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Planner outlines expanded Transit Supportive Development District, proposes 200-units-per-acre cap
Summary
City planning consultant Mark Albers told the Planning and Zoning Board the draft Transit Supportive Development District would grow from roughly 50 to about 95.52 acres, add three subdistricts with graduated heights and intensities, and set a 200-units-per-acre density cap in the core with lower density edges and bonuses for public open space and affordable housing.
Mark Albers, the city consultant, presented a comprehensive draft of the Transit Supportive Development District (TSDD) that combines zoning text changes with two map amendments.
Albers said the existing TSDD covers a little over 50 acres and that the proposed district would expand to about 95.52 acres. "And, basically, what we're doing is we're creating a cap of 200 units per acre," he said, describing the cap as a way to replace theoretical, inflated unit counts that can arise when bonus assumptions are applied at the comprehensive-plan level.
He walked the board through a three-subdistrict approach that concentrates the highest base heights nearest the transit station and scales intensity down toward adjacent neighborhoods. The draft code sets a four-tier height pattern (maximums with bonuses), reduces parking requirements by about 40% through Institute of Transportation Engineers averages plus mixed-use and transit discounts, and links additional floors to performance bonuses for public open space, affordable and workforce housing, and sustainability measures (LEED ratings).
Albers also described new form rules: a street hierarchy requiring primary-street frontages, glazing requirements for ground-floor retail, shifts from setback requirements to dedication for wider sidewalks, and a waiver process for practical difficulties specific to oddly shaped parcels.
The consultant closed by noting the adoption timeline: second reading at the commission followed by state review for plan and map changes; if approvals proceed, many of the changes could be effective in March–April after transmission and the statutory waiting period.
