Community Design & Smart Growth:The LCI Experience
Tom WeyandtAtlanta Regional Commission
ARC BoardPublic Members (23) Chair of the Board of County Commissioners from each of the 10
counties Mayor from each of the 10 counties except Fulton Mayor from northern half of Fulton Mayor from southern half of Fulton Mayor, City of Atlanta Member of Atlanta City Council
Members at Large (15) - Resident from each of 15 districts created by the legislative delegation from the Area, elected by public members of the Commission
Non-voting Member appointed by DCA (1)
RDCs
EPA Non-Attainment Areas
Population Growth
*Atlanta MSA was 12th in population in 1990; 11th in 2000; 9th in 2003; 4th in population increase, 1990-2000, and 1st in population increase between 2000 and 2006.
2000 - 2006 2006 2000MSA # Rank* # Rank # RankAtlanta 890,242 1 5,138,223 9 4,247,981 11Dallas 842,423 2 6,003,967 4 5,161,544 5Houston 824,542 3 5,539,949 6 4,715,407 8Los Angeles 584,502 6 12,950,129 2 12,365,627 2New York 495,534 7 18,818,536 1 18,323,002 1Washington DC 494,217 8 5,290,400 8 4,796,183 7Miami 456,293 9 5,463,857 7 5,007,564 6Chicago 407,432 10 9,505,748 3 9,098,316 3Philadelphia 139,595 26 5,826,742 5 5,687,147 4Detroit 16,409 149 4,468,966 10 4,452,557 9
MSA: Metropolitian Statistical Area (28-County Area)Source: U.S. Census
Regional Growth
Source: U.S. Census; ARC
10-County Population in 2006: 3,925,400
That is greater
than the
population of
24 states
Source: ARC population estimates
Regional Growth
Atlanta Urbanized Area 1950 - 2000How We Have Grown (To Where)
2000
1990
1970
1950
Regional Growth
Source: U.S. Census
Growth Going Everywhere
Future
HISTORICAL FUTURE
Forecasting
Implications?
Transportation:More Growth = More Congestion = More Money?
Water:More Growth = More Water Demand = Greater Water Conservation?
Land Development:More Growth = More Land Development = More Compact Development?
Regional Issues
Livable Centers Initiative
Encourages local governments to plan and implement strategies in small areas that link transportation improvements with development strategies
Planning grants provided to develop transportation efficient land use studies
Program links implementation actions to transportation project funding
Takes advantage of existing infrastructure to promote more dense mixed use development
LCI Program Overview
Town centers and major activity centers provide:
Significant existing transportation infrastructure
Many centers ripe for more development
Centers already contain some mix of uses and community facilities
Can support multiple transportation modes
Significant job and economic concentrations
Increasingly buyers seeking to locate in centers
Importance of Centers & Corridors
Provides need & justification for land use changes
Identifies specific infrastructure needs & costs
Provides details to prepare ordinances
Provides more certainty for developers
Establishes public support for plan and acceptance of new developments
More informed and supportive elected officials
Benefits of a Plan
$10 million over 10 years for studies
$500 million for transportation funding
86 Studies - 74 funded by ARC - 12 grandfathered
33 supplemental studies
$7.1 million in study funding
$1.5 million in supplemental funding
$132 million in transportation funding
$140.6 million in total funding
Study Funding
Atlanta 14
Cherokee 4
Clayton 5
Cobb 11
DeKalb 15
Douglas 2
Fayette - 2
Fulton 14
Gwinnett 11
Henry 2
Rockdale 1
Outside 5
Total 86
Completed LCI Studies
The LCI developments result in: Over 62,000 residential units 9,492 hotel units Over 12 million sq ft of commercial retail space Over 40.2 million sq ft of office space
Development Numbers
LCI communities reported 722 developments: 363 are complete 176 are planned 150 under construction
City Center
City Center
Georgia State Student Housing
City Center
Twelve Centennial
City Center
Georgia Aquarium
Perimeter Place Retail
Perimeter Place Retail
Perimeter Place Retail
Woodstock
Woodstock
Woodstock
Woodstock
Duluth Town Green
Duluth Town Green
Duluth Town Green
Chamblee Townhomes on MARTA Parking Lot
FY03 first year transportation funds available
$132 million programmed between FY 2003-2011 for design, right-of-way and construction projects
Funds distributed to 83 projects in 50 LCI communities
28 projects are under construction or have been constructed to date
31 projects are nearing construction having submitted 90% construction plans & approved ROW
LCI Transportation Funding
Pedestrian Facilities 58%
Multi-Use Trail 6%
Bike/Ped Facility 14%
Roadway Operations 9%
Roadway Capacity 3%
Transit Facilities 9%
LCI Transportation Funding
Chamblee Pedestrian Crossings
Midtown Peachtree Pedestrian Improvements
PROJECT STATUS REPORT
Sandy Springs Pedestrian Improvements
Decatur MARTA Plaza Redevelopment
92% of communities have made (or in process of making) amendments to the local comprehensive plan
49% of communities have prepared (or in process of preparing) a unique zoning district
58% of communities have adopted (or in process of adopting) other development regulation changes/amendments
43% of communities have prepared (or in process of preparing) regulations/programs focused on senior housing, workforce housing, or other special housing issues
80% of communities have adopted (or in process of adopting) policies controlling architectural standards to ensure a livable, walkable environment
Development Regulation Changes
Livability Survey
LCI Livability Survey 2006
Strongly Agree Agree
Neither Agree or Disagree
Disagree Strongly Disagree
Not Applicable/ Unknown
16% 36% 7.8% 2.0%
15% 42% 1.3% 0.0%
4% 25% 14.5% 5.0%
11% 46% 9.7% 0.0%
24% 39% 12% 0.0219% 5%
Livability
Bike/Ped
Transit
Housing/ EmploymentRegulations/
Policies 62% 14%
29% 11%
28% 14%
29% 24%
18% 14%
29% 19.0%
58% 9.5%
51% 9.5%
57% 1.3%
Survey questions asked local planners to identify their level of agreement that improvements have been achieved since the LCI plan was completed. Questions focused on the 5 themes below.
