The City of El Paso, Texas exemplifies how a form-based code can help a rapidly growing community update its comprehensive plan and advance a multi-modal transportation vision through zoning changes that encourage smart growth (http://planelpaso.org/). El Paso’s SmartCode is a model form-based code that folds zoning, subdivision regulations, urban design, public works standards and basic architectural controls into one compact document.
With a current population of 620,000 and a shared border with Juarez, Mexico, El Paso’s growth is expected to continue for decades to come. Concerned that sprawling development patterns would hinder El Paso’s long-term health, city officials hired a team of professionals to help calibrate the SmartCode for select transit-oriented development areas surrounding the city’s existing and proposed bus rapid transit stations.
The team’s SmartCode analysis resulted in a vision for each TOD site. Then, the first visioning charrette produced infill master plans with a multi-modal vision designed to guide future municipal investment in transit, bicycling and walking. The project team used a collaborative online mapping tool to efficiently collect and analyze public comments. A citywide bicycle planning effort is underway using the SmartCode Bicycle Module written by The Street Plans Collaborative in 2010 to plug into the model form-based code. Dover Kohl and Partners is leading El Paso’s planning work with significant assistance from The Streets Plans Collaborative.
Print to Page
Email to a Friend
