Thomas Square Streetcar Historic District
Prepared new form districts for one of the City’s currently unprotected National Register Historic Districts – the Thomas Square Streetcar Historic District. Four new design-based districts replaced approximately 19 existing districts in the area, bringing back corner stores, and employing performance standards for fine-grained mixing of uses. Using Thomas Square as a model for a countywide code, Code Studio is currently assisting the staff in the preparation of a new code that will allow a healthier mix of uses throughout the entire County, reducing the overall number of zoning districts from over 130 to about 30, and streamlining existing development review.

MLK Corridor Land Use and Zoning Strategy
Developed a Land Use and Zoning Strategy for the Martin Luther King, Jr. Blvd. and Montgomery Street corridor. Commercial and residential activity in the corridor has been in a state of decline over the last three decades.Luckily, this economic stagnation has left much of the framework of the corridor intact. New investment is beginning to trickle in, but existing zoning and land use patterns are impeding significant revitalization of the corridor. The proposed zoning strategy involves preparation of design standards by building type, with a palette of building types appropriate to the area. This project was a joint effort with Sottile + Sottile, Architects.

Initial Draft Zoning Code
As part of the MPC’s early efforts, an initial draft of a zoning code consolidating, organizing and reformatting the existing provisions, was prepared. This draft serves as the basis for a continuing effort to prepare a new City/County Unified Code.