Linking Land Use and Air Quality Planning

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Linking Land Use and Air Quality Planning
Hickory by Choice
August 2004
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Address Major Concerns

• Congestion
• Sprawl, high energy use, loss of open space
• Transportation and neighborhood protection
• New development appearance
• Preserve older neighborhoods
• Protect air, water, open space
• Keep Hickory attractive and distinctive
• Sound economic development

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Create Tools for Growth Planning

• Zoning rules that include environmental
  protection
• Specific plans for area development
• Growth boundaries
• Alternative transportation

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Land Use Building Block
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Commercial Development

• Planning Principles
• Discontinue the corridor commercial development
  pattern for new development. Recognize that
  commercial establishments in Hickory serve a
  variety of customers ranging from residents in
  surrounding neighborhoods to regional customers.
• Promote the development of pedestrian friendly
  neighborhood and community commercial districts.

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Commercial Development

• Planning Principles
• Establish appropriate design standards for
  commercial districts that reveal a sense of
  place and respect the surrounding residential
  neighborhoods.

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Commercial Development

• Neighborhood Core Concepts
• Walking distance from housing
• Mixed-use (retail, office, schools, civic space)
• Scaled in proportion to neighborhood housing
• Minimize impact of parking

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Commercial Development

• Neighborhood Core Concepts
• Located along arterials or at major intersections
• Pedestrian connections to adjacent uses
• Slow traffic

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Transportation

• Planning Principles
• Promote multi-modal transportation options.
• Promote vehicular and pedestrian connectivity
  throughout the city.
• Establish measures to ensure pedestrian and
  motorist safety.
• Reduce congestion and the amount of vehicle miles
  traveled through relationship of
  home/work/shopping.

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Transportation Strategies

• Match character of street to land use
• Move traffic quickly where appropriate
• Slow traffic through residential and commercial
  areas
• reduce lane width
• landscaping
• landscaped medians
• on-street parking
• reduce curb radius
• Improve traffic safety/congestion through access
  control measures

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Transportation Strategies

• Improve road connectivity
• Improve roadway aesthetics -primarily gateways
• Develop new road hierarchy
• Improve pedestrian circulation
• All neighborhood roads have sidewalks
• Connections between residential and commercial
• Aggressive sidewalk planning and development

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Natural Resources/Community Image

• Planning Principles
• Conserve natural resources and open space of
  local and regional significance.
• Protect air and water quality.
• Further develop recreational facilities and
  public access to recreational/natural resources.

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Natural Resources/Community Image

• Develop a comprehensive greenway plan
• Conservation greenways along specified waterways
  for water quality and flood protection
• Pedestrian greenways
• Develop parks and open spaces
• Neighborhood parks and open space in northeast
• Improve access to Lake Hickory
• Regional open space - Henry Fork River watershed
• Storm water management
• Improve water quality
• Conservation of wildlife and plant habitat

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Natural Resources/Community Image

• Coordinate a long-range open space protection
  plan with state and local governments and civic
  organizations
• Utilize conservation subdivision design for new
  subdivisions and industrial/commercial
  development in watershed areas

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Conservation Subdivision
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Sidewalks

• On both sides of streets in residential,
  neighborhood core and community commercial areas.
  On one side only for cul-de-sacs with less than
  200 cars per day
• Separated from traffic with 6 planting area
• Can diverge from street in shopping and parking
  areas
• Accomplish 150 mile sidewalk plan in 20 years

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Land Use and Transportation Plan

• Neighborhood Core Districts are the foundation
• Transportation reflects land use patterns
• Advantages of the Land Use and Transportation
  Plan include
• Less emissions of air pollutants and degradation
  of water quality
• new pattern reduces vehicle travel by 50 over
  existing pattern
• overall, new plan reduces vehicle travel by 4
  over existing projections
• Conservation of natural resources/open space

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Contact Information

• John Tippett
• Western Piedmont Council of Governments
• Hickory, NC
• [phone]
• john.tippett_at_wpcog.org