Smart-growth scorecard developed – System rewards builders for attaining neighborhood goals

Denver real estate developer Will Fleissig wants local governments to keep better score of smart growth.

Smart-growth communities are neighborhoods where homeowners can leave their cars at home, where residents can walk to the store, take a bus or train to work or ride a bicycle to the park.

By Mark P. Couch
Denver Post Business Writer

Many political and business leaders have touted such growth as a way to protect the environment and control city spending on big new roads, but few have created a system to measure progress toward that goal.

Fleissig’s scorecard is one of the first to be written in a general way so that it can be adapted by other cities, said Steve Bodzin, spokesman for the Congress for the New Urbanism.

"It was the first effort to quantify smart growth," Bodzin said.

Fleissig said it’s a common-sense method that rewards developers rather than penalizes them.

"It’s a totally different approach than zoning, which is a list of rules that state: ‘Thou shalt not do this, and thou shalt not do that,"’ Fleissig said. "Instead, the scorecard says we want to see X, Y and Z."

Developers who do "X, Y and Z" earn points that lead to financial rewards. Under Fleissig’s scorecard, cities would waive fees or offer financial incentives to developers who include smart-growth goals in their plans.

Developers would earn points for building projects that preserve open space, connect to existing streets, mix houses with shops and offices, replace outdated structures and fill empty spaces dotting the landscape.

Fleissig will discuss such projects Tuesday on a panel at the American Planning Association’s national conference, which meets in Denver this week. About 5,000 people are expected to attend.

The effort to create a scorecard began in 1998 when Fleissig noticed that everybody was talking about smart growth but few builders were doing it. Smart growth was a slogan, not an actual practice.

"We’re stuck," Fleissig said. "We’re in first gear."

That’s because the rules of smart growth are unclear. No single agency dictates the nation’s building process. No individual group sets the standards for all builders to follow.

"People talk a lot about smart growth, but a lot of people don’t know what it is," said Brett VanAkkeren, a smart-growth analyst with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency in Washington, D.C.

Planning experts often battle with such issues.

"Design is frequently the only glitch in a project," said Beth Pommer, a longtime member of the planning board in Boulder where Fleissig formerly served as planning director, "Design is not easy to legislate."

So Fleissig decided to preach what he practices.

His firm, Continuum Partners, has pursued several projects that incorporate principles of smart growth.

In Lakewood, Continuum is replacing a 1960s-era mall with a new mix of stores, residences and offices. Streets will replace the acres of asphalt parking lots that had surrounded the mall in a bid to create a new neighborhood.

In downtown Denver, Continuum built an eight-story building filled with restaurants, offices and condominiums, stacking multiple uses on top of one another.

At Bradburn Village in Westminster, Continuum is creating a neighborhood with narrow streets and commercial districts that are within walking distance.

Those projects provided practical experience, but Fleissig’s scorecard has earned recognition from the EPA and the Congress for the New Urbanism, a San Francisco-based nonprofit advocacy group.

VanAkkeren said the EPA neither endorses nor enforces smartgrowth scoring systems. Instead, the agency acts as a clearinghouse, distributing examples from around the country to developers or planners seeking models.

"I think Will’s scorecard does a good job," said VanAkkeren, who has distributed it to more than 20 cities, developers and activist groups.

Fleissig’s scorecard expands on a system in Austin, Texas, where a voluntary program has been in place for about five years.

Austan Librach, Austin’s director of transportation, planning and sustainability, said that 16 projects have been reviewed under the city’s voluntary smart-growth system.

Those projects rack up points by meeting specific standards. The city provides financial aid to developers based on the number of points.

Developers who submit their projects through the voluntary program and earn the minimum points qualify for a waiver of permit costs and other fees.

With more points, developers earn incentive payments. The incentives are calculated based on the new tax revenues the project would generate – capping at 10 percent of the expected new taxes.

Librach said Austin is still evaluating the long-term impact of its scoring system on the city’s growth patterns.

Fleissig’s scorecard takes the Austin program a step further, said Bodzin of the Congress for the New Urbanism. Fleissig sets possible standards but leaves the ultimate decision of relative importance to community leaders.

For example, cities with water worries might restrict construction in watershed areas, while others choking on air pollution might prefer to promote construction near light-rail tracks to encourage use of mass-transit.

"Atlanta may have different needs from Los Angeles or Denver or anywhere else," said VanAkkeren.

Fleissig said he put the scorecard together because he worries that metro Denver faces permanent sprawl, even though construction of new houses, offices and stores has slowed from its 1990s pace.

"The car is still going," Fleissig said. "It’s not going 60 miles an hour. Now it’s only going 30 miles an hour, but it’s still going the wrong way."

CRITERIA

A Denver developer has created a ‘smart growth’ test for new projects. Sample tests from each category are listed below. How would your neighborhood stack up?

Location, location, location

Walking distance to bus, rail or other mass transit.

Less than 5 minutes, 4 points;

6-10 minutes, 3 points;

11-15 minutes, 2 points;

16-20 minutes, 1 point.

Other tests: Distance to stores, schools, day care; distance to streets, sewers and water service; expected time before such services are constructed; location of project within a city-designated development area.

Mix it up

Street-level uses that generate pedestrian activity, measured in hours open per day.

More than 18, 4 points;

13-18 hours, 3 points;

12-17 hours, 2 points;

8-11 hours, 1 point.

Other tests: Adds new types of development to a neighborhood; measures number of pedestrian trips generated by street-level uses; mixes uses in a single building.

Fill it up

Average number of dwelling units per acre.

14 or more, 4 points;

10-13, 3 points;

7-9, 2 points;

4-6, 1 point.

Other tests: Places parking in above-ground or underground structures; sets buildings close to the street; saves open space for recreational uses.

Keep people moving

Provide pedestrian amenities for transit.

Transit station, 4 points;

Structure with seat, roof and schedule information, 3 points;

Furniture, kiosk, 2 points;

Signs, 1 point.

Other tests: Locates parking behind buildings; builds sidewalks; provides car-pool service.

Fitting in

Continues existing street pattern into new project.

Yes, 1 point.

Other tests: Reflects local historic building materials and style; preserves at least 75 percent of an existing structure; focuses landscaping and lighting on pedestrian experience.

Living on your feet

Short block lengths.

Less than 400 feet, 4 points;

401 to 500 feet, 3 points;

501 to 600 feet, 2 points;

More than 600 feet, 1 point.

Other tests: Street network is based on a grid system; distance to parks within or adjacent to project.

Love the Earth

Recycles materials from existing structure.

Yes, 1 point.

Other tests: Uses energy conservation equipment; uses water conservation systems; plants regional vegetation; establishes recycling program with tenants.

Diversity

Provides wide range of prices for units sold or leased.

At least 20 percent priced between 80 percent and 100 percent of average median income, 1 point.

Other tests: Varies residential lot sizes; offers a variety of building types and styles; includes locally owned businesses in the project.

Source: Will Fleissig’s "Smart Scorecard for Project Development"

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