Dane County Model TND Ordinance DRAFT April, 2003
3 Districts and Uses
3.1. Districts
TND Districts accommodate four types of activities: living, commerce, civic activities, and working. The TND Ordinance allows three TND Districts that primarily accommodate these activities: Mixed Residential, Main Street, and Mixed Employment Districts. While the Districts accommodate their primary activities, they also accommodate other activities and serve as mixed-use districts.
3.1.1. Mixed Residential TND District (TND-R)
The Mixed Residential TND District is a primarily residential district that includes civic buildings, open space, and commercial uses. The TND-R shall include:
Residential. Residential lots shall comprise between 50 and 70 percent [INCREASE?] of the land area, exclusive of public dedications of the TND-R. The composition of residential building types allowed in TND-R is shown in Table 2. TND-R Districts shall comply with the following requirements:
§ Minimum percentage of units in multi-family buildings (building types II, III, V, VI and VII): _____
§ Minimum number of residential building types: ______
§ Minimum dwelling units per net residential acre:_____
Section 5.4 details urban standards as they relate to building types.
Environmental Corridors. Environmentally sensitive areas—including wetlands, protected habitats, protected waterways, steep slopes and other designated environmental protection areas—shall be designated as environmental corridors and subject to the provisions of the Dane County Water Quality Plan. TND Districts shall comply with the provisions of the Dane County Erosion Control and Stormwater Ordinance (Chapter 14). TND developments should also design for stormwater infiltration and groundwater recharge, where practicable, through measures such as rain gardens).
Some other ordinances include more districts. Instead of a mixed residential district, they may include Neighborhood General and Neighborhood Edge districts. Instead of a Main Street District, they may include Neighborhood Center and Town Center districts.
These provisions seek to ensure that the district is primarily residential, but also includes a mix of housing types, suitable for a range of income levels. Building orientation enhances the street as a positive public space.
The requirements left blank in this paragraph will vary for hamlets, villages, urban villages and cities. The table below provides guidance for filling in the requirements in Dane County.
Hamlet / Village / Urban Village / CityMinimum percent multi-family / 0 / 20-30 / 30-40 / 40-50
Minumum number of residentialbuilding types / 1 / 2 / 3 / 4
Minimum dwelling units per net residential acre / 1 / 4 / 6 / 8
In addition to observing traditional neighborhood design, TNDs adopt modern environmental preservation requirements.
Open Space. TND-R shall be comprised of open space shall be in the form of parks, squares and greens designed for active use. A minimum of 10 percent and a maximum of 25 [ELIMINATE MAX?] percent of developed area, net of public street right of ways, shall be in open space. Open space shall conform to the standards required in section 5.5. All housing units within a TND-R shall be within ¼ mile of open space.
Proximity to a Main Street TND District. TND-R Districts of 35 or more acres should shall be connected by streets and sidewalks to a Main Street TND District when commercially viable, or an existing area that conforms to the requirements of the Main Street TND District. Housing units in a TND-R District shall be within one half-mile of a Main Street TND District. The acreage of TND-R and Main Street TND Districts may be combined to meet the 35-acre minimum size requirement.
Neighborhood Center. A neighborhood center includes a unique arrangement of public spaces—such as a square, green or important street intersection—and public buildings—such as a library, church or community center, transit stop and retail businesses— that provides a civic focus and formal and informal places of gathering. A Main Street TND District may serve as a Neighborhood Center. When the marketplace does not permit TND-R Districts to be located in close proximity to Main Street TND Districts, a Neighborhood Center without retail uses shall be included in the TND-R District, within one-half mile of all residential units.
Streets. Streets are primarily streets narrow enough to achieve traffic speeds below 25 miles per hour, which maximizes overall safety. Allowable types of streets are depicted on Table 3.1. Streets are laid out in a grid or modified grid creating blocks short enough to encourage walking.
Allowable Uses. Commercial, civic and institutional uses are also allowed in the TND-R District. Allowable uses within TND-R Districts are listed in Table 2.
