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Breaking Down Planning Silos
Teska, BDI logos
Lessons from Downtowns, Neighborhoods, and Corridors
IML CHICAGO 2015
Konstantine T. Savoy, AICP, Teska Associates, Inc. Bridget Lane, Vice President, Business Districts, Inc.
How Did Silos Develop?
Planning: Zoning regulated uses into strict categories with distinct preferred characteristics Market: Investors could make money….
The 3 C’s: The 3 Deadly Sins
► Compartmentalizing ► Categorizing ► Classifying
In most of the places we live and work, we can take a walk, but we can’t walk to get somewhere
because that somewhere is too far away.
What are the Costs and Benefits of Silos? ► Costs
• Lost flexibility causes vacancy
• Supply dictated rather than demand satisfied
• Auto reliance
► Benefits • Regulatory ease
• Known landscape
► What does the balance require?
Silos: Our Responsibility ► Economic development
• Fiscal health
• Quality of life
► Vibrant centers – create conditions for success • Diverse Places to live, shop, dine,
play, convene, rest, and learn
• Connected public places served by transit
• Complete the internal trips on foot
• Safe, pleasant experiences
“The best density (centers)—the kind found in urban places to which people become attached and cherish over time—
is designed to be experienced”. J. Campoli
The Corridor Silo
Planning Large Format Businesses
National Chains Job Centers
Parking Fields
Berms & Setbacks
Single story development
Transit unfriendly
Over zoned retail(red lines)
No sidewalks, bike lanes
The Corridor Silo Market Support Auto access
Less weather dependent
Low NIMBY conflict
Follows Models
Market Challenge Changing store sizes
Vacant Spaces
Unrealistic 3P expectations
Few non-silo models
Corridor Issues Can customers arrive without cars?
How do non-retail uses fit?
What should be done with obsolete spaces?
The Neighborhood Silo
Planning Residential – segregated/
disconnected
Recreational amenities – nimby's
Churches/Schools – conditional uses
New Approaches: Storage facilities
The Neighborhood Silo Market Support Similar homes support $$
Low NIMBY conflict
Follows Models
Market Challenge Changing house sizes
Low vibrancy
Uncertain millenials
Few non-silo models
The Downtown Silo Downtowns Elements of Vibrant Places:
Civic uses
Community icons
Multi-story MXD
Independent businesses
Multi-modal access
The Downtown Silo
Market Support History provides roots
Shop local (Sales Tax)
Sometimes residential density
Parking works
Market Challenge Access problems?
Obsolete buildings
Fear of change
Difficulty adding new uses
The Silo Challenging Market ► “Over the last 20 years, we have built
retail space five times faster than sales,” ► Overbuilt isolated neighborhoods led to a housing crisis that
encouraged renting vs. buying ► Technology allowed employees
to work from multiple locations ► Helicopter kids engaged in
managed lives ► Churches grew in size ► Investors lost money….
Applying the “Hammer”
Potentially Surprising Results
$0
$500,000
$1,000,000
$1,500,000
$2,000,000
$2,500,000
Retail Sales per Acre
Vibrancy’s Economic Impact Typical Muni Sales Tax
Indie Restaurant: $10,000
Indie Store: $3,000
Costco: $1 Million
Grocery: $250,000+
Mass Merch: $400,000+
Sample 10% Sales increase
Community 10% Increase
Homewood $396,063
Mount Prospect $1,328,544
Carpentersville $301,604
Mundelein $499,717
Zion $193,965
Champaign Neil Street Gateway Corridor Typical Site
“Wrong side”
High traffic exposure o Expressway: 58,000 ADT
o North Neil: 18500 ADT
2nd generation tenants
Cleared hotel
Obsolete Gas Station
Illinois “Silo” Response Get more retail
The Cracked Silo Response Become an asset
to the neighborhood Add sidewalks
Provide bicycle access
Support entrepreneurship
Make tactical interventions Neighborhood market
Food trucks
Create Gateway
Randhurst
“DLC also plans to invest at least another $15 million, and maybe much more, adding significantly more retail space and potentially other uses, such as apartments. An existing office building could be replaced or redeveloped, and there are two vacant land parcels.” Crain’s Real Estate Daily; June 19. 2015
Deer Park IL– Deer Park Center
Glenview IL – Astella’s MXD
THE ART OF LIVING WELL At Tapestry Glenview, urban living meets sophisticated style. Located adjacent to the Willow Road entrance of I-294 with Mariano’s, Starbucks, CVS, L.A. Fitness, Potbelly and Chipotle within walking distance, your home is near many of the area’s major employers, as well as a variety of premier shopping and dining.
