Crabapple to have new zoning overlay.

Courtesy Neighbor Newspapers

The city of Milton is considering a new zoning overlay for the Crabapple area in order to keep the style and feel of the area consistent.

“Last May there was a community effort to essentially develop a master plan for the Crabapple area,” said Milton Community Development Director Kathleen Field. “Since then the city council adopted that master plan and asked the staff of community development to develop a new zoning overlay to implement it.”
Field said along with a stakeholder committee including business owners, principals and citizens, the city has developed a new zoning concept to create a Crabapple “village” feel.

Caleb Rasicot, senior principal at Tunnell, Spangler and Walsh, told citizens at an informational meeting March 21 that his firm has created a form-based code reform to help in this effort.

“It’s a kind of zoning that will truly allow you — the greater Crabapple community — to realize your vision from the master plan,” he said.

Form-based codes focus on the physical character of development to create a more unified city area, he said.

The model the city would use is called SmartCode, a form-based code to make a walkable community from rural to urban areas.

The new plan would also incorporate transferable development rights to target growth areas.

“It’s a market-based tool that works within the community’s code — in this case the Crabapple code — and its goal is to voluntarily encourage the redirection of growth away from places that a community wants either less or in some cases no development into places that are appropriate for more development,” said Rick Pruetz, FAICP.

Density could be “sold” from sending areas — natural areas or farm areas — to receiving areas, which are areas appropriate for more development. Developers in receiving areas who gain these TDRs would have bonus development abilities depending on their zoning.

The presentations will be available on the city’s website.

Information: www.cityofmiltonga.us.