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Compact growth must be carefully designed to protect the historic resources and historic character of the region’s city, town, and village centers.  Many individual colonial-era residences, 19th century mill structures, village greens are well-protected, but historic character is also derived from collections of older homes that are not individually protected, as well as 20th century resources often overlooked by many historic protection efforts.  It is sound planning practice to identify these resources and create awareness of their importance, as well as develop strategies for how to facilitate the restoration and reuse of historic structures. .

5)    Facilitate widespread adoption of form-based codes
Form based codes offer an opportunity to recodify a city or town's zoning and subdivision rules and regulations in order to promote streetscapes that activate the public realm through careful analysis and planning.  Form based codes can either replace or supplement standard text-based zoning, subdivision and other local regulations, and are a method of regulating development to achieve a specific form.

Conventional zoning and subdivision regulations actually promote the sprawling development patterns that residents generally oppose. Wide streets, missing or small buffer strips, the absence of public shade trees, and building structures set back far from the street with parking areas within the front yard setback all detract from what citizens want from their neighborhoods. Developers often agree with the citizens, yet find that building mixed uses, traditional design, and pedestrian-friendly streets is difficult, if not illegal, due to zoning constraints.

Form based codes are regulatory documents that prescribe a fundamentally different vision of how development should occur.  Focused more on the form of development rather than the use, form based codes regulate the mass of buildings, their design elements, connection between sites, and their relationship to the public realm.

Form based codes are regulatory, not advisory, and should not to be confused with general statements of policy or design guidelines, which generally are limited to the "look" of buildings. While design guidelines may require in depth reviews by public agencies, thereby eliminating the predictability that is the hallmark of a good regulation, well-written form based codes are more objective in terms of architectural style and are easier to implement.

While many communities are willing to address the consequences associated with conventional zoning, many will be reluctant to consider abandoning their entire regulatory framework. Thus, the adoption of parallel codes for a specific district serves as a good strategy to approach FBCs without sacrificing the historical and familiar foundation for land use regulation.

5.a    MAPC should develop capacity to provide technical assistance with application of form-based codes

5.b    Municipalities should develop and adopt Form Based Codes (FBC)

6)    Adopt innovative parking strategies
Innovative parking strategies can support compact growth by maximizing the amount of land available for development and reducing auto dependency.  These strategies use tailored standards, pricing mechanisms, shared parking, permit parking, transportation demand management, and pedestrian improvements to make the most efficient use of available parking.  A well planned and executed parking program is essential to establishing and maintaining a human-scale environment that emphasizes parking efficiency over supply.

Currently, many municipalities rely on generic, one-size-fits-all parking standards that are simple to apply and enforce, but fail to accurately reflect the particular needs of different districts, especially compact growth areas.  Minimum parking requirements can make compact development economically infeasible, especially on smaller sites.  Even if parking requirements can be satisfied, large expanses of create large expanses of asphalt that can erode streetscape appeal, deter pedestrians, and compromise the development potential.  Large parking areas also contribute to the "heat island effect" and increase stormwater runoff.   Structured parking is not necessarily a solution since construction and operation costs can be five times more per space than surface parking.  

While no one technique will be appropriate in every location, application of innovative parking strategies begins with a parking study and assessment of existing conditions and growth potential.  Such a study will identify demand, supply, and underutilized parking resources.  This information will support the application of strategies such as pricing mechanisms, which involve charging higher prices for convenient spots (such as on street parking) and lower prices for more remote locations (such as municipal lots behind buildings).  As a result, employees and residents will park in off-street locations, leaving more on-street spaces free for shoppers.  

Allowing shared parking, off-site parking, or payments in lieu of parking can allow development of highly constrained sites, while also establishing a rational basis for ensuring that parking needs are met (rather than negotiations through the variance process.)  A “Parking Benefit District” is a mechanism by which parking revenues (meters, lots, garages, and parking passes) is directed to a locally-controlled fund and invested in pedestrian improvements, maintenance, security, or additional capacity.

6.a    Municipalities should conduct parking studies for city and town centers and compact growth areas

6.b    Business districts should adopt parking benefit districts

7)    Increase the availability of car-sharing services
Compact growth in urban areas or even in suburban areas near transit can allow households to live with only one car (“car-few”) or no car at all (“car-free”).  Car sharing services provide short-term car rentals that can substitute for private vehicle ownership or supplement households with only one car.  These services are generally provided on a subscription basis that provides access to cars parked at specified locations (generally near transit), reserved in advance, and rented on an hourly or daily basis.  Car sharing is most effective in higher-density, mixed-use areas where there are other transportation alternatives.  
By allowing occasional access to a car without the vehicle ownership, car sharing programs can reduce the need to own a car, especially a second or third one. Car sharing makes occasional use of a vehicle affordable, even for low-income households, while providing an incentive to minimize driving and rely on alternative travel options as much as possible.

One major benefits of car-sharing is reduced vehicle ownership and corresponding parking requirements in compact growth areas.  Because of this benefit, some local governments reduce minimum parking requirements if developers or employers agree to institute or participate in car sharing programs.  Developers may be required to contribute funding towards set up costs and/or to provided dedicated parking for the car-sharing vehicles.  

