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Camp v. Mendocino County Board of Supervisors
(1981) 123 Cal.App.3d 334
also held that, in addition to assigning different
uses to different areas, an adequate general plan must also contain standards for building intensity.
Considerations for defining building intensity can include, but are not limited to:
• Intensity should be defined for each of the various land use categories in the plan.
• General use captions such as “neighborhood commercial” and “service industrial” may be insufficient measures of intensity
by themselves.
• Building intensity is not synonymous with population density.
Intensity will be dependent upon the local plan’s context and may be based upon a combination of quantifiable variables:
• Many jurisdictions prescribe minimum and maximum
numbers of dwelling units per acre as a useful residential
standard.
• Floor Area Ratio (FAR), which represents the ratio of the
area of a building’s floor
to that of its total site, is a common
measure of commercial and industrial intensity.
• A dual standard of maximum lot coverage and maximum
building height may be suitable for agricultural and open-
space areas, as well as recreational areas with development
limits.
• Lot size has been widely used for agricultural and open-
space designations, but it may be an inadequate standard for
building intensity.
Intensity standards can also include provisions for flexibility,
such
as density bonuses, cluster zoning, and planned unit
developments. Standards for permitted uses and building types
qualitatively determine the uses that will be allowable in each
land use designation.
Many communities have chosen to incorporate
form-based
codes
into their plans, regulating building and infrastructure
forms in addition to—or in place of—uses. Form-based
codes focus on the community’s
vision for the physical
characteristics of a community, in addition to the statutory
requirements presented in law.
Government Code section 65302.4
permits form-based codes in general plans, stating that “[t]
he text and diagrams in the land use element that address the location and extent of land uses, and the zoning ordinances
Coordinating land use and transportation can revitalize underused spaces
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that
implement these provisions, may also express community intentions regarding urban form and design. These expressions
may differentiate neighborhoods, districts, and corridors, provide for a mixture of land uses and housing types within each,
and provide specific measures for regulating relationships between buildings, and between buildings and outdoor public
areas, including streets.” This tool achieves certainty over the physical outcome of land use and development decisions while
enhancing flexibility to create more infill or infrastructure as needed. Cities in California that
have used form-based codes, such
as
Ventura
,
Benicia
, and
Petaluma
, provide examples of this practice.
As defined by the National Center, development capacity analysis, sometimes called ‘build-out analysis’ represents “an estimate
of the total amount of development that may be built in an area under a certain set of assumptions, including applicable land
use laws and policies (e.g., zoning), environmental constraints, etc.”
Calculating the acreage within each land use category
and multiplying that number by the applicable density and intensity factor estimate theoretical development capacity. Realistic
development capacity involves analysis of growth
forecasts and other factors, including inhibitions to development. The
referenced report by the
National Center for Smart Growth Research and Education, Maryland Department of Planning
, and
Lincoln Institute of Land Policy
recommends a five-step process for capacity analysis based on best practices from Oregon,
Maryland, and Washington:
i. “Identify vacant land and those lands that cannot be developed due to environmental constraints.
ii. Subtract land needed for urban public services.
iii. Add land that can be redeveloped or developed at greater intensity through infill.
iv. Identify land with public services.
v. Estimate development capacity.”
An analysis should include a discussion of the realistic capacity of lands by zoning district, as related to housing and other
development. Specifically, the element should demonstrate the ability to achieve the densities assumed
in the land inventory
either through a discussion of past development trends by zoning district or through city regulations, policies or programs
requiring the assumed densities. Assumed densities should not include density bonuses. In communities with limited vacant
land, the land inventory should identify and analyze sites with redevelopment potential for new and more intensive residential
development. In such cases, the land inventory should describe the acreage, zoning and development standards, existing
uses
and ripeness for redevelopment, realistic development capacity, the general character and size of sites judged suitable
for residential development, market trends, and any policies or incentives to facilitate their development. The inventory
should estimate the realistic development capacity based on an analysis of these factors. Such sites may be made available by
implementing programs applicable to redevelopment, including recycling, infill,
re-designation, and rezoning of nonresidential
sites for appropriate residential use.