Thank you to Don Jones and Tommy Pacello of the Division of Planning and Development (DVD) for telling us all about the Unified Development Code (UDC) at our most recent Pizza With Planners session last Thursday. Thank you to Andrew Trippel, who shared his experience working with 6 neighborhoods around the University of Memphis and the DVD to develop a new plan for the University District with the UDC in mind.
We learned that the UDC provides tools for neighborhoods that want to actively shape that communities. An enthusiastic neighborhood can go through a neighborhood planning process using design charrettes. (Remember the definition of a design charrette from our first PWP session on the Neighborhood Plan? Charrettes are a series of meeting with community stakeholders - neighbors - work collaboratively to create a vision for their community.)
One planning tool in the UDC is a district overlay - a re-mapping of a certain area of the neighborhood to encourage more intention development. For example, instead of being zoned commercial or residential, the district overlay can allow for more mixed use or variable infill develop like a commercial cluster in a residential neighborhoods.
The UDC also suggests guidelines for building envelopes to encourage development that matches the intention of the plan. For example a new building in an existing neighborhood should fit the scale and feel of its surrounding buildings. This concept is brings in form-based concepts instead of standard code requirements.
Tommy and Don outlined many articles of the UDC from streetscapes to resource management to infrastructure improvements.
In case you missed it, you can:
View the UDC Pizza With Planners presentation
Email Tommy or Don for more information
Check out the Unified Development Code website
Check out the University District plan
We will be sure to let you know when the UDC will come up for a vote before the Land Use Control board, likely toward the end of May. This will be an important moment to show you support for the tools the UDC will offer. Let's get the UDC passed! Our neighborhoods deserve it.
