Protecting the Town's Unique, Sierra Nevada Character

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Grass Valley Development Code Update
Grass Valley, CA

Led by Crawford, Multari, & Clark Associates, the Development Code Update was implemented to protect the City's historic assets, and to provide zoning-based opportunities for smart growth to occur, both as sensitive infill in the city center and as carefully designed projects at the periphery. Under the guidance of the Community Development Department, a 5-member steering committee, and the general public, Opticos provided a detailed analysis of existing conditions within the citywide project area and spearheaded the creation of new, transect-based Form-Based Regulating Zones, which include several innovative requirements that regulate high-quality, urban development, including:

• Regulation of detailed building form as it defines the public realm, ensuring a high degree of predictability in new development;
• Regulation of appropriate frontages addressing the public realm, including encroachments (such as galleries, bay windows, and canopies) to ensure appropriate pedestrian scale;
• Progressive parking requirements that promote effective parking placement, high lot coverages, and shared parking arrangements;
• Detailed land use requirements that tightly regulate an appropriate mix of uses for each zone, ensuring optimal compatibility; and,
• Subdivision requirements regulating a high degree of connectivity, maximum block size, and orientation to civic and natural amenities.