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Best Practice 2 Resiliency Strategies

Best Practice 2 Resiliency Strategies

Best Practice 2 (Zoning) considers a community’s zoning ordinance and its other police powers, and how the community utilizes the right-of-way.

Key Focus for Recovery + Resilience: Temporary permits, Outdoor seating, Outdoor sales, Parking requirements, Housing options.

Consider temporary or permanent vehicle lane or on-street parking closures
  • Consider road diets to create more room for pedestrians, outdoor seating, dedicated and expanded bike lanes, etc. Initiate a pilot program.
  • Treatments to accomplish this, in the short term, may be more temporary in nature and borrow on placemaking tactics.
  • Street closings can be short or long-term
    • Short-term closings – such as closing streets on weekends only with temporary barriers
    • Long-term closings – for weeks or months, with semi-permanent barriers to vehicular traffic to increase user sense of comfort
  • Experimenting with road diet options now will help address immediate concerns, but it could also provide inspiration and direction for longer-term pedestrian-focused and prioritized street and streetscape improvements.
  • Ann Arbor Healthy Streets: https://www.a2gov.org/departments/systems-planning/planning-areas/transportation/Pages/Healthy-Streets-Program.aspx

 

Review and update sign ordinance
  • Ease enforcement on temporary signage or establish a streamlined administrative process.
Reallocate sidewalk space adjacent to restaurants and bars for outdoor seating and sidewalk sales.
  • Allow unique approaches for comfortable patron seating throughout the winter months.
Create entertainment districts and downtowns that allow open containers of alcoholic beverages.
  • Michigan cities, townships and villages can establish “social districts” with commons areas for companies to sell alcoholic drinks through Dec. 31, 2024.
  • Precedent: City of Toledo Downtown Outdoor Refreshment Area (DORA)
Enable specific special use permits by administrative approval
  • Make patios/outdoor dining allowed year-round
  • Outdoor sales
Review and reduce your parking requirements
  • Encourage shared parking arrangements.
  • Prioritize wayfinding strategies to help visitors.
Allow for expanded home-based businesses
  • Allow for home-based businesses to employ one or more outside employees.
  • Remove the restrictions on activity in accessory structures such as garages.
  • Expand the types of businesses permitted as home-based businesses.
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