Breaking Down Planning Silos

Teska, BDI logos

Lessons from Downtowns, Neighborhoods, and Corridors

IML CHICAGO 2015

Konstantine T. Savoy, AICP, Teska Associates, Inc. Bridget Lane, Vice President, Business Districts, Inc.

How Did Silos Develop?

Planning: Zoning regulated uses into strict categories with distinct preferred characteristics Market: Investors could make money….

The 3 C’s: The 3 Deadly Sins

► Compartmentalizing ► Categorizing ► Classifying

In most of the places we live and work, we can take a walk, but we can’t walk to get somewhere

because that somewhere is too far away.

What are the Costs and Benefits of Silos? ► Costs

• Lost flexibility causes vacancy

• Supply dictated rather than demand satisfied

• Auto reliance

► Benefits • Regulatory ease

• Known landscape

► What does the balance require?

Silos: Our Responsibility ► Economic development

• Fiscal health

• Quality of life

► Vibrant centers – create conditions for success • Diverse Places to live, shop, dine,

play, convene, rest, and learn

• Connected public places served by transit

• Complete the internal trips on foot

• Safe, pleasant experiences

“The best density (centers)—the kind found in urban places to which people become attached and cherish over time—

is designed to be experienced”. J. Campoli

The Corridor Silo

Planning Large Format Businesses

National Chains Job Centers

Parking Fields

Berms & Setbacks

Single story development

Transit unfriendly

Over zoned retail(red lines)

No sidewalks, bike lanes

The Corridor Silo Market Support Auto access

Less weather dependent

Low NIMBY conflict

Follows Models

Market Challenge Changing store sizes

Vacant Spaces

Unrealistic 3P expectations

Few non-silo models

Corridor Issues Can customers arrive without cars?

How do non-retail uses fit?

What should be done with obsolete spaces?

The Neighborhood Silo

Planning Residential – segregated/

disconnected

Recreational amenities – nimby's

Churches/Schools – conditional uses

New Approaches: Storage facilities

The Neighborhood Silo Market Support Similar homes support $$

Low NIMBY conflict

Follows Models

Market Challenge Changing house sizes

Low vibrancy

Uncertain millenials

Few non-silo models

The Downtown Silo Downtowns Elements of Vibrant Places:

Civic uses

Community icons

Multi-story MXD

Independent businesses

Multi-modal access

The Downtown Silo

Market Support History provides roots

Shop local (Sales Tax)

Sometimes residential density

Parking works

Market Challenge Access problems?

Obsolete buildings

Fear of change

Difficulty adding new uses

The Silo Challenging Market ► “Over the last 20 years, we have built

retail space five times faster than sales,” ► Overbuilt isolated neighborhoods led to a housing crisis that

encouraged renting vs. buying ► Technology allowed employees

to work from multiple locations ► Helicopter kids engaged in

managed lives ► Churches grew in size ► Investors lost money….

Applying the “Hammer”

Potentially Surprising Results

$0

$500,000

$1,000,000

$1,500,000

$2,000,000

$2,500,000

Retail Sales per Acre

Vibrancy’s Economic Impact Typical Muni Sales Tax

Indie Restaurant: $10,000

Indie Store: $3,000

Costco: $1 Million

Grocery: $250,000+

Mass Merch: $400,000+

Sample 10% Sales increase

Community 10% Increase

Homewood $396,063

Mount Prospect $1,328,544

Carpentersville $301,604

Mundelein $499,717

Zion $193,965

Champaign Neil Street Gateway Corridor Typical Site

“Wrong side”

High traffic exposure o Expressway: 58,000 ADT

o North Neil: 18500 ADT

2nd generation tenants

Cleared hotel

Obsolete Gas Station

Illinois “Silo” Response Get more retail

The Cracked Silo Response Become an asset

to the neighborhood Add sidewalks

Provide bicycle access

Support entrepreneurship

Make tactical interventions Neighborhood market

Food trucks

Create Gateway

Randhurst

“DLC also plans to invest at least another $15 million, and maybe much more, adding significantly more retail space and potentially other uses, such as apartments. An existing office building could be replaced or redeveloped, and there are two vacant land parcels.” Crain’s Real Estate Daily; June 19. 2015

Deer Park IL– Deer Park Center

Glenview IL – Astella’s MXD

THE ART OF LIVING WELL At Tapestry Glenview, urban living meets sophisticated style. Located adjacent to the Willow Road entrance of I-294 with Mariano’s, Starbucks, CVS, L.A. Fitness, Potbelly and Chipotle within walking distance, your home is near many of the area’s major employers, as well as a variety of premier shopping and dining.

