Usage rather than design will continue to be the number one focus in the Village of Lake Orion’s zoning laws.
Village council members on Jan. 10 declined to incorporate a new ‘form-based? approach into its conventional zoning ordinance..
Members of the village planning commission had recommended Form-Base Coding be included into the current rewrite of the zoning ordinance. Planners McKenna Associates are doing the changes.
According to McKenna, the form of the village is largely determined by developers and national chains trying to meet the expectations of the changing market.
Often village officials are being challenged with development proposals that would detract from the village’s traditional, small town character.
FBC’s basic premise is the regulation of development’s physical form (not only use) is the key to producing a better quality built environment.
The cost to prepare the form-based regulations would have been $20,000. McKenna had proposed splitting the cost with the village on a 50-50 basis.
Councilman Harry Stephen speculated that McKenna might have been willing to do that because using FBC is ‘ground breaking? and ‘might be an award winner.?
According to council president Bill Siver, FBC is mostly done out west. ‘I don’t know of anyone in Michigan,? he said.
LO Village Manager JoAnn Van Tassel believes McKenna has done form coding in Birmingham, but only in a spot situation, not the whole community.
Councilman Bob Hollenbeck liked the idea of FBC. ‘It gives uniformity in areas. Buildings would have to fit in. It’s more explicit. A developer would know what to expect. It takes all the guesswork out,? he said.
Design standards would be so detailed in FBC, that councilman Tom Albert said that could cause problems. ‘This could prove a hardship to some residents,? he added.
Stephen wanted to know if FBC was legal. ‘You are restricting what people can do with their own property,? he said.
It was attorney Gary Dovre’s opinion that there would be no legal obstacles to using FBC.
Van Tassel had recommended including form-based regulations in the new zoning ordinance.
‘If we had coding, we would never have the styles of housing we have on North Shore. No Big Foot homes would have been designed,? she said.
‘With the current ordinances, we don’t have any standards that speak to appearances except how high and setbacks.?
‘In the downtown area, someone can come in and not have to meet the appearance of the neighborhood as long as they meet the zoning.?
Van Tassel pointed out that new structures built on North Andrews, Flint and Atwater have garages in the front of the house, which doesn’t fit the neighborhood.
‘Coding addresses this. That’s why I felt it had some benefit,? she added.
‘Take a look at the community. There’s no continuity of design now except for one block on North Broadway,? Stephen said.
Council members agreed that certain aspects of FBC would be good in the village. They decided that some time in the future they might want to consider establishing a FBC overlay district, probably in the downtown area.