Reduced Zoning and Subdivision Requirements Case Studies

Issues Addressed:
Affordable Housing Housing Costs Housing Options Redevelopment Sustainable Housing

Seabrook, NH

In 2019, the Town of Seabrook replaced its marking minimums for certain land uses with parking maximums. The maximums apply to nonresidential uses, with all residential uses required to provide parking at the discretion of the Planning Board. Though the parking maximums do not apply specifically to residential uses, they are a directional signal indicating the type of development the community is seeking.

Brunswick, ME

Brunswick is a town in Maine half an hour north of Portland. In 2017, the town enacted a new zoning code implementing their 2008 master plan, which aimed to increase development in designated growth areas and limit new housing in designated preservation areas. To implement this goal by encouraging infill development, the new code eliminated residential lot minimums in all growth districts, maximum frontages in most growth districts, and curtailed several other dimensional rules.

Cedar Falls, IA

Cedar Falls, Iowa is a small city that has an active downtown with significant recent residential development. In 2019, the local government initiated a visioning and rezoning effort to update its 30-year zoning code. The result was a new law that codified the historic building standards of the town’s downtown and surrounding areas through right-sized height, bulk, setback, and parking regulations. Rightsizing minimum parking requirements became the most controversial but ultimately significant element of the rezoning. In addition to form-based dimensional changes, the plan reduced parking minimums to 0.75 spaces per bedroom in the downtown core.
  • Zoning Code
  • Waterloo-Cedar Falls Courier. “New downtown zoning code adopted in Cedar Falls after months of contentious debate.” (November 2, 2021)
Right-sized building and site plan regulations from the Cedar Falls codes.

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Related Tools

A diagram showing the front facades of housing types and given labels: small single-family, townhomes (attached single-family), cottage court (grouped small single-family), duplex, stacked duplex, triplex, stacked triplex, four-plex, six-pack, courtyard apartments.
Missing Middle Housing Types
A diagram with two versions of the same plot of land, one over the other. On the top version, the land contains only one single-family home with many wings and a large garage and a long driveway. This version is labeled with a large 'X' and "Regulations cannot mandate unaffordable housing everywhere." The version below contains two modestly sized single-family homes at the front of the site, and a driveway leading back to a cottage court, containing six small single-family homes around a central green. This version is labeled with a large checkmark and "Workforce housing must be allowed in a majority of residential areas."
Workforce Housing Ordinance
An axonometric diagram of two versions of the same area of land. On the top is a diagram of the area with five two- and three-story buildings, plus large empty lots breaking up the area. An arrow points from the top to bottom. On the bottom, the empty lots now contain additional mixed-use buildings and homes.
Infill Development
A diagram showing an axonometric view of an area with several colorful 1.5 and two-story homes. An area is demarcated on the land and labeled "Designated Housing Opportunity Zone." Below the axonometric drawing is the label "Taxes in Housing Opportunity Zone" with a column chart with two bars. The column on the left is labeled "Before new development" and "Taxed value on property before development." That column is small and shown in green. A larger column on the right is labeled "After new development." The portion of the column equal to the "Before new development" column is also green. The portion above that is gray and hatched and labeled "Untaxed value on new development: savings for up to 10 years."
Housing Opportunity Zones
A grayscale diagram of a three-story, mixed-use, traditionally styled building with three columns of windows and a cornice. On the left is a diagram of the front facade, on the right is an axonometric diagram of the building on its land parcel. There are unlabeled arrows implying measurements for total height, total living area height, ground floor height, upper floor heights, cornice heights, ground and upper floor fenestration, setbacks, land widths, parcel depths, etc.
Form-Based Codes
A diagram of an idealized age-friendly neighborhood. The neighborhood includes a mix of housing types, including detached single-family homes of various sizes, mixed-use buildings, and a cottage court. The diagram includes the following labels pointing to aspects of the drawing: "Nearby retail, community center, and open space;" "Diverse housing options, including apartments and starter homes;" "Single-story housing layouts with shared amenities;" "Sidewalks and other accessible infrastructure;" and "Accessory dwelling units for multi-generational households."
Age Friendly Neighborhoods