City considers zoning overhaul
Land Use Bureau proposes changes for greener living
STAMFORD — The city could get a good deal greener as its Land Use Bureau embarks on a Zoning Regulation spring cleaning aimed in part at spurring — and sometimes requiring — more sustainable building in this fast-growing city.
Scattered throughout more than 60 pages of amendments and edits to city Zoning Regulations unveiled recently by Land Use Bureau Chief Ralph Blessing, new proposals could require bike and electric car parking in new buildings and tree plantings along all new sidewalks, for example, while at the same time redesigning parking lots and installing a system of grading city buildings on their sustainability.
These green initiatives are part of a larger effort to make changes to Stamford zoning as proposed by the city Land Use Bureau this spring. The so-called “omnibus text change” also delves into topics such as historic preservation and affordable housing.
Biking in a car city
It’s no secret Stamford was designed for cars, and this city is slowly reclaiming its streets for other modes of transportation after urban renewal wiped away many of downtown’s once curving roads for a more car-friendly version of city living replete with four-lane boulevards and easy access to Interstate 95.
While car parking has long been demanded by city regulations, with differing minimum spots for different zones and sized developments, bike parking has had little consideration over the years. That could change.
True, some municipal racks exist and some offices and housing developments have racks both inside and out, but there are no requirements. What exists today are amenities that can come and go with a business’ bottom line, leaving bikers scrambling to find a place to lock up.
That can sometimes leave cyclists scrambling.
“I usually have to use poles and miscellaneous things,” said Strawberry Hill’s Dave Avery, who logs a few Stamford miles on his bike each day.
“Racks would be good,” he said. “I think racks could encourage people to use a bike.”
According to draft regulations, the number of bike spots at restaurants, homes and offices depend on the size and use of an establishment.
For example, a bike space designed for two-hour storage must come along with every 1,000 square feet of restaurant or retail use.
The proposed code also insists housing developments have longterm bike parking options: one space for every three units in developments of 60 units or fewer and one for every six in larger buildings.
Sustainable grades
The new overhaul also includes a rubric a lot like the ones seen in high school.
If the draft changes are approved, each new development would be subject to a “Sustainability Scorecard,” a long-gestating idea to have the city score buildings on how environmentally friendly the developments are.
Buildings would be graded on energy use, land use, landscaping, mobility, resiliency, urban design, waste management and water use.
While the bike parking requirement has become boilerplate in some progressive cities such as New York, the scorecard is a novel addition to zoning that could put Stamford ahead of the curve, Blessing said.
The scorecard doesn’t force builders to build greener, Blessing said, but instead incentives green building.
As with a good school grade, the hope is builders would want to advertise a high score to consumers, he said; therefore, the market would push Stamford in a greener direction.
Electric spots, better parking
There are some 14 buildings in downtown and the South End where one can charge their electric car, according to PlugShare.com, which maps such spaces and stations.
But if the zoning overhaul is approved as drafted, that number will multiply.
One electric vehicle charging spot would be required in any garage or lot with 10 to 19 spaces, three required in garages of up to 49 spaces and five required for up to 99.
For large lots of 100 spaces or more, an additional space would be required for every 25 additional traditional parking spaces.
In addition to charging spots, electric cars would also get twice the number of reserved parking spaces.
The spaces would be reserved and at provided at no cost — apart from any electricity charges — and “shall be equipped with adapters to allow charging for the widest range of different models,” according to drafts.
Blessing said that while electric parking might grab headlines, the changes to parking lot design could change more of how all of Stamford parks.
“Parking lots are meat and potatoes, but this will likely make a big difference,” he said.
If approved, where builders put lots will change, and there will be wider setback requirements, distancing cars and their exhausts from neighbors.
“A parking lot is always a parking lot, but it will make parking lots more attractive,” Blessing said. “And it will protect neighbors.”
On surface parking lots with 30 or more parking stalls, for example, there would be an island at the end of each row — no shorter than the depth of the row. Parking islands with “appropriately sized” trees would also be required.
Trees
The Land Use Bureau wants trees, lots of them, and has proposed several rules to bring more the city’s way without spending a taxpayer dime.
With each new project with street frontage outside of lowerdensity residential zones, for example, builders would be required to install trees every so many feet of sidewalk: A small tree would go every 25 feet, medium tree every 30 and large for every 40 to 44 feet of cement.
“It’s a general requirement,” Blessing said. “You have to plant a tree.”
Blessing said there’s nothing not to like about tree-lined streets.
Shade cools pedestrians and the city as a whole, he said, and there have been studies that show “property prices go up when you have a nice tree in front of your house.”
The overhauled zoning text also wants to ensure every tree survives and that the city gets money — $5,000 — to plant trees if a builder proves it cannot.
The bureau also wants to make sure each tree planted has a good life in Stamford.
The new code goes so far as to make developers post a tree bond. If a builder’s trees die prematurely, so does their chance of recouping the $1,000 per tree check it sent the city when it started building.
Furthermore, the city doesn’t want just any arbor: It wants the best, and the proposed code has a three-page list of tree types the city deems acceptable.
Blessing said he only wants native plants that aren’t known to be sickly or topple — trees that can survive Stamford’s hardknock streets.
“Street trees have a tough life,” Blessing said. “There’s the salt and they’re right next to cars so they get the exhaust.”