'Smart Zoning' may come to Lexington
 |
| Planning and design groups from Charlottesville present the Smart Zoning plan to Lexington city officials and the Planning Commission on Tuesday. (JESS RAMOS/ Rockbridge Report) |
Although downtown Lexington is growing older, it can still become smarter, some residents and policymakers believe.
Tuesday, representatives of two firms unveiled a comprehensive picture of how that intelligence might be achieved through development concepts known as “smart zoning” and the “smart code.”
The presentation, at the local police station, was by Renaissance Planning Group and Herd Planning and Design.
Smart zoning mixes form with function by clustering commercial and residential developments and blending uses. For example, a building downtown may have a shop on the first floor and apartments on the second and third floors.
Milt Herd, president of Herd Planning and Design, called smart zoning “the best of both worlds.”
Vlad Gavrilovic, principal of planning for the Renaissance Planning Group, explained that smart zoning principles are applied with the creation of a smart code.
In their presentation, Gavrilovic and Herd discussed other Virginia communities similar to Lexington where smart codes will soon be implemented. For example, smart codes have been proposed for the village of Marshall, village of Crozet, town of Orange, and the Crescent district of Leesburg.
The codes generally set building heights and the distance between the buildings and the street. The codes also keep the character of the more traditional-looking main street and encourage residents to bike or walk downtown.
Gavrilovic said about 25 cities and towns across the United States have smart codes, with 40 municipalities currently considering them.
Mayor-elect Mimi Elrod agrees with the “smart” approach.
“It encourages some of the things that we are looking at,” said Elrod. “Less dependency on cars, more walkability, more of the natural environment that people would choose to live in.”
Though cars are the main transportation downtown, the city has encouraged residents to use their bicycles or walk.
The city is in the process of making sidewalks friendlier to bikers and pedestrians. The city began its “Safe Routes to School” initiative after Andersen & Associates, a Blacksburg-based engineering firm, reviewed in June the walkability of the city’s sidewalks. Although beginning as a program to encourage children to walk to school, the initiative encourages everyone to walk more.
Renaissance Planning Group’s presentation was similar to recommendations made by Shook Kelley, a Charlotte-based architectural and planning firm.
In April, Terry Shook, founding partner and principal of Shook Kelly, visited Lexington by an invitation of the nonprofit group Friends of Lexington, which also sponsored Renaissance Planning Group’s visit. During his four-day stay, Shook published a report of downtown Lexington’s strengths, weaknesses and potential.
According to the News-Gazette, Shook suggested building more gathering places and hotels, coordinating retail business hours, and drawing more county residents and retirees to downtown. He also identified threats such as conflicting values of property owners and the community and the intrusion of big chain stores.
Shook emphasized that his proposals were only recommendations, not a systematic plan or “cookbook.”
Elrod reinforced that.
“It’s suggestions. It’s a vision of how the city might look,” she said. “They have gotten us moving.”
But Taylor Sanders, a member of the Lexington Planning Commission, said he is skeptical about whether Shook’s ideas are doable in Lexington.
“I have doubts about it,” said Sanders.
Sanders said the city has benefited from Shook’s ideas but may have overlooked concerns such as green spaces in Lexington. Shook’s presentation suggested filling a hill by the new courthouse with large developments. Another recommendation suggested filling the Stop In, a gas station near Washington and Lee University. That would make Lexington too “Williamsburg-y,” Sanders said.
Once new buildings rise along Jefferson Street, Sanders said, Lexington might lose its historic status, especially if the buildings obstructed the view of Washington and Lee.
Public involvement was another concern for Sanders. He said the public process, which includes the Planning Commission’s reviewing plans and making suggestions, has worked well so far.
After the presentation, Lexington officials voiced their individual concerns to Gavrilovich and Herd.
Produced by
Washington and Lee
journalism students.
Lead Supervisors:
Prof. Brian
Richardson
Prof. Indira Somani
Editing supervisor:
Prof. Doug
Cumming
Technical supervisor: Michael Todd