No Growth - Bad Growth - Smart Growth

[citizen]

Are there any concerned residents of Yukon who would like to see Yukon grow into a more walkable, dense and transit oriented community? Opposed to the current unregulated sprawling & vehicle-dependent city it is rapidly becoming?

If so, I would like to introduce some level of discourse to gauge interest in asking our civic leaders to inform themselves of the option to adopt a new development coding & zoning system that is rapidly gaining attention and produces superb results around the country.

The SmartCode v9.2 has recently been adopted by several small communities around the country to change their cities for the better. Miami is the largest adoption of the SmartCode to date and even our own Tulsa has formed a steering committee to begin the transition, but its affect is more visible in smaller sized cities such as Yukon. I have provided a few links below for people to investigate the issue for themselves in order to positively educate the concerned Yukonite.

Thank you all, and I look forward to hear your opinions.

All the best,

Citizen

YouTube - New Urbanism

SmartCode Central

Charter of the New Urbanism | Congress for the New Urbanism

[TexanOkie]

Anyone see the agenda from last night's Planning Commission meeting? Sounds like Yukon is actually looking into what Citizen advocated 5 years ago. Check out the work session item and the public hearing: http://www.cityofyukonok.gov/sites/y...013/Agenda.pdf

[AP]

I would never picture myself getting excited about anything in the suburbs, but if this is the way Yukon is going to start developing, I can get behind that.

[Mike_M]

I've mentioned this in a few threads. Yukon is turning into another Edmond. Garth Brooks already has I think 7 lights in a 1 mile stretch. I for one would be all for denser development and more walkability.

[Zuplar]

I'll pass this along to the dozen or so Yukonites I'm friends with, but I bet their opinion is going to be know, as the reason why the moved to the suburbs is to get away from high density.

[TexanOkie]

http://www.cityofyukonok.gov/sites/y...nt_mailout.pdf

According to the notice posted on the City's website, it sounds like the SmartCode will potentially apply only to a small area of the City near I-40 and Garth Brooks coinciding with the sales tax-only TIF district they adopted last year.

[Just the facts]

I'll pass this along to the dozen or so Yukonites I'm friends with, but I bet their opinion is going to be know, as the reason why the moved to the suburbs is to get away from high density.

Ask them how they feel about the traffic.

[Plutonic Panda]

Ask them how they feel about the traffic.

The highways should be widened to accommodate the growth. New highways should also be built for growing areas. It is not going to be a one way street with urbanism. Worry about your streetcar and ODOT can take care of building new highways and expanding existing without having to put up with the urbanist bitching about it.

[Bellaboo]

Ask them how they feel about the traffic.

Traffic is not an issue in Yukon, it's not like Edmond.

[Spartan]

What's notable about Yukon is that most of what is "Yukon" is not actually Yukon proper. Traffic on I-40 and/or NW 39th/Rt 66 is no cake walk each day, but yes within Yukon there is obviously no traffic. They are just suffering mostly from what OKC has done to them, sprawl-wise.

[cxl144]

Quite often at SW 29th and Sara Rd there the traffic will be backed up almost all the way to SW 15th between 5 and 7 in the evening. A lot of the my surrounding neighborhoods are slowly being connected with sidewalks, but I'm not sure I'd be willing to walk almost 4.5 miles to the nearest restaurant.

[Urbanized]

You've just perfectly described why merely having good sidewalks is not at all the same as having a walkable place.

[TexanOkie]

The zoning change notice said the hearing on the Yukon SmartCode was supposed to be last night. Anyone know what happened?

[TexanOkie]

Front page article about the SmartCode in the Yukon Review today: New code, regs to pave way for upscale mixed-use development - The Yukon Review (link is subscriber-content only, so apologies to those of you [most likely all/most of you] who don't subscribe to the Yukon Review).

[AP]

Do you mind posting it?

[Zuplar]

Screenshot it. And while you are at it send us the article on Yukon annexing the land off Frisco as well from 2 days ago. Much appreciated.

[Plutonic Panda]

I hope Yukon gets a good high-end lifestyle center. We need more of those around the metro.

[TexanOkie]

This is long, but it won't let me screenshot it, so I copied and pasted the text (there are no visuals anyway, except for photos of Planning Commission Chair Larry Taylor and developer Rick Opitz).

New code, regs to pave way for upscale mixed-use development
By Conrad Dudderar, News Editor
A critical step was taken this week as plans proceed for an upscale mixed-use development near Interstate 40 and Frisco Road. The Yukon Planning Commission, at its March 9th meeting, recommended approval of a request establishing “SmartCode District Regulations for Land Use” and amending the City of Yukon zoning ordinance to create an “Urban Gateway Overlay Supplemental District.” These recommendations will be considered at an upcoming Yukon City Council meeting. The Planning Commission held its second of two hearings to receive public comments about the proposed adoption of the Urban Gateway Smart Code ordinance.

Planning Commission Chairman Larry Taylor Larry Taylor said he’s excited about the potential for a residential, retail and office development west of Integris Canadian Valley Hospital under the new code and regulations. “I think that development will be a real ‘gem’ for Yukon,” Taylor said. “We’ll be one of the few –if not the only – city in the state that has this type of development going on. “This is exciting times coming up for Yukon.” The Yukon Economic Development Authority (YEDA) in January recommended amending Yukon’s zoning ordinance to allow for the creation of a form-based overlay for the Frisco Road Economic Development area.

