Planning commission reviews form-based code revisions to expand design flexibility in downtown

South Burlington Planning Commission members and staff discussed proposed revisions to the city's form-based code at a regular meeting (date not specified), examining a package of topic-level changes staff says are intended to allow more design variety while preserving a walkable downtown.

The draft revisions are intended to open the “design box” for architects and developers, staff said, by clarifying overlapping regulations and removing requirements that staff and some applicants have found constraining. Planning staff told the commission the draft focuses on five motivations for change (listed in the memorandum supplied to commissioners) and that most of the substantive language had been circulated to commissioners earlier the same day.

Why it matters: The form-based code sets how buildings align with streets, where ground-floor commercial is required, and frontage/height standards in the Market Street–Dorset Street area. Changes to that code will affect what can be built, how developments can be phased, and how the city pursues a denser, more pedestrian-focused core.

Key details discussed…