Lisa Faiss
Development of Form-based Codes for the South
Main Street Area of Florence, Arizona
ABSTRACT
My applied project to fulfill my MUEP graduate program is on the development of form-based codes for the South Main Street area of Florence, AZ. Form-based codes are used to replace or co-exist with Euclidean zoning regulations. Form-based codes require community participation to understand what development stakeholders desire and support, determine prescriptive rather than proscriptive uses of an area, and define the massing and building to street relationship.
To aid in establishing the context of the study area, GIS was used to establish the boundaries of the project while also identifying community facilities; open spaces; and pedestrian, bicycle, and automobile circulation. This was overlaid onto a high-resolution aerial photograph. Additionally, existing ArcGIS shapefiles specifying the existing properties were also included and expanded to include the existing use of the properties.
This information will be used to present community participants with spatial information that influences the study area; e.g., establish proximities within the study area between potential business locations and existing schools, government facilities, and employment centers within the town. Maps and legends will be generated from the GIS that will be used in community participation charettes. After the community has determined what the desired usage is for each of the properties within the area, a regulating map will be created that will catalog the permitted building use, building form, and building envelope requirements. This GIS allows town planners and potential developers to extract the regulations for a given parcel within the study area.