"The city is looking to drastically overhaul zoning of the downtown core for the first time in 25 years using a progressive concept not like anything seen in New Hampshire," Leslie Modica reports for Foster's Daily Democrat of Dover, NH.
"The new zoning, called Form Based Code, seeks to move away from 'use' zoning, with such districts as residential or commercial, and focus on community character and the impact of development on the area.
"Planning Director Chris Parker said the exact elements that will define 'community character' will be driven by residents during several public input sessions.
"The first such session will be held Saturday and the Planning Department and a consultant will be asking residents to define their likes and dislikes about downtown character and what they hope to see in the future.
"'We hear a lot of times about people wanting to preserve or protect the community character,' Parker said. 'This will help us find what that is.'
"Parker said the new zoning would allow the city to focus more on how new developments fit within the downtown and not necessarily the function of the building.
"'It looks at how you want the public to view the structure and lets the market dictate what the use is,' Parker said.
"That approach is advantageous to both the city and developers, especially in the area of the city that is already heavily mixed use, because it removes the red tape from approving proposed developments that may fit well with the surroundings, but do not meet the use restrictions, Parker said.
"'I really think that the downtown is our economic future and we want a walkable and vibrant downtown,' Parker said, adding that type of zoning encourages infill, which is development in an area that is already highly developed. This was defined as a goal in the city's Master Plan..."
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