* UMASS/AMHERST * 312Dbb 0570 3SMD M REVITALIZING INNER LRRE 4-§ ASPECIALPROJECTPREPAREDBYTHEMETROPOLITANAREAPLANNINGCOUNCILFORTHEINNERCORE Fall 1996 MetropolitanAreaPlanningCouncil 60TemplePlace Boston,MA02108 ABOUT THIS REPORT TheMetropohtanAreaPlanningCouncil(MAPC)istheofficiallydesignatedregional planningagencyforthe 101 citiesandtownsofmetropolitanBoston. TheCouncil helps It smembercommunitiesplanintheareasofeconomicdevelopment, landuse.housing demographics,transportationandenvironmental quality'. ThisreportisaspecialprojectoftheInnerCore,asubregionofMAPC. InnerCore comniunitiesare: Arlington,Belmont,Boston,Braintree,Brooklme. Cambndce Chelsea, Everett,Holbrook,Lymi,Maiden,Medford,Melrose,Newton, Qumc;- Randolph,Revere, Saugus,Nahant, Somerville, Waltham,Watertown, Winthrop. MAPC thank' aprtohjneccotusrtaUf^fandImier•C.jo-reme•mberswork.edcloselyonthisp^rojjectand wishto Credits ProjectManager KentStasiowski Graphics MaraGeoghegan InnerCoreCoordinator CarolKowalski InnerCoreChair JefferyLuxenberg \UPC Officers 1995-1996 President WilliamG. Constable Vice-President RichardA. Easier Secretary GraceS. Shepard Treasurer Leland Wood ExecutiveDirector DavidC. Soule MetropolitanAreaPlanningCouncil 60TemplePlace MA Boston, 02111 (617)451-2770 1115113 TABLE OF CONTENTS PART ONE THE BASICS - M INTRODUCTION ReportFormat 1-1 KeyFactorstoaSuccessfulMainStreet 1-2 PREPARINGAPLAN II- UnderstandingtheNeedforaPlan - II- FormingtheSteeringComminee II-2 CommunityAssessment II-3 PreparingtheReport II-7 ExamplesofCommunityPlanningEfforts II-7 ForAdditionalInformation 11-12 PreparingaPlanAttachments II-A- URBAN DESIGN IH-l DesignReviewProcess III-l StandardsVersusGuidelines III-l ExamplesofDesignGuidelines III-3 ReviewandEnforcementProcedures III-1 ForAdditionalInformation III-1 PUBLIC SAFETY IV-1 Natural Surveillance IV-1 Territoriality IV-1 AccessControl IV-2 Howto ConductanEnvironmentalDesignAudit IV-3 ForAdditional Information IV-4 Public SafetyAttachments IV-A-1 PART TWO STRATEGY PACKET - COMMERCIAL DISTRICTMANAGEMENTPROGRAMS V-1 DowntownPartnership V- Non-DowntownPartnershipAlternative V-2 BusinessImprovementDistricts V-3 National TrustForhistoric Preservation- Main Streets V-3 Attachments V-A-1 DowntownPartnership V-A-3 Non-DowntownPartnershipAlternative V-A- 1 BusinessImprovementDistrict V-A-14 PARKING NationalTrustforHistoricPreservation V-A-''*"1 Yj.j Parking Yl-1 ParkingAttachments VI-A-1 11 TableofContents continued MARKETING VII-l Marketing VII- MarketingAttachments VII-A-1 AMENITIES - VIII.1 Amenities VIII- AmenitiesAttachments VIII-A-1 LANDUSE/ZONING IX LandUse/Zoning IX PART ONE THE BASICS - INTRODUCTION PREPARING A PLAN URBAN DESIGN PUBLIC SAFETY INTRODUCTION TheInnerCorecommunitieswithintheBostonmetropolitanareaareadiverselot. witha widerangeofdensities,incomesanddemographics. Thecommercialareaswithinthese communitiesareequallydistinctive. Thecentersrangeinsizeandmarketbasefrom largeregionalcenterssuchasdowntownBostonorEastCambridgetotheman> mneaingyhbdoirffheoroedncceesnttehrescfeontuenrdsitnenaldlttoheshIanrneernuCmoerreocuosmmcuhanriatciteersi.stiHcosw:evsetorr,efirnonstpsilgeenoefrtahlelixr line-upnexttothesidewalk,off-streetparkingislocatedattherearorsideofthe ubsuielsdsinugcsh,amsuccihtyo/ftotwhnehpaalrlsk,insgchiososlhsaraenddroarthleirbrtahriaensrmesatyribcteedloscoalteeldvitnooorneadbjuaiclednitntgocthneic center.. Turningaroundormaintainingavitalmainstreetrequirespublicandprivateactions Therearethreebroadareasinwhichthelocal communitycanact: plamiing,regulations andpublicftmdmg. Ineachoftheseareasthecommunitymustcareftillybalance residentialandcommercialneeds. Whilethereisagreatdeal