Best practices for industrial mixed use?

[utile]

Hi,

We are developing zoning to encourage a wide range of mixed-uses (light industrial, R&D, office, retail, live/work, and limited residential) within a formerly all-industrial zone, while protecting the existing employment base. The district is located within an older Northeastern city; the building stock is a mix of 3-4 story mill buildings and 1-2 story post-World War II commercial structures.

We are seeking examples / best practices for the following:

1. Form-based codes suitable for the described hybrid light-industrial / mixed use district.

2. Performance standards for light industrial uses that have proved effective at reducing frictions with adjacent non-industrial uses, in areas including:
• Noise; vibration; exterior lighting; dust and emissions; fire prevention; screening and control of outdoor storage uses; buffering of industrial / residential adjacencies.
• Are there other categories of performance standards that should be regulated?

3. Parking ratios, expressed in predictable investment-friendly terms of spaces / gross s.f., for the following types of uses:
a) Light industrial
b) R&D
c) Warehouse / wholesale
d) Office
e) Retail

4. Standards and procedures for allowing reductions of parking requirements for mixed uses on a single site - both among different business uses (retail, office, industrial), and between business and residential uses.

[BrianVDB]

Send me a PM and I will send you a link to our mixed-use industrial zoning district. It might help a little.

Generally speaking, though, as far as your second point: we took the approach that anyone looking to establish a non-industrial use in this area needs to be aware of potential industrial side effects, rather than requiring an industrial business to accommodate non-industrial uses. We do include language that we will attempt to limit the side effects of industrial uses, but they are to be expected in this district. That is why you can get an office building a lot cheaper in that district than in an office park development. I think that performance standards are hard to generally define, and are better on a case-by-case basis.

Case in point: we are currently processing a special use permit for an enclosed truck wash within this district, where the truck wash is adjacent to an office building. They were formerly on the same parcel, and the office was accessory to the principal warehousing building (where the truck wash will be located). Subsequently they were divided, and the office owner bought the building after it was foreclosed on. Well, the office owner has objected based on perceived impact of truck traffic on his property (surrounding uses already generate MUCH more impact than the truck wash would). I expect that his claims will be dismissed due to the fact that his office is located in a heavy industrial corridor, and that we have required performance standards specific to the operation to mitigate these impacts. Just an example of what you should expect if you adopt something like this.

Tread carefully with the residential component, as it could get out of hand in a hurry unless the residence is used in support of a business on the premises.

We made this change from strict industrial to mixed-use industrial a few years ago and are pleased with how it's turning out - multiple vacant structures have been re-utilized.

[utile]

Hi Brian,

This is my first post on Cyburbia and I don't think I've reached the minimum post limit to be able to send PMs. Are you able to send me one?

[Cardinal]

The challenge of introducing residential into an industrial district is much the same as creating estate residential uses in active farm land. Noise, light, traffic (worker and truck), odors, and easthetics are some of the bigger ones. Remember that some of those industries operate two or three shifts. One case I dealt with was a bakery - not only operating all night, but having truck shipments out in the early morning hours and producing an odor - and having been there for more than 20 years. No codes are going to be able to address these issues which are a necessity of operating the business, but likely to generate many complaints from neighbors.