TOD Zoning District Regulation, Meriden, CT

Zoning

City of Meriden

Master Plan & Zoning Regulations with integral Design Guidelines

As a first step towards implementation of Meriden's new Transit-Oriented development master-plan, Form + Place worked with the Planning Department, and other members of the City Staff, to craft a TOD Zoning District. The project was broken into three phases that were designed to identify key goals and strategies consistent with both the Plan of Conservation and Development and the new TOD Master Plan, write the new District regulation and facilitate adoption by the City Council.

An initial "mapping" process defined the overall boundaries of the District, proposing a series of sub-districts that allow for subtle variations in development standards in specific sections of the downtown core [Historic, Civic, Park, etc.] and contemplate an additional layer of articulation for key corridors [primary, secondary and tertiary streets]. A thorough analysis of the existing underlying zoning identified aspects of the regulation that needed to be addressed in order to promote development in the area within ½-mile of the new Intermodal Transportation Center that would be consistent with today’s TOD goals for density, diversity and walkability. Development standards that address strategies for parking, encourage mixed-income, mixed-use residential and rethink the approvals process were crafted to shape building and site design in a manner that is forward-thinking while ensuring compatibility with the existing community.

The final Zoning Regulation document was constructed as a “hybrid” Form Based Code that outlined specific development criteria, with a necessary degree of flexibility, while allowing for a great deal of certainly in the approvals process. This included the possibility of administrative approval for projects that adhered to the new by-right standards.

The Regulation became effective as of August of 2013.