1) Designate town centers, Main Street areas, regional activity centers, neighborhood centers, and rural centers in the comprehensive plan. Build upon places identified for this purpose in community plans, as updated. 2) Adopt placemaking strategies and codes for each activity center typology. Set minimum densities and vertical mixed-use requirements for town center areas. 3) Implement incentives, such as waiving or reducing mobility fees in larger centers under certain conditions and tax increment financing to reinvest in needed infrastructure. Consider the feasibility of a transfer of development rights program to preserve rural areas and direct density into designated centers. 4) Adopt a thoroughfare plan with complete streets design guidelines and cross-sections to connect the region and its places. Establish design guidance based upon land use context, roadway function, and modal priority. Differentiate placemaking corridors and from corridors intended for through traffic movement. 5) Connect activity centers with surrounding neighborhoods via local street access, bike lanes, sidewalks, and transit service. Emphasize local street network connectivity in the development and subdivision review process, and require bicycle, pedestrian, and local street connections from areas of activity to surrounding residential areas. 6) Integrate mobility hubs into major centers that provide intermodal connections with the public transportation system and other non-auto modes, such as golf cart parking, bicycle parking or bikeshare, TNC drop off/pick-up locations (e.g., Uber, Lyft), and vanpools or local circulators.
Improve Quality of Life with Placemaking
Community plans in South County identify a desire for a sense of place in the form of town centers, Main Streets, and other focal community destinations. Although some of these destinations are identified, they could be further solidified by designating activity center locations on the future land use map. This approach may also improve community plan implementation and enhance the integration of community planning efforts into decision- making processes. Placemaking strategies such as complete streets, multi-use destinations, and form-based codes can create these destinations in South County communities. Placemaking strategies can be incorporated into the corridor preservation plan, ensuring a transportation network that supports existing and future development needs. Areas of activity and other identified destinations can be used to form the basis for activity center plans and develop strong regional and local activity centers. Strategic placemaking strategies have been found to support economic sustainability by encouraging reinvestment in existing communities. Using these strategies for town centers, Main Streets, activity centers, and other destinations increases the potential for job growth and diverse employment opportunities within each community. An increase in local employment density fortifies congestion mitigation efforts and other transportation investments. An improved jobs/housing balance helps to shorten commute lengths and better supports mobility options and network improvements.
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