thatalocal communitvcan dotoenhanceandsupportitsmainstreet, intheendmanyofthemostcrucial decisions will bemadebyprivatepropertyandbusinessowners,decisionsthatarelargelybeyond thecontroloflocalgovernment. ReportFormat Jreev™.t3aih?z.eHdTthh°ei^rhd'o'wntowns.'TIlti'e'r'e"p"o'rtwilPl™in"c"lu^de^e"x^aPmp'l"es°fofhosuwccceosmsmfuulnitiesliave rfaecvtuorashz,0anaosnucacnedsslfeuslsomnsamleasrtnreeedt.aTnhdethreenpooruttwliilnlebtehegisntewpisthtoaadseuscccreispstfiuolnoplfatnhneikngey pphyosciecsasltchoemcprounceanltsfirosfttsitfeepdiisntraicrtevsthtoaullizdatwioornkprtooggretahme.rtNoexmta,kweilalvbieabalefoccoumsmoenrchioaw"the downtowr,andcommunitycenter. Thissectionwillconcemrateon urbandesTgnld pubhcsafety issues. Thefinalsectionofthereportwill beastrategypacketh"i'gmhlglMtimngg varioustoolsandtechniquesusefiil fordowntownredevelopment. ^ piamrreTeoagrrnrelfa,emmhkne-nsLespdlaomtZnoesoaatrshTeid-ndg"rbo.yw'nMttaheoiwnNnaStstiro.ene"atmlaisTiranulssstotrfteoheretsPHn"i™asamtn^oed^rioc-cifCtiPaytr/ycetsoaoemwnrmnvdearctteiconoiwtnaen.rlsc.IronemvAtmilhtelearlocMifiziAaattlhpineo2dntifsertrer—migscitosn nth stet strmegv p ke P™""^' managementsectionofthe I-l KeyFactorstoaSuccessfulMainStreet Metro,thePortland,Oregonregionalplanningorganizationpreparedastudy.Regional Mainstreets.withtheintentofdeteiminingthecriticalelementsofsuccessfulmain streets. MetrostaffandconsultantsexaminedcitiesacrosstheU.S.andCanadaand identifiedsomekeyingredients. Theseingredientspertainedto"landusepatterns,tothe mainstreetbuiltenvironment,andtosocialandorganizationalissues."' Keyfactorstoa successfulmainstreetinclude: 1. Population Density,onandadjacenttoMainStreetisakeyelementofmainstreet success. TheLongBranchMainstreetProjectreport,"41 WaystoRevitalize Mainstreet"(TorontoMetroPlanningDepartment)concludedinacomparisonof successfulandlesssuccessfulmainstreets,thatthemostcriticaldifferencewasthe populationdensitywithina.6mileradius. Thisstudyconcludesthatlargenumbers ofresidentsthatcanwalkorbiketomainstreetbusinessesarenecessary. Portland Metroresearchdeterminedthatthepopulationdensitydidnothavetobecomprised solelyofmulti-familydwellings. OneofthemostsuccessfulPortlandmainstreets wasinasinglefamilyneighborhoodof5,000squarefootlotsandlargeolder apartmentbuildings. 2. Pedestrian Environmentisvery important. Astrongpedestrianenvironmentis characterizedbywidesidewalksandsafeandfrequentcrosswalks. Pedestrianswill notutilizeanareainwhichtheyfeelthatthewalkingenvironmentisnotsafeand pleasant. 3. Streetscape isimportantforattractingpedestrians. TheMetrostudyfoundseveral elementstobecrucialtoastrongstreetscape: • Buildinglineisconsistentandisatthesidewalk. Ifthebuildinglineis inconsistent,thereshouldbesubstantial landscapingatthestreetedge. • Heightandmassingofbuildingsisimportant. Twotofourstorybuildingsare ideal forenclosingthestreetandprovidingenoughfacadeforinteresting architectural detail. • Largeopendisplaywindowsatstreetlevel createpedestrian interest. • Buffers forpedestrianssuchaswidesidewalks, streettreesandcarsparkedin thecurb lane. • Publicopenspacessuchasplazasorsmall outdoorseatingareascanprovide destinationsforpedestriansandcreateanotherreasonforshoppinginthearea. 4. Demographicsareafactorinthesuccessofamainstreet. AccordingtothePortland study. "Thoughhouseholdswithhigherincomemayseemmoreessential,younger couplesandsinglesaremoreapttopatronizetherestaurants,coffeeshops, book storesand local retail andserviceestablishmentsthatformthebackboneofmain M'eRtergoi.onJaullyMa1i9n9s5t.rePeotrst:lanAd,nOIrmepgloenm.entationStrategytoPromoteMainStreet~andCorridorDevelnnmfnt' 1-2