80% building fronting in the gateway and a 40% building-front metric in corridor areas), back-of-lot parking, compatibility standards, and requirements for walkability and open space. - Sample focus areas: the presentation walked through concept plans for a decommissioning gas‑well site, a manufactured-home site, and potential West Front Street redevelopment, showing how the code could accommodate both large and lot‑by‑lot infill redevelopment.

Timeline and request: staff asked the council for a “blessing” to finalize the regulating plan and proceed to draft code, with adoption targeted in October–November. Council members asked about code flexibility and the process for exceptions; consultants said the code would include processes for limited modifications and a review path through planning and zoning and, as needed, council review.

Council response at the session indicated general support for continuing the effort and for staff to proceed with drafting the detailed development standards. Staff said they will continue stakeholder meetings and refine district boundaries as the code is drafted for public hearings and Planning & Zoning review.