Introduction to the Green Code

The Buffalo Green CodeNew land use and zoning for place-based economic development

Introducing the Buffalo Green Code Project
In 2006, the City of Buffalo adopted a new comprehensive plan. It expressed a new vision for the future, rooted in five key principles:
Smart Growth
Sustainability
“Build on Assets”
“Fix the Basics”
Invest Strategically
Project background

But a new vision needs new tools to implement it…
Buffalo’s zoning code was written in 1951
We need a new approach to guide growth
It will follow the comprehensive plan
The “Green Code” project will create a land use plan
And a zoning code to implement it.
Project background

The Green Code project will provide those tools
A new land use plan will guide city investments
A new zoning code will regulate what can be built and where
Together they will shape the city over the next few decades
And give investors and citizens the predictability they require
Project background

Step 1: Create a future land use plan that addresses:
The Smart Growth and Sustainability goals of the Comprehensive Plan.
The Sense of Place that Buffalonians desire in the places that they live, work, shop and play.
The requirements necessary to implement the City’s Economic Development Strategies.
Step One: Land Use Plan

Smart growth means new development should:
Encourage transportation choices.
Reinforce a strong sense of place
Promote a mix of land uses

Sustainability means new development should:
Integrate the needs of natural and human-made systems.
Create development that responds to local climate and ecology.
Establish development patterns that minimize auto-dependency.

Investing strategically means new development should:
Create places that are attractive to new investment.
Encourage development that builds on existing competitive advantage.
Establishes stable environ-ments for businesses to grow

Building on our natural assets means taking advantage of a unique geography of lakefront and waterways.

Building on our physical assets means preserving and enhancing corridors of Olmsted Parks and Ellicott Radial Streets

Building on our neighborhood assets means providing places to live, shopping nearby, local parks, schools, and civic centers.

Building on our district assets means providing places for employment, education, health care, services, and regional shopping.

Step 2: Create a new zoning code with rules for development that are:
Equitable: where discretion is minimized so that everyone knows up front what is expected.
Predictable: where what gets built matches what has been agreed to in the land use plan.
Efficient: Where doing the right thing is made easier by removing obstacles.
Step Two: Zoning Code

Smart Growth
An approach to re-zoning
Comprehensive Zoning Ordinance
Smart Growth:
The use and design of buildings contributes to the creation of compact and accessible development and reflects the character of the place in which they are located.
Sustainability
Future Land
Use Plan
Sustainability
The use and design of buildings encourages residents and businesses to make low-impact environmental choices.

What is a zoning code?
Zoning is a set of legally established rules administered by the City that determines how a property can be developed.

What Does Zoning Regulate?
Project background

Why Should Zoning Matter To You?
Zoning rules make choices that affect:
How well the size and scale of new development fits with what is around it.
How attractive the city is for new business investment.
Your transportation options and how far you have to travel to meet your daily needs.
How big an impact new development has on the environment and natural resources.

The current zoning code reflects 1950’s ideas about the city and its future.
It was written in 1951 to accommodate growth by creating more flexible standards which had unpredictable results.
1950’s zoning was based on a concept that good places were created by rigidly separating land uses -- the opposite of what we believe today.
It was rewritten over the years as a patch-work of amendments and overlapping rules which make the code confusing to use.

One result of the current code is development that is unpredictable in character.
Because the code regulates land use but not the character of development, the same zoning can allow two very different projects.

A new zoning code should reflect the diverse places we live.
Martin Luther King Park
Starin Central

Cazenovia Park
Parkside

Downtown

A new zoning code should also reflect the diverse places we shop.
Hertel Avenue
Broadway Fillmore

A new zoning code should also reflect Buffalo’s civic and cultural diversity.

A new zoning code should reflect Buffalo’s economic diversity, as well.

“The new Buffalo zoning ordinance will be known as the Buffalo Green Code. It will embody 21st century values about economic development, sustainability, and walkable, green urbanism.”
Mayor Byron Brown
April 22, 2010

In large scale public meetings at each phase of the project;
In neighborhood focused land use and zoning workshops (called charrettes);
With support from a Community Advisory Committee of grassroots leaders.
Citizens are invited to participate
We need your help

The project encompasses three major phases through September 2012
We need your help

Be involved.
Look for updated information here at:
www.buffalogreencode.com
If you have questions or comments, e-mail us at:
info@buffalogreencode.com
We need your help

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Introduction to the Green Code

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