Optional Provisions. The TND-R may include:
Neighborhood Edge. An identifiable edge may define the neighborhood boundary and provide identity to the neighborhood.
This provision and the following seek to ensure residents can walk to destinations for shopping, business, and leisure.
This provision means that Mixed Residential TND Districts need to be developed along with Main Street TND Districts; or that they need to be built in close proximity to existing main street areas. The location of commercial districts should be evaluated on a neighborhood, city and regional basis to balance the goal of enabling residents to walk to shops, with the realities of the marketplace.
This language is copied from Principle 8 to reinforce the importance of a center. It is kept general to allow flexibility and because of the requirement for proximity to a Main Street District (or equivalent) which can often serve as a neighborhood center.
It has been demonstrated that narrower streets result in slower driving speeds and reduced numbers of accidents, injuries and death. A grid lay-out is appropriate for flat terrain or where an existing grid is present. Where topography is not flat a modified grid of curvilinear streets can preserve slopes and create street connections. Shorter blocks (generally less than 600 feet in length and 300 feet in width) reduce walking distances and pedestrian travel options. Long blocks deter walking.
Neighborhood Edge Area. The TND-R District may include a Neighborhood Edge Area, the most purely residential part of a community. It consists principally of single-family, detached houses with outbuildings permitted. Buildings are situated on larger lots with setbacks on all sides. Where lots are wide enough garages may be accessed from the front by a driveway. The preferred building frontage is the common lawn. Civic spaces are parks and greens.
3.1.2. Main Street TND District (TND-MS)
The Main Street TND Districts accommodate a variety of commercial activities in conjunction with civic open spaces and buildings. It is a denser, fully-mixed use part of a community. Within the TND-MS district, the predominant land and building use is commercial, but may include residential and workplace uses in deference to the purpose and character of local commercial activities. It is typically located along an important street. Many older traditional downtown or neighborhood commercial districts typify the characteristics of a Main Street district. The TND-MS shall include:
Mixed-use buildings. Multi-story buildings provide space for businesses on the first floor (primarily retail and service), and for residents or offices on the upper floors (building types VIII and IX). Flexible first floor formats may be used to enable near-term first floor residential, with the long term ability to convert to commercial uses if the market warrants. In live-work buildings (type IV), business owners can live above their place of business. Apartment buildings and parking structures are also allowed (types V and X). Buildings face the street and are located close to or at the sidewalk line.
Public open space. The primary public spaces are the streets that provide pedestrian, automobile and bicycle access to the buildings. Smaller public spaces that include greens, squares, and plazas have buildings set close to their borders. A minimum of 5 percent and a maximum of 15 percent of developed area, net of public street right of ways, shall be in open space. Open spaces in the form of greens, squares and plazas shall conform to the standards set in Section 5.5.
Civic buildings. Government offices and meeting rooms, libraries, community centers, post offices, performing arts centers, and other civic buildings should be located in Main Street TND Districts when possible.
A compact mixture of shopping, living, and working in a pedestrian-oriented environment brings people to the district at different times for different reasons to create vitality, economic exchange and culture.
Smaller public spaces (up to one square block) bordered by multi-story buildings create a more intimate outdoor space better suited for denser areas than large parks. The relationship of the buildings to the space is referred to as the height-to-width ratio. A height-to-width ratio of 1:3 is desirable. Public spaces with this ratio create a “sense of enclosure” and have the feel of an “outdoor room.”
Locating or keeping civic buildings in Main Street districts enhances the mix of uses and contributes to the vitality that is required for their success. Locating these buildings outside of Main Street or similar districts will reduce the number of visits to the area; decreasing opportunities for commerce, gathering, and combining multiple activities in a single stop.
Streets. Streets are primarily commercial streets designed to maximize safety and accommodate the needs of automobiles, pedestrians, bicycles and transit riders.
§ Auto travel lanes are two-way with tight corners and designed to keep speeds low, to allow access to buildings, and to create an environment friendly to pedestrians and cyclists.
