Urban Design Studio to provide form-based code update

At a joint meeting of the City Commission and Planning Board, the Urban Design Studio will provide a report about its first five months spent crafting a new form-based code and its recommendations for the next six months.

The Urban Design Studio was created in June to write a form-based zoning code for the city. The form-based code is designed to create more predictability when it comes to development — for residents and developers alike.

One of the most prominent features of the Urban Design Studio’s report is the creation of six catalyst projects throughout different areas of the city. Although completely revamping the city’s code will take three years, Urban Design Studio director Karin Murphy said the catalyst projects would have elements of form-based code implemented in the shorter term.

“By trying to pick some areas that are having troubles in the existing code, that there is an interest in developing, our hope is that you will get that implementation so the neighborhood can judge pretty quickly,” Murphy said in an August interview with the Sarasota Observer.

According to the report, the catalyst projects are designed to work in tandem with a series of zoning text amendments to create changes within a year. Proposed catalyst project areas include:

• The four corners of the intersection of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard and U.S. 301.
• North Water Tower Park
• South Tamiami Trail, between Hillview Street and Webber Street
• The southern borders of downtown, adjacent to Laurel Park

At the meeting, the City Commission and Planning Board will provide direction to the Urban Design Studio regarding how to proceed for the next six months. The meeting is scheduled for 3:30 p.m. in the commission chambers at City Hall.

Contact David Conway at [email protected].