Zoning regulates land uses, building appearance and design, and allowable activities in municipalities. Zoning thereby provides guidance to the community and to developers on the physical appearance of buildings and what types of activities are allowed in certain areas.
Below you can find several strategies to design a zoning code that promotes transit usage and active transportation.
Through its Community Planning program, NITA offers planning assistance to help municipalities envision a style of development near transit services, called Transit-Oriented Development (“TOD”), which frequently results in the need to make zoning code improvements and updates.
TOD supportive zoning promotes walkable communities, residential and employment density, and active lifestyles. These qualities increase transit usage, which helps NITA plan for adequate, accessible, and equitable public transportation for the six counties of Northeastern Illinois.
NITA supports municipalities’ code amendments, helping them identify and draft code improvements that, when adopted, will allow the type and style of development envisioned in their plan.
One of the most effective and holistic methods to encourage TOD is through a complete revision of the zoning code. For example, the RTA supported the Village of Brookfield with a substantial code modernization effort.
Ask your community:
Make sure that you:
Many municipalities take an incremental approach towards zoning code revisions by adding TOD elements to their existing zoning code. This has the benefit of being easier to enact, but municipalities need to ensure that the new elements do not conflict with existing zoning regulations. Some strategies include:
TOD zoning codes can include incentives for specific development types that promote an active transportation lifestyle and increase transit ridership. Here are a few examples:
Floor-Area Ratio (FAR) Increases
Permitted FAR can be increased in TOD areas. This allows greater usage of high demand lots, providing additional development space.
Parking Maximums
Low-vehicle-owning households and transit usage can be incentivized by limiting the required number of parking spaces in these districts. Read more in the TOD Guide on Parking.
Increased Density
TOD zoning can also relax minimum unit size requirements. This can permit additional units of different sizes that may be in demand, but not provided, in the existing market.