Avant Residential

“Located in close proximity to the Corporate Corridor, Avant at the Arboretum provides residents with access to work and popular downtown locations. The development offers nine distinct living configurations and 310 indoor parking stalls, and features an outdoor heated swimming pool, patio area, communal gas grills, outdoor fire pit, fitness center, business center, conference center, multipurpose screening room with 106-inch projection screen TV, warming pantry, club room, bike storage area, dog park and free WiFi.” http://www.rejournals.com/2013/10/04/

Nameless Neighborhood Example

Situation High Value Homes

Vintage school with plan

Adjacent Churches

Adjacent Parks

Adjacent Library

Silo Crackers Employees parking on street

Organized kids sports (lights!)

Supplemental school activities

Library activities

Issues Do I own the parking in front

of my house?

Must I have sidewalks?

Can I build an office over my garage?

Where do I store my stuff?

My Downtown Example Silo Crackers

Mixed use with vacant ground floor

Charm as a Business Asset

Regionalism

National Chains

New Office Model

Self Storage

Issues How do online transactions change

need/land use for Downtowns?

What is the role of national chains?

Is parking a competitive advantage?

Who is the competition?

When does mixed use work?

Can I dictate supply?

Blurring the Lines ► Emerging trends

Growth of mixed-use as a development form

Demographic appeal of MXD Pedestrian amenities/residences -

Corridors

“It is time to start looking at strip centers as potential linear villages so that what forms over time is a better balance of uses with the right transportation options to enable people to move about the corridor.”

Repositioning Urban Corridors, ULI, by Karen Gulley, February 23, 2011

Blurring the Lines ► Emerging trends

Catalysts/Connectors vs Contributors to Decline – Neighborhoods & Corridors

Density, Entertainment, Job Centers - Downtowns

“… office tenants strongly prefer vibrant suburban centers to typical suburban office parks. Vibrant suburban centers also perform far better than nearby suburban office areas in terms of higher rents, lower vacancy rates, and greater absorption.”

NAIOP – Preferred Office Locations Report

St. Charles Road, Villa Park

Silos: The Response ► Shifting focus: moving cars

to connection people ► The five d’s + P: density,

diversity, design, distance, destination “anything that increases walkability almost always increases vibrancy.”

Jeff Speck notes in his 2012 book Walkable City: How Downtown Can Save America, One Step at a Time

Making it All Work Implementation Tools

► New plan for the 21st century Multiple jurisdictional planning

Minimum size development sites

Built-to lines

Minimum vs Maximum densities at nodes/districts

VMT reduction targets

Create “Places” – Civic/ Community Use Req’s

Connectivity & Access – Complete Streets

Making it All Work Implementation Tools

► Coding: Updating Regulations Prune Back Retail Zoned Land

Allowance for mixed-use development (horizontal & vertical) o Introduce housing and non-retail

uses

Zoning Overlay, Planned Development Districts, FBC

Site Plan Review (By-Right vs Conditional Zoning)

Transit Accessible

Making it All Work Implementation Tools ► Incentives

Financial (TIF, BDD, Sales Tax Rebates)

Zoning (density bonus, shared parking reductions, streamlined permitting)

► Public Actions (CIP) Public works beautification,

pedestrian, multi-modal o Narrowing streets, widening

sidewalks, adding crosswalks, street trees, bus shelters

The Future

Prairie Grove Village Center/TOD

Breaking Down Planning Silos

Questions?

Teska, BDI logos Konstantine T. Savoy, AICP, Teska Associates, Inc. Bridget Lane, Vice President, Business Districts, Inc.

Lessons from Downtowns, Neighborhoods, and Corridors

IML CHICAGO 2015