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