Cleveland will later this year expand Smart Code into more neighborhoods.
The form-based code is a package of new laws that dictate what new buildings and streets should look like while emphasizing feel over function. Already in effect in three pilot neighborhoods (Detroit-Shoreway, Hough and the Opportunity Corridor), it’s the first major makeover of Cleveland’s planning code in about a century.
Cleveland City Council on Monday approved $125,000 for the City Planning Commission to hire a consulting firm to figure out the rollout and possible revisions.
Chief Zoning Administrator Shannon Leonard told Council’s Finance Committee on Monday that the city needs to go about its eventual full overhaul of the planning code cautiously. A vetted consultant, she argued, could help the City Planning Commission fine-tune lessons from 2024’s pilot: how to canvass neighborhoods; how to set streetscape guidelines; how to allow accessory dwelling units (“granny flats”) without issues.
And of course add what’s missing. Where should “auto-centric” districts go and transit-friendly ones be encouraged? What about maker spaces and warehouses? How should Smart Code deal with data centers?
“So, for a modern zoning code that applies to the whole city, a good zoning code provides a place for everything and everything in its place,” Leonard said.
As Leonard has been arguing for the past two, three years, Cleveland’s current master zoning code, called Euclidean code, has harmed the city’s growth by pushing growth around separated uses: parking lots are here; big box stores are here; everyone lives over there.
Instead, form-based code encourages builders and developers to contribute to the overall look and feel of Cleveland’s public realm, rather than build solely to use. That includes anything a pedestrian might experience—pocket parks, bike lanes, tree lawns, storefronts, driveways. Everything is designed according to the quality of the whole.
A theory that didn’t exactly sell every council member on Monday.
Ward 10 Councilman Michael Polensek wondered whether or not certain provisions in form-based code might be over-emphasizing design aesthetics and overlooking housing reality. He also worried that the rules would deter builders.
“We need to be in support of developers,” he said. “We need to do new development. And when we’re saying no, it’s ridiculous.”
Ward 5 Councilman Richard Starr wondered if, when form-based code is expanded, it might not be appropriate for certain neighborhoods. (Neighborhoods with form-based code do typically generate more tax revenue than those without, usually from multi-family housing.)
“How do we make sure that we are not participating in basically accelerating displacement of residents or communities,” Starr asked Leonard, “and gentrification in those most vulnerable neighborhoods?”
“Gentrification is quite a large issue,” Leonard replied, “that’s not only protected from zoning, but I understand the question. It’s multiple layers of the city that have to partake.”
A consultant would better understand which neighborhoods could benefit from form-based code, she said.
It’s unclear when a request for proposal would go out to hire that consultant.
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