Rezone CR Open House

Early attendance was light on a stormy evening in Cedar Rapids, as city officials offered a sneak preview of the new zoning plan prior to its official release July 3. Form-based zoning will be applied in a small section of the city (see map above). I was on the Steering Committee for the rezoning, but have had no role in its content.

A few quick reactions:

1. This is the right part of the city on which to try this: older, already-urban areas that have seen considerable redevelopment since the flood. For the most part, the redevelopment has reinforced rather than challenged the traditional pre-Euclidean form of these areas. If form-based zoning works here, perhaps it can be extended to the adjoining core neighborhoods: Mound View (soon to be the object of the College District Action Plan), Wellington Heights, the Taylor Area and the Northwest. Beyond that the city's form is predominantly suburban, and it's hard to imagine much change from that is likely.

2. Outside of downtown (the red area on the map), there seems to be a good balance of mixed use (orange) and purely residential (baby blue). It looks like no one in this part of the city will live more than three blocks from a commercial establishment, albeit may be one that sells auto parts when you need a loaf of bread.

3. The area between 7th and 10th Streets East is designated "Urban Neighborhood General Flex"--essentially, mixed use with taller buildings--which seems appropriate for the area between downtown, the hospitals and the neighborhoods. Whether it actually develops that way depends on the acquiesence of the hospitals and Physicians Clinic of Iowa, which have so far been powerful forces behind anomalously suburban-style development. Another old house came down today, in fact:

Photo by Cindy Hadish, from Save CR Heritage Facebook page

This could, of course, make way for new construction, but the clearances seem intended for another parking lot.

EARLIER POST: "Re-Zoning Cedar Rapids," 4 December 2017