Most planners have been there before: it's time to implement the goals of a newly approved Master Plan by rewriting the zoning code, and suddenly the public becomes outraged.
"Reality took a back seat at a recent public meeting in Reston [Virginia], as livid residents turned out en mass to protest increases in density, the allowance of more mixed-use buildings, and frankly, the addition of new neighbors," reports Canaan Merchant.
The problem is a familiar one to planners: it seems that much of Reston's outraged public hadn't paid attention during the community's recent master planning process undertaken by the county of Fairfax.
Merchant also notes that the now-outraged portion of Reston has also played fast and loose with the facts, claiming that the increases proposed by the Master Plan (from 13 people per acre to 16 people per acre in the Planned Residential Community (PRC) District) would double or triple the population of Reston.
Merchant provides more details on the zoning changes proposed in the Master Plan, as well as more description of the "firestorm" created by the zoning implementation.
FULL STORY: Reston enters the Upside Down when it comes to zoning
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Can New York City Go Green Without Renewable Rikers?
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700-Acre Master-Planned Community Planned in Utah
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More Cities Ponder the End of Drive-Thrus
Drive-thru fast food restaurants might be a staple of American life, but several U.S. cities are actively considering prohibiting the development of new drive-thrus for the benefit of traffic safety, air quality, and congestion.
Air Pollution World’s Worst Public Health Threat, Report Says
Air pollution is more likely to take years life off the lifespan of the average human than any other external factor, according to a recent report out of the University of Chicago.
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