For five years, Vice Mayor Roxanne Qualls has been working with the City of Cincinnati to develop form-based code for the city. Last Wednesday, City Council officially approved the
Cincinnati Form-Based Code.
“Cincinnati now joins hundreds of cities that are using form-based code to build and reinforce walkable places that create value and preserve character,” Qualls says.
Cincinnati’s neighborhoods originally developed so residents could easily walk to restaurants, shops and grocery stores in and around business districts. Form-based code will allow neighborhoods to return to that original ideal and reinforce or create places where residents can live, work and play, Qualls says.
Current zoning code makes creating mixed-use neighborhoods difficult—the new code will help streamline the development process. To start, form-based code will be applied to business districts and adjacent residential areas in four pilot neighborhoods that volunteered for the chance—College Hill, Madisonville, Walnut Hills and Westwood.
The code is a result of six Neighborhood Summit training sessions; five years of neighborhood working group meetings, neighborhood walks and training sessions; five delegations to learn about Nashville’s form-based code; a five-day citywide urban design workshop; a four-day neighborhood urban design workshop; and more than 600 public comments on the draft from residents, stakeholders, neighborhood groups and city departments.
By Caitlin Koenig
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