Form-Based Codes Institute names Russell executive director
The Form-Based Codes Institute, the national think tank that provides professional training in drafting and implementing form-based codes, has appointed Joel Russell as its new executive director. On February 1, 2014, Russell will replace Carol Wyant, FBCI’s founding executive director, who has led the organization since its inception in 2004. Joel has been writing zoning codes, including many form-based codes (FBCs), for more than a quarter century as a planning consultant and attorney. The Wyandanch, NY, FBC Russell co-authored with Torti Gallas and Partners won the 2013 Driehaus Award from FBCI. He has been a member of the Congress for the New Urbanism since 1994. Russell has worked for several non-profit organizations and served as the founding Executive Director of the Dutchess Land Conservancy in New York State and Board Chair of the Conway School of Landscape Design.
“We have a great opportunity to move to a new paradigm in land use regulation,” he said, pointing out that most land development codes in the US are badly in need of overhaul. “FBCs have emerged as the state-of-the-art technique for producing walkable urbanism in a well-designed public realm.” Although not always well understood either within or outside the professions of planning and design, “form-based codes are the most important reform in land development regulation since the inception of zoning 100 years ago,” Russell said. As more communities realize that their current regulations do not work, the demand for FBCs will increase. FBCI plans to continue to spread knowledge about FBCs and to meet the needs of practitioners. It will continue to be the most authoritative resource on FBCs, seeking constant improvement in the practice of form-based coding, greater public understanding, reduction in costs while maintaining quality, and more widespread adoption of this regulatory technique.
In order to accomplish these goals, FBCI’s Board, Resource Council, and guest instructors teach in-depth practice-oriented courses across the US and beyond to raise the standards of practice. “Carol Wyant has done a remarkable job launching and running this organization, and I am looking forward to taking it to the next level of activity and influence in the planning and design professions.”
Upcoming FBCI events include two-day courses focusing on design issues in FBCs to be held in Charlottesville, Virginia, in January and Orange County, California, in February. For more information, see www.formbasedcodes.org.
