Salinas, CA

The City of Salinas, California is moving expeditiously to adopt a new urban zoning code. Cotton/Bridge/Associates has been engaged to draft the regulatory provisions, and Calthorpe Associates is creating the design features of a “Future Growth Area” — an extension of the city’s outer ring — and selected “Focus Growth Areas” closer to the core, which are suitable for infill development. The Future Growth Area will include four “village centers,” each with a one-quarter to one-half mile pedestrian shed radius. “It’s a strategy to create future growth at the edge of Salinas, rather than continue to sprawl on their agricultural land,” Calthorpe principal Joe Scanga told New Urban News. Jenny Mahoney, project director for the city of 150,000, 50 miles south of San Jose, says the new code is slated for planning council review in January and city council action a month later.