Presenter urges rethinking C-2 setbacks, warns they can undermine urban street frontage

A presenter (speaker 10) reviewed Mount Lebanon's C-2 zoning provisions and said the code’s allowance to increase building height—"the base max height is 80 feet" rising by one foot per additional front-yard depth to a maximum of "98 feet"—can work against an urban street form if ground floors are set back from the sidewalk. The presenter suggested permitting the first two or three floors to reach the sidewalk and using sidewalks or other measures to keep active frontage rather than leaving gaps between buildings and the sidewalk.