“We only did minor adjustments since then,” Steve Thompson, Springfield community development deputy director, said. “We want this to be a living document, where we are looking at it constantly; if something’s not working, we want to address it quickly. We don’t want it to just continue on for a long time.”
The city, along with national consultant ZoneCo, as well as Urban Fast Forward and Cincinnati Urban Design and Architecture Studio (CUDA) — Cincinnati consultants who are assisting in revising the current codes to become more appropriate for the challenges the city is facing nowadays — presented a final draft of the code to the public Wednesday.
The code is expected to go in front of the city commission at the end of April for a first reading. The city will then vote on the code at a second reading.
Consultants have met with community members all over the city to learn where changes are needed. Much of the concern is related to housing, with 78% of buildings in the city being residential.
Affordable housing
Nate Weyand-Geise, urban planner for Urban Fast Forward, said one of the top concerns was having affordable housing available.
“What we’re hoping to do here is expand the typologies of housing that are currently allowed —duplexes, cottage courts, tiny homes — and by doing that we open up kind of the opportunities for more affordable housing development," Weyand-Geise said.
Jeff Raser, architect at CUDA, said that the zoning code cannot create housing, but it enables its development.
“It enables things to be built, so that’s why ZoneCo parsed out different kinds of housing that’s allowed,” Raser said. “So you can do a two-family without having to haggle about, what is a two-family, how big must it be in a ... multi-unit dwelling.”
Vacant lots, mixed use
The code also aims to encourage development of vacant lots. Weyand-Geise said a previous study between Limestone and South Yellow Springs streets found that around 40% of all the land in the area was vacant.
“We also heard people talking about how do we encourage folks to take advantage of that land before they start growing the city out,” Weyand-Geise said. “Let’s focus inward, let’s bring that energy back to the city so that folks can start kind of building back their neighborhoods.”
The code also has guidelines that would allow for more mixed-use spaces, which could allow for living spaces above businesses in areas like downtown, Weyand-Geise said.
One priority is preserving green space in the city while also building housing. Part of this is making community gardens and accessory buildings like sheds easier to have.
The new code also features rules related to resident concerns, like lighting standards to prevent bright lights from disturbing neighbors.
The code is to be used as a tool to give “decision-makers real clear guidelines on how to make decisions,” said Rhys Wilson, senior city planner for ZoneCo.
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