Avant Residential
“Located in close proximity to the Corporate Corridor, Avant at the Arboretum provides residents with access to work and popular downtown locations. The development offers nine distinct living configurations and 310 indoor parking stalls, and features an outdoor heated swimming pool, patio area, communal gas grills, outdoor fire pit, fitness center, business center, conference center, multipurpose screening room with 106-inch projection screen TV, warming pantry, club room, bike storage area, dog park and free WiFi.” http://www.rejournals.com/2013/10/04/
Nameless Neighborhood Example
Situation High Value Homes
Vintage school with plan
Adjacent Churches
Adjacent Parks
Adjacent Library
Silo Crackers Employees parking on street
Organized kids sports (lights!)
Supplemental school activities
Library activities
Issues Do I own the parking in front
of my house?
Must I have sidewalks?
Can I build an office over my garage?
Where do I store my stuff?
My Downtown Example Silo Crackers
Mixed use with vacant ground floor
Charm as a Business Asset
Regionalism
National Chains
New Office Model
Self Storage
Issues How do online transactions change
need/land use for Downtowns?
What is the role of national chains?
Is parking a competitive advantage?
Who is the competition?
When does mixed use work?
Can I dictate supply?
Blurring the Lines ► Emerging trends
Growth of mixed-use as a development form
Demographic appeal of MXD Pedestrian amenities/residences -
Corridors
“It is time to start looking at strip centers as potential linear villages so that what forms over time is a better balance of uses with the right transportation options to enable people to move about the corridor.”
Repositioning Urban Corridors, ULI, by Karen Gulley, February 23, 2011
Blurring the Lines ► Emerging trends
Catalysts/Connectors vs Contributors to Decline – Neighborhoods & Corridors
Density, Entertainment, Job Centers - Downtowns
“… office tenants strongly prefer vibrant suburban centers to typical suburban office parks. Vibrant suburban centers also perform far better than nearby suburban office areas in terms of higher rents, lower vacancy rates, and greater absorption.”
NAIOP – Preferred Office Locations Report
St. Charles Road, Villa Park
Silos: The Response ► Shifting focus: moving cars
to connection people ► The five d’s + P: density,
diversity, design, distance, destination “anything that increases walkability almost always increases vibrancy.”
Jeff Speck notes in his 2012 book Walkable City: How Downtown Can Save America, One Step at a Time
Making it All Work Implementation Tools
► New plan for the 21st century Multiple jurisdictional planning
Minimum size development sites
Built-to lines
Minimum vs Maximum densities at nodes/districts
VMT reduction targets
Create “Places” – Civic/ Community Use Req’s
Connectivity & Access – Complete Streets
Making it All Work Implementation Tools
► Coding: Updating Regulations Prune Back Retail Zoned Land
Allowance for mixed-use development (horizontal & vertical) o Introduce housing and non-retail
uses
Zoning Overlay, Planned Development Districts, FBC
Site Plan Review (By-Right vs Conditional Zoning)
Transit Accessible
Making it All Work Implementation Tools ► Incentives
Financial (TIF, BDD, Sales Tax Rebates)
Zoning (density bonus, shared parking reductions, streamlined permitting)
► Public Actions (CIP) Public works beautification,
pedestrian, multi-modal o Narrowing streets, widening
sidewalks, adding crosswalks, street trees, bus shelters
The Future
Prairie Grove Village Center/TOD
Breaking Down Planning Silos
Questions?
Teska, BDI logos Konstantine T. Savoy, AICP, Teska Associates, Inc. Bridget Lane, Vice President, Business Districts, Inc.
Lessons from Downtowns, Neighborhoods, and Corridors
IML CHICAGO 2015