INDEX Modeling
Computer modeling to measure impact of land use changes identified in LCI plans
Measures existing development vs. LCI plan build-out
INDEX software used with indicators focusing on 4 Ds:
Density = percent change in pop/emp per sq mile
Diversity = how diverse the study area is compared to the region
Design = how complete the sidewalks and density of the street network
Destinations = how accessible the study area is to the region
Lessons Learned
Hapeville LCI Plan
Hapeville Build-Out Modeling
INDICATOR Base LCI
Population 3,099 9,579
Employment 4,010 4,179
Population Density 3.73 11.52
Employment Density 15.34 14.22
Street Route Directness 1.35 1.47
Use Mix 0.12 0.32
Use Balance 0.79 0.86
Jobs to Housing Balance 2.96 0.93
Single Family Share 83.2 40.9
Multi Family Share 16.8 59.1
Vehicle Greenhouse Gas Emissions 3,559 3,256
Home Based Vehicle Miles Traveled 4.8 4.3
Brookhaven LCI Plan
Brookhaven Build-Out Modeling
INDICATOR Base LCI
Population 9,327 13,817
Employment 2,615 2,493
Population Density 5.89 8.73
Employment Density 13.95 12.73
Street Route Directness 1.78 2.01
Use Mix 0.11 0.2
Use Balance 0.65 0.64
Jobs to Housing Balance 0.65 0.4
Single Family Share 87.4 58.2
Multi Family Share 12.6 41.8
Transit Oriented Residential Density 3.88 29.9
Vehicle Greenhouse Gas Emissions 4,066 4,021
Home Based Vehicle Miles Traveled 6.1 6.1
Hwy 78 LCI Plan
Hwy 78 Build-Out Modeling
INDICATOR Base LCI
Population 4,172 11,384
Employment 4,940 4,652
Population Density 2.83 7.72
Employment Density 11.55 12.81
Street Route Directness 1.29 1.59
Use Mix 0.11 0.26
Use Balance 0.75 0.82
Jobs to Housing Balance 2.97 0.88
Single Family Share 77.6 27.3
Multi Family Share 22.4 72.7
Vehicle Greenhouse Gas Emissions 5,868 5,241
Home Based Vehicle Miles Traveled 11.1 9.9
Cumberland LCI Plan
Cumberland Build-Out Modeling
INDICATOR Base LCI
Population 578 15,104
Employment 12,087 14,254
Population Density 0.57 14.97
Employment Density 46.69 31.22
Street Route Directness 2.4 1.08
Use Mix 0.03 0.61
Use Balance 0.8 0.78
Jobs to Housing Balance 41.2 1.89
Single Family Share 0 0
Multi Family Share 100 100
Vehicle Greenhouse Gas Emissions 3,409 2,045
Home Based Vehicle Miles Traveled 4.3 2.6
MacFarland LCI Plan
MacFarland Build-Out Modeling
INDICATOR Base LCI
Population 635 21,261
Employment 2,822 6,096
Population Density 0.3 9.91
Employment Density 6.48 11.02
Street Route Directness 1.77 2.64
Use Mix 0.02 0.41
Use Balance 0.68 0.69
Jobs to Housing Balance 10.78 0.66
Single Family Share 100 33.1
Multi Family Share 0 66.9
Vehicle Greenhouse Gas Emissions 4,739 3,146
Home Based Vehicle Miles Traveled 8.1 5.4
Federal transportation funds offer flexibility to create LCI type programs
LCI has allowed ARC to engage local governments in detailed planning
Incentive to implement Regional Development Plan policies
Smart Growth concepts have applicability in every place
Change takes time
Lessons Learned
Atlanta Regional Commission40 Courtland Street, NEAtlanta, Georgia 30303
www.atlantaregional.com/lci(includes a copy of this presentation)
404.463.3250
For More Information
ARC BoardPopulation Growth How We Have Grown (To Where)Growth Going EverywhereImplications?Importance of Centers & CorridorsBenefits of a PlanStudy FundingDevelopment NumbersDevelopment Regulation ChangesLivability SurveyINDEX ModelingLessons LearnedHapeville Build-Out ModelingBrookhaven Build-Out ModelingHwy 78 Build-Out ModelingCumberland Build-Out ModelingMacFarland Build-Out ModelingLessons Learned
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