Video Capitol Mall land use issues: Interview with property owners John Wannick and Bob Frank

Land Use Regulation

Existing Zoning
The zoning in this area is a hodgepodge of uses and regulations, allowing industrial, heavy commercial, residential, high-rise overlays, and historic preservation designations next to each other. The zoning districts, each with its own regulations for setbacks, building heights, parking spaces, and lot coverage, separate uses in a disjointed and uncoordinated fashion.

The capitol area is unique, necessitating a common context and integration different from other areas of the city. Zoning separates. What we need is a tool to integrate. One recommendation might be the creation of a single zoning district, a "Capitol Area District," that would accurately support the functions we are discussing here today. A second alternative, outlined below, would be a specific plan overlay.

Recommendation: Specific Plan
Perhaps the best way to integrate and mix the existing and proposed uses would be to use an implementation tool known as the specific plan. A specific plan, tailored for the area, can be, and in this case should be, regulatory. It should substitute, through regulations, traditional confiscatory zoning requirements with innovative criteria. It can address heights, landscapes, signage and other identification elements, setbacks, streetscapes, parking requirements, pedestrian links, and lighting. The regulations can allow creativity that is not possible in archaic zoning regulations. It can offer incentives for certain types of uses. This tool can allow true commercial and residential blends in one area or even in one building. Various uses can be identified, including open-space links such as pedestrianways between museums and historic structures, artists' outdoor display areas near commercial art lofts, and homes for artisans.

Regulations could allow and even promote industrial uses and art studios in the same structures. New regulations dealing with high densities and innovative building elements could provide tools promoting and regulating safe and clean SRO's. Once the concepts and the image have been established, it is imperative that the tool for implementation and regulation be provided. We cannot leave it to a general concept or a charrette vision. We must design the practical means to achieve a unique Capitol Area District. An important part of the design and planning process should be the drafting of the legislation that will implement the new vision.