The purpose of this chapter is to enable and qualify the implementation of the following policies.
(A) The region.
(1) That the region should retain its natural infrastructure and visual character derived from topography, woodlands, farmlands, riparian corridors and natural water features.
(2) That growth strategies should encourage in fill and redevelopment in parity with new communities.
(3) That development contiguous to urban areas should be structured in the neighborhood pattern and be integrated with the existing urban pattern.
(4) That development non-contiguous to urban areas should be organized in the pattern of clusters, traditional neighborhoods or towns, and commercial villages.
(5) That affordable housing should be distributed throughout the region to match job opportunities and to avoid concentrations of poverty.
(6) That transportation corridors should be planned and reserved in coordination with land use.
(7) That green corridors should be used to define and connect the urbanized areas.
(8) That the region should include a framework of transit, pedestrian, and bicycle systems that provide alternatives to the automobile.
(B) The town.
(1) That neighborhoods and commercial villages should be compact, pedestrian-oriented and mixed-use.
(2) That neighborhoods and regional centers should be the preferred pattern of development and that districts specializing in single-use should be the exception.
(3) That ordinary activities of daily living should occur within walking distance of most dwellings, allowing independence to those who do not drive.
(4) That interconnected networks of thoroughfares and pathways should be designed to disperse and reduce the length of automobile trips.
(5) That within neighborhoods, a range of housing types and price levels should be provided to accommodate diverse ages and incomes.
(6) That appropriate building densities and land uses should be provided within walking distance of future transit stops.
(7) That civic, institutional, and commercial activity should be embedded in downtowns or well-defined, mixed-use commercial villages, no isolated in remote single-use complexes.
(8) That schools should be sized and located to enable children to walk or bicycle to them.
(9) That a range of open space including parks, squares, and playgrounds should be distributed within neighborhoods and town center zones.
(C) The block and the building.
(1) That buildings and landscaping should contribute to the physical definition of thoroughfares as civic/public places.
(2) That development should adequately accommodate automobiles while respecting the pedestrian and the spatial form of public space.
(3) That the design of streets and buildings should reinforce safe environments, but not at the expense of accessibility.
(4) That architecture and landscape design should grow from local climate, topography, history, and building practice.
(5) That buildings should provide their inhabitants with a clear sense of geography an climate through energy efficient methods.
(6) That civic buildings and public gathering places should be provided locations that reinforce community identity and support self-government.
(7) That civic buildings should be distinctive and appropriate to a role more important than the other buildings that constitute the fabric of the town.
(8) That the preservation and renewal of historic buildings should be facilitated to affirm the continuity and evolution of society.
(9) That the harmonious and orderly evolution of urban areas should be secured through graphic codes that serve as guides for change.
(Ord. 2013-02, passed 3-11-13)