San Antonio approves form-based code

With a unanimous vote of city council, San Antonio approved a form-based code for optional use citywide. The Form-Based Zoning District (FBZD), based on the SmartCode, began with a Duany Plater-Zyberk & Company charrette and was customized by the Gateway Planning Group.

The code has two options for infill development — Infill Villages and Infill Regional Centers, the latter being higher density and more intense urbanism, according to Richard Milk, community development coordinator for the city. On greenfield sites, it enables development in the form of Hamlets, Villages, and Regional Centers. In order to use the code, developers will need to seek rezoning — but the process is designed to be simple and “relatively straightforward,” Milk says.

One project, Verano (see New Urban News October 2008), is already moving forward under this zoning, Milk says. Projects in River North, a new downtown district being planned by Moule & Polyzoides, could also use the FBZD. The code generally has strong political support, he says. “Folks are starting to understand and get excited about the possibility of San Antonio growing and promoting growth inside the city and make it easier for infill development to happen,” he says. u