"Mixed Use" or "Mixed Up" Use In All areas of City?

In the Unified Land Development Code (ULDC) distributed at the recent Planning Commission meeting, the following points were in the "Housing Section".

"3.4---Revise the R-2 Zone to remove provisions for smaller lots. Use the R-2 as a district for duplex development. Accordingly, create a new residential zone for smaller lot residential development in accordance with new urbanism design for walkable neighborhoods.

3.5b Promote mixed development throughout the city.

3.5c Update the Planned Unit Develpment Zoning District to accomodate a blend of commercial, multiple and single-family development on a single property. This district would include performance standards, as opposed to strict setback requirements, to provide flexibility for developers interested in smaller properties within and adjacent to the downtown(including second story apartments), infill development in established neighborhoods, and new subdivision projects elsewhere in the City that would be difficult under current zoning requirements. "


This type of code revision runs contrary to all the history of zoning in Evansville, where on the original abstracts were listed the sections for Churches on Church Street and Water on Water street etc. The historic founders had a very clear sense of separating and organizing a city and separated the commerical from the residential---the proposed "Unified Code" would reverse this. It is clearly anti-historic.

It further suggests that current code has not been "flexibile" enough with respect to developers. One could argue the exact opposite----the purpose of the "design" ordinances is supposedly to remedy the uniform boxiness of Countryside and the west side homes, but in retrospect, that boxiness was caused by bending over too much and not too little to the demands of developers. Marshall Erdman presented to the Common Council a development for Countryside that would have had the flexibility and it was rejected because the devolper refused the flexibility of design.

The design committee will meet tonight at City Hall. Stay tuned.