Northampton Design Forum to host presentation on Form-Based Zoning

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

The Northampton Design Forum is sponsoring the presentation, “An Introduction to Form-Based Zoning,” on Tuesday, January 26, at 7pm in the A.P.E. Gallery at 126 Main Street. All are welcome to attend and learn about what form-based zoning is, why it has developed as a response to problems with conventional zoning, and how it can help a city become more sustainable. Joel Russell, a member of the Northampton Design Forum and the Zoning Revisions Committee, will present the talk.

At its heart, form-based land use regulation is about designing the physical form of the City to encourage walkable mixed-use neighborhoods. Walkable mixed-use neighborhoods reduce dependence on the automobile and create a comfortable public realm. Unlike conventional zoning, form-based zoning focuses more on the relationship between buildings and the streets and public spaces they shape. By allowing more flexibility of permitted uses, it creates more vibrant places and allows property owners more freedom to use their property in ways that respond to changing market demand. The presentation will also show how form-based zoning has been used successfully in Saratoga Springs, New York, a city of similar size and scale to Northampton.

Joel Russell is a planning consultant and land use attorney whose practice has focused for over 20 years on drafting zoning ordinances that promote sustainability. He is one of the founders of the Northampton Design Forum and currently is Chair of the City's Zoning Revisions Committee. He has drafted several form-based zoning laws, including the one adopted by Saratoga Springs in 2004.

The Northampton Design Forum (NDF) acts as an independent voice promoting excellence in the quality of architecture, and urban design, sustainability, communication and awareness of the planning process in the City of Northampton. In 2009, the NDF sponsored a design team from the University of Notre Dame Department of Architecture in their development of a sustainable vision for Northampton. The talk on forms-based zoning reflects NDF’s continued efforts to serve as a resource and supporter in the ongoing process of design and development in Northampton.


Margaret A. Leonard, MLA
Paradise City Landscape Design
margaretleonard@comcast.net
(413)478-7524