§ Access to buildings is primarily from on-street parking in either diagonal or parallel patterns.
§ Sidewalks are wide enough to accommodate substantial pedestrian traffic as well as streetlights, transit stops, kiosks, and outdoor seating.
§ Off-street parking is accommodated in surface or structured lots behind or beside buildings.
§ Streets permitted in this district are found on Table 1, Section 3.2
Allowable uses. Allowable uses within TND-MS Districts are listed in Table 2.
Proximity to other districts. The TND-MS District shall be located adjacent to, and connected by streets, to other TND Districts; or to other existing developed areas (or areas planned for development in a comprehensive plan or land use plan approved by City/Village) that conforms to the characteristics of a TND District.
This type of commercial street contrasts with the traffic engineering standards for “arterial” streets. The traffic engineering standards for arterial streets typically give top priority to mobility of automobiles over local access and other forms of transportation. To promote auto mobility arterials are widened (sometimes at the expense of sidewalk width), lanes are added, one-way streets are promoted, corners are cut back to allow faster turns, and on-street parking is eliminated.
3.1.3. Mixed Employment TND District (TND-E)
The Mixed Employment TND District is a mixed-use area, with similar density to the Main Street TND District, in which the predominant building use is workplace and employment. The TND-E district may include residential and commercial buildings uses, but in deference to the efficiency of workplace activities. The TND-E District shall include:
Employment buildings. Employment buildings are primarily multi-story buildings that accommodate office and light manufacturing business spaces.
Public open spaces. The primary public spaces are the streets that provide pedestrian, automobile and bicycle access to the buildings. Smaller public spaces that are allowed include greens, squares, and plazas, which have buildings set close to their borders. A minimum of 5 percent and a maximum of 15 percent of developed area, net of public street right of ways, shall be in open space. Open spaces in the form of greens, squares and plazas shall conform to the standards set in Section 5.5.
Streets. Allowable streets are those listed in Table 1.
Proximity to other districts. The TND-E District shall be located adjacent to, and connected by streets, to other TND Districts; or to other existing developed areas (or areas planned for development in a land use plan approved by ______) that conforms to the characteristics of a TND District.
Allowable uses. Allowable uses within TND-E Districts are listed in Table 2.
The TND-E District are encouraged to include:
Mixed-use, and residential buildings
Mixed-use and residential buildings are those allowed in the Main Street TND District.
3.2. Uses
Conditional uses. Conditional uses are allowed in a District provided that the use complies with all applicable provisions of this Ordinance and provided that a conditional use permit is obtained.
The Mixed Employment District is intended to promote the integration of workplaces with shopping and living. Historically workplaces were separated from other uses through zoning to protect property values from pollution, noise, etc. Today many workplaces are compatible with, and can be enhanced by other uses and activities. Offices and high technology manufacturing such as software development are examples. Instead of locating these types of workplaces in isolated campus-style developments, the TND-E allows employees to work within walking distance of, restaurants, shopping, and residential neighborhoods.
Some employment uses still pose potential environmental threats to residential uses and should be located in separate industrial districts.
Prohibited uses. Any use not listed as a permitted or conditional use in a District shall be prohibited. Prohibited uses may be allowed only upon written request by the landowner and upon written findings by the Planning Commission that the use is substantially similar to a listed permitted or conditional use.
Development standards. Certain permitted and conditional uses shall be subject to development standards as contained in Chapter 5, Development Requirements.
Combination of uses. Any permitted and conditional use allowed in a District may be combined on a parcel or within a building, provided that all uses meet all applicable provisions of this Ordinance, including required development standards.
Allowed Uses/Development Standards Table. Table 3.2 lists all permitted and special condition uses for each District. Permitted uses are indicated with a “P” and conditional uses are indicated with a “C”. The table also indicates if development standards apply to a listed use. The development standard references refer to urban standards illustrated in Chapter 5.
Street Standards. Table 1 indicates which street standards apply in a zoning district. Referenced street standards are illustrated in Chapter 5.