A form-based code is a zoning code that regulates the physical form of buildings and streets, such as where a building sits on its lot, how tall it is and how it meets the sidewalk, more than the uses inside.
Conventional zoning starts with land use. A form-based code starts with shape, on the view that the form of buildings does more than their use to set the character of a place. The first modern example was written for Seaside, Florida, in 1982. Later ones include Miami 21, Denver’s 2010 zoning code and the Buffalo Green Code.
What it means for parking
- Location is regulated, not only quantity. These codes commonly put parking behind or beside buildings, or inside the block, so the street front holds doors and windows instead of a lot.
- Garages get a public face. A parking structure on a main street is often required to be lined with active ground-floor space or screened.
- Minimums are often lower. Many form-based codes reduce or drop parking minimums and count on-street spaces toward supply.
The Parkonomics view
A form-based code moves the parking argument from how much to where. That favors a shared garage in the middle of a block over a lot in front of every building, and it rewards the garage designed to be a good neighbor.
Related terms: Parking Minimums, Parking Maximums, New Urbanism, Smart Growth, Land-Use Planning, Shared Parking