RaidatePhx held its one year anniversary meeting last night at the Arizona Club in downtown Phoenix. As always, the attendees were an eclectic mix of downtown Phoenix advocates including planners, lawyers, government types, designers, architects, Realtors, community group members and residents.
Claudia Bullmore of SkyMarketing and Catrina Knoebl of Urban Affair, the founders of RadiatePhx, brought the meeting to order by inviting Phoenix Mayor Phil Gordon to the microphone. Mayor Gordon talked about a bevy of activity going on and planned for the downtown Phoenix area including the allocation of funds for an expansion of the ASU/UofA campus.
Eric Brown of Artisan Real Estate Group was up next and, as usual, captured the group with his honest commentary and passion for the region. Brown has been involved in the planning and development of a new zoning/planning overlay plan entitled the Downtown Urban Form Project. According to Brown, the Urban Form project is designed to simplify the process of development while helping assure projects fit into the overall plan for the downtown area.
Next up was Dean Brennan from the City of Phoenix who is in charge of the project. Brennan gave a general overview of the project explaining it is a new concept in zoning/planning that incorporates GIS overlay maps with detailed zoning/planning information for different areas in the downtown region. The overall objective is to help create a Phoenix where sustainability, livability and connectivity are core aspects of the development process.
Last up was Carol Johnson from the City of Phoenix who discussed the Form Based Code process. She indicated the new system should significantly streamline the process for everyone especially small business owners attempting adaptive use projects.
I really like the concept of this new zoning/planning model. In essence, one can simply click on a map and see what the building and zoning requirements are for the area including what would be required to assure adherence to the core concepts of sustainability, livability and connectivity.
For more information please visit the Urban Form Project web site by clicking here.
Congrats to Claudia and Katrina for putting on a great event. RadiatePhx is a bright spot on the downtown landscape.
Gene Urban
The Urban Team at Realty Executives
