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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/engineering/transportation/Pages/Healthy-Streets-Program.aspx
  • Streets for Pandemic Response & Recovery: https://nacto.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/05/NACTO_Streets-for-Pandemic-Response-and-Recovery_2020-05-21.pdf
  • Reclaiming the Right of Way: https://nacto.org/docs/usdg/reclaiming_the_right_of_way_brozen.pdf
  • Using Downtown Spaces to Respond to COVID-19 https://www.in.gov/ocra/mainstreet/files/Using_Dowtown_Spaces_toRespondto_COVID-19.pdf
  • Long Beach Business Open Streets Resources: https://www.longbeach.gov/goactivelb/programs/temporary-open-streets/business-open-streets/

 

Review and update sign ordinance
  • Relax temporary sign restrictions. Many businesses have found the need to advertise in new and innovative ways – whether it’s a large new banner placed on the front of the building to let people know you are open, or a chair placed in the parking lot with instructions to text upon arrival. Cities should make it clear these types of temporary signs are not illegal right now, and in fact, are encouraged.
  • Zoning In a Post Covid Word (Part 1): https://www.code-studio.com/zoning-post-covid-world-part/
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.
  • Winter Placemaking Guide: https://www.880cities.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/09/Winter-Placemaking-Guide.pdf
  • The Future of Hospitality: https://www2.deloitte.com/content/dam/Deloitte/ca/Documents/consumer-industrial-products/ca-future-of-hospitality-pov-aoda-en.pdf
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)
  • LARA Social District Permit Information: https://www.michigan.gov/lara/0,4601,7-154-89334_10570_90824-533429--,00.html
  • MML Social District Fact Sheet: https://www.mml.org/resources/publications/one_pagers/FS-Social-Districts-Plus.pdf
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.
  • How Eliminating Parking Minimums Actually Makes Cities Better: https://www.eesi.org/articles/view/how-eliminating-parking-actually-makes-cities-better
  • Shared Parking Guidebook: https://crcog.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/07/Ch08_Technical_Part1_Parking.pdf
  • Model Shared Parking Ordinance – Provisions: https://crcog.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/07/Ch08_Technical_Part2_Parking.pdf
  • Maximizing Urban-Core Parking with Private-Public and Private-Private Parking Agreements: https://www.usdn.org/uploads/cms/documents/2015usdnconvening_summary.pdf
  • Parking Reform Made Easy: https://www.accessmagazine.org/fall-2013/parking-reform-made-easy/
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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