Successful car-sharing programs exhibit the following features:

• Accessible (i.e., located in or near residential neighborhoods).
• Affordable (reasonable rates, suitable for short trips).
• Convenient (vehicles are easy to check in and out at any time).
• Reliable (vehicles are usually available and have minimal mechanical failures).

A major barrier is the need to establish and maintain a critical mass of users (typically 30 members or more) in individual neighborhoods. Car-sharing cannot develop until enough potential users in each area are familiar with the concept, understand how it can benefit them, and are willing to commit themselves to a car-share organization. This often requires education and marketing. Car-share organizations often require seed money to become established.

7.a    Municipalities should require evaluation of car-sharing services for larger developments, especially those near transit

8)    Maintain historic resource inventories and plans
Historic inventories and plans are necessary to guide protection and reuse efforts.  Careful inventories and plans will ensure development proposals can be designed to protect and enhance historic resources.  They can also make the permitting process more efficient if the expectations for preservation and enhancement are outlined in a plan, rather than debated after a development has been proposed.  

Effective historic preservation requires active stewards of historic resources.  While all MAPC municipalities have a historical commission, many are not active or do not participate in other municipal planning and development efforts.  These commissions can receive training and guidance from the Massachusetts Historical Commission (MHC).   In particular, MHC provides a “survey training module” that can help commissions plan for historic surveys and inventories.  One key lesson of this model is that a comprehensive inventory of historic resources should address a wide array of properties, not just “landmark” historic gems.  Inventories and plans should also include consideration of unique and significant 20th Century structures.  

Historic commissions should also actively participate in municipal master planning and district planning efforts. As required, most municipal plans acknowledge historic resources, but rarely emphasize historic resources as opportunities for smart growth development.  Additional guidance from MHC on integrating historic preservation into smart growth will also help local historic commissions to be active and constructive partners in the development process. 

8.a    Each municipality should have an active historical commission and historic preservation plan

8.b    The Massachusetts Historical Commission, with the assistance of MAPC, should increase access to its “introductory survey training module”

8.c    MAPC should work with MHS to develop smart growth evaluation criteria

9)    Provide financial support for historic preservation and restoration
Adequate levels of funding and financial incentives are key to preserving historic resources and allowing for adaptive reuse.  

The Massachusetts Historic Rehabilitation Tax Credit is a critical source of funding for rehabilitation efforts, but currently has an annual cap, so not all eligible projects receive funding.  The Legislature should raise or eliminate this cap.  Local property tax relieve might be granted through tax exemptions and abatements targeted to historic preservation investments.  

The Community Preservation Act is a critical source of local funds for historic preservation.  Reforms to the CPA legislation, described in Strategy 2, will help to ensure continued state funding for the program and will allow more municipalities to participate.  MHC has also identified reforms to the CPA that will encourage coordination with the MHC and adherence to the Secretary of the Interior’s Standards for historic preservation.  The legislature should consider including those reforms as well.

9.a    The Legislature should expand the state investment tax program through increasing or removing the annual cap

9.b    The legislature should consider Community Preservation Act revisions to encourage coordination with the MHC and adherence to the Secretary of the Interior’s Standards

9.c    MHC should evaluate potential tax abatement/tax exemption programs

10)    Facilitate adaptive reuse and preservation
Communities, once they have identified their historic and cultural resources, need resources to be able preserve and reuse them productively, particularly within the context of compact growth.

Municipalities can currently choose to enact demolition delay bylaws, which allow them to review for historical significance any buildings older than 50 years old proposed for demolition.  If a building is found to be historically significant, a period of time, usually six months, must elapse for the municipality to work with the owner to find an alternative to demolition before a demolition permit may be issued.  These bylaws must be strengthened and passed in all municipalities with stocks of historical buildings.

The MHC has identified the Massachusetts State Building Code as conflicting, at times, with historic preservation. 

10.a    Municipalities should adopt demolition delay ordinances and bylaws

10.b    MHC should propose revisions to the State Building Code to facilitate adaptive reuse. 

10.c    MHC should provide increased technical assistance to municipalities and developers regarding universal access in historic structures

11)    Promote the use of New Urbanism and Traditional Neighborhood Development
Traditional Neighborhood Development, also known as "new urbanism", "neo-traditional" or “village-style” development, is characterized by a variety of housing types, a mix of land uses, an active center, and walkable design, either as a large district or within an existing compact growth area.  Traditional neighborhood development can guide new development patterns that are civic-oriented, pedestrian-friendly, economically vibrant, environmentally sustainable, and evoke a unique sense of place.

Within suburban areas, large-scale redevelopment areas—such as closed military bases, large tracts of state land, or obsolete industrial and commercial areas— may present great opportunities in which to introduce traditional neighborhood development.  One example is the redevelopment of South Weymouth Naval Air Station into a compact, mixed use development (known as SouthField) with a variety of housing types in a traditional neighborhood design.