Easton could Protect its Citizens and Itself in Hospital Project by Jay Corvan

One of the great advancements of the Art of Planning in the modern world is the use of an overlay process to help make decisions on how to develop properties easier and to make decisions for a community easier and more understandable.

A planning document that was created in Denton, Maryland, in 2006, the Denton pattern book, uses this procedure to establish a way to make logical and character-based decisions on Town growth and development, and help guide the public to a consensus about how and what to design as town growth models.

The Town of Denton was fortunate to hire good, nationally accomplished urban designers: Urban Design Associates from Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, who through another Charette process, took into consideration a simplified way to redevelop and manage growth within historic towns on the eastern shore, and to provide a tool kit for development of growth that is consistent with historic town structure. Many towns could use this model to improve their developments and create better community engagement.

A layering approach to planning is a nice way to settle a lot of the complicated possibilities for a site like the Easton hospital site. This allows the typical uncontroversial patterns, things all people know and want, to be placed in the design right away to simplify the layout of the redevelopment, creating a structure that can allow for extension of the Town infrastructure and streetscape. That way the most important needs are met, the community rests and the developers work the rest into their plan.

The Easton hospital site under consideration now could use this layering method of design to tackle the complex design issues and simplify the process of design. Using a method of overlay to create and place community priorities first. Establishing 1) Streetscape. 2) Landscape, 3) Open space, 4) community buildings get first-place positions. 5) Commercial residential blocks and other uses become infill functions of the space remaining.

Urban Design Associates uses a pattern book approach, an old way to create continuity and character and to guard against brash or insensitive development close to historic towns, by assembling a kit of parts that is typical and fits most of the Eastern Shore, villages and cities, and uses the existing dna of the towns to extend themselves.

Much of their approach to growth management has gone into honoring the historic sites and trying to preserve the historic character of these uniquely valuable 19th-century towns, and making new developments compatible with historic towns. Easton village is one such example where a pattern book could make a huge difference, as it has in many towns on the eastern seaboard.

Here’s an example of the order of layered decisions that make up a recipe for a successful extension of town character. The process is easy to follow, fun to participate in and Towns can undertake their own town meetings to implement their own ideas and growth.

1. The first decision of the major decisions needing to be made will first be how to extend the existing street structure through the site to incorporate into the existing town.
2. Second decision is to create landscape and streetscape, that is compatible, including locating public spaces, government and institutional places within the new street layout. These uses get top billing.
3. Third decision is to decide which uses will be allowed on the new street block layout that might include residential mix use or civic and institutional uses. This will allow certain blocks to be designated uses and scales.
4. Fourth decision is to establish what lot requirements are for each of the designated uses, what kind of buildings height, limited area, build two lines. And overall density requirements etc.
5. Fifth decision is what types of building buildings or local building typology will be allowed on the site. This is where historic and special building character comes into play in the redevelopment of a large parcel. The character and DNA of the town should be translated into building types that will be used in this development area, and that might include a number of different types sizes and models from large tall 3-5 story mix used buildings to smaller residences, mansion apartments, and small accessory cottages on the perimeter for affordable housing uses.

This pretty much sets the stage for a complete preliminary development scheme, but the parameters for these development characters must be translated into code that’s enforceable. Having 3 dimensional models is a huge help to show exactly what a development will look like before it gets too far into the approval process and makes appearance a condition that can’t be easily changed.

Herein lies the problem with Planning documents to date in Easton. Much of what is shown in requested of developers is never translated in real enforceable terms, it’s way too loose in terms of absolute requirements. Many developers make the case they can’t afford to build the scheme as planned but The pattern book requirements makes it mandatory with no wiggle room. This is where a older idea of a pattern book meets the new basis for form based code. A hybrid version between the two makes it explicit to developers what is required and what isn’t. The early design is the most important in the communities viewpoint, so having standards, not guidelines that art enforceable by code is an absolute necessity.

Without these important tools in place, in place developers will push to their advantage and negotiate the town into submission and the public pays the price. This enforcement aspect is the most critical function of a form base code or pattern book, it is not a wish list it is an enforceable building code and that’s the big difference. Up till now plans and guidelines have failed to control the playing field.

The Denton pattern book, a form based code in place in Denton (Salisbury is working win their own version) has been used in large projects above five or eight units and all requirements must be met that are indicated by the pattern book along with existing zoning regulations, this is a double layer zoning base that protects towns from large developments gone rogue. This also allows existing zoning to remain in place with a higher standard needing to be met with large project developments.

The base pattern book could be established for all towns on the eastern shore easily updated and tailored to each town. This quintessential tool set could be used as a guide for all future developments on the shore. I would encourage incorporating this idea as a defensive mechanism to keep development with what residents expect of the Planning And Zoning offices in Easton. Yes, It’s a zoning upgrade of zoning but it’s really not a heavy lift. The hard work, the process and the approach has already been done.

When the Easton Hospital (aka SODO) Charette and the small area plan for the Easton hospital site is completed, the town should continue to move forward and incorporate a pattern book into their zoning codes. Otherwise, the good intentions will likely be unenforceable, and developers will do what they want, not what the town citizens expect. This should include a complete rezoning of the area before the developer applies for a permit in what anyone would conclude is a complicated mess of zoning designations for the old medical property.

Jay Corvan is a local architect and historic planning professional residing in Trappe, Maryland.