MODULE-6 Smart Growth Opportunities

Introduction
Transfer of Development Rights (TDR)
Brownfields Redevelopment
Overlay Protection Areas
Low-Impact Development (LID)
Open Space Residential Design (OSRD)

In October 2001 the City of Olympia, Washington established a comprehensive set of LID regulations within the Green Cove Basin watershed to protect the declining aquatic habitat from increasing development. Olympia is the first city to complete a comprehensive policy such as this, which includes regulations for development density through the, impervious surface coverage, lot size, open space/tree retention, street design, street width, block sizes, parking, sidewalks, and stormwater management standards.

Some key elements of Green Cove's comprehensive LID policy include:

• Increases allowable residential densities from single-family to duplex and multi-family uses by establishing a Residential Low Impact District.
• Limits maximum impervious surface coverage per lot.
• Reduces lot widths and setbacks.
• Increases maximum building heights.
• Changes zoning to allow multiple uses.
• Allows use of pervious materials on driveways and sidewalks.
• Requires use of pervious materials on new parking areas.
• Reduces width of local access streets to 18 feet.
• Reduce width of neighborhood collector streets to 25 feet.
• Increases width of sidewalk planters to 25 feet.
• Requires use of a rock infiltration gallery/conveyance system on roads where street slopes are less than 5 percent.
• Increases minimum tree density to 220 trees per acre (approx. 55%).

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