The City Council has adopted the Frisco Road Economic Development Project Plan, designed to enhance the City’s tax base through the development of property in the general vicinity of I-40 east of Frisco Road. YEDA members determined the SmartCode is the “appropriate avenue to take” after studying options for development of the Frisco Road TIF (tax increment financing) district, according to YEDA Executive Director Larry Mitchell. The SmartCode is a “form-based unified land development ordinance designed to create walkable neighborhoods across the full spectrum of human settlement, from the most rural to the most urban, incorporating a transect of character and intensity in each,” according to an ordinance passed March 9th by Planning Commissioners.

YEDA consultant Sam Day, of Butzer Gardner Architects, outlined the three primary goals of the SmartCode: Ensure efficient land use, improve quality of the public realm and create complete neighborhoods where people live, shop and work within a walking radius. This would be the first significant use of form-based code in Oklahoma, Day pointed out. Local real estate developer Rick Opitz believes Yukon’s new SmartCode will be “outstanding” for future development. “I see this as being a step forward for Yukon – in a big way,” Opitz said.

If approved by the City Council, SmartCode district regulations would be used in the Urban Gateway Overlay Supplemental District. They also would be an option for all remaining development areas in the City of Yukon. Pending City Council approval, the Urban Gateway Overlay Supplemental District will help ensure new development incorporates a list of design principles, including:
*A pedestrian-friendly environment with wide sidewalks, active shopfronts, short blocks, andtree-lined streets.
*A variety of public gathering places such as squares and civic greens.
*A variety of uses that allow people to live, work and play near one another.
*Buildings close to internal collector streets providing easy access for pedestrian activity.
*Parking to the rear and side of buildings.
*Central Oklahoma native landscaping and trees in parking areas and along walkways.
*Building facades that create visual interest.

The proposed new district prohibits “sexually oriented businesses”, junk/salvage yards and major auto repair facilities. The Planning Commission at its March 9th meeting determined changes to the City’s zoning ordinances and development regulations are needed to implement development outcomes desired by Yukon residents. YEDA conducted a community design survey that revealed there is a “strong public preference for mixed-use, new-urban-style development” in the Frisco Road project area, according to the ordinance OK’d by commissioners.

Some 80 percent of survey respondents wanted a mix of office, residential and retail uses in the new development. About 70% favored multi-story buildings with residential dwellings above retail stores. The City of Yukon’s existing zoning ordinances and development regulations do not allow the type of mixed-use development desired by City residents as evidenced by the community design survey. The City Council has created a TIF district on the 170-acre property south of I-40 near Frisco Road. Sales tax revenues generated by the TIF district will fund the interchange and Frisco Road improvements. More than one million square feet is expected to be developed on the site, including some 750,000 square feet of retail space.

[Snowman]

Are there any concerned residents of Yukon who would like to see Yukon grow into a more walkable, dense and transit oriented community?

Does growing up there and still living nearby (but not in the city limits) count?

Actually the part I grew up in was fairly walkable for younger kids. I could (and did) walk to my elementary school, a couple stores and a city park from my house.

[TexanOkie]

The City Council adopted the SmartCode tonight as an optional set of regulations that landowners can opt into over the entire city, but mandated it in the Frisco Road TIF district.

[TexanOkie]

From today's Journal Record:

Yukon cracks the code: City finds way to make development dream come true
New rules allow mixed-use, walkable development
By: Molly M. Fleming, The Journal Record, April 6, 2015

YUKON – In late October, the city’s Economic Development Authority received results from a community survey regarding its 170-acre Prairie West development at Frisco Road. Residents wanted the area to be something a little better than stucco-exterior stores and a black-asphalt sea of parking.

“They wanted something more than a shopping center,” said Larry Mitchell, executive director of Yukon Economic Development Authority. “They wanted a mixed-used development of pedestrian and residential.”

While the residents wanted a mixed-use development, the city’s zoning codes would not allow it. Areas had to be designated for one use, such as commercial or residential. To be able to meet the residents’ demands, the city created the Urban Gateway Smartcode zoning code, which will allow for pedestrian-friendly commercial and residential use on the same land. The city is working with Louisiana-based Prairie West Properties LLC on building out the area.

“We’re trying to get developers to move back toward what you’d typically see in a downtown,” Mitchell said.

The authority consulted with Butzer Gardner Architects to create the zoning. Architect Sam Day, who was with the firm at the time, said the code will give more freedom in commercial and residential development. The code encourages putting the buildings closer to the street so sidewalks can be built, with shared parking behind the structures. In addition to residential and commercial use, the area will have entertainment venues.

“We think it’s a great step forward,” Mitchell said. “(The code) will give us a regional destination center.”

The code could help with retail recruitment, Day said.

“There are a lot of (development companies) used to doing things formulaic,” he said. “It’s pretty predictable. I think it’s predictably bad in 10 years. There’s not that much of an upside in the long term. I think a lot of developers might be scared by it, but a lot will see the potential in it because it will allow for mixed use.”

At the University of Oklahoma Institute for Quality Communities, Executive Director Ian Carlton agreed with Day, in that some retailers will be attracted to the area because of the walkability. Other companies will find it hard to break out of their typical development formula. For example, Wal-Mart usually wants a certain size lot so it can build parking spaces; but Whole Foods embraces being in a walkable area.

“Many firms are interested in walkable places,” Carlton said. “A code like this that allows people to build walkable places is a great move for attracting retailers.”
That’s exactly what the development authority hopes to do with this code, Mitchell said. The 170-acre area will be competing with a new 450,000 square foot retail center at Czech Hall Road and Interstate 40 West. The Frisco Road retail space will measure 750,000 square feet. The two centers will compete with the existing Westgate Marketplace, at I-40 and S. MacArthur Boulevard.

“We’re in a competitive metro area,” Mitchell said, referencing Edmond, Midwest City, and Moore. “We’ve got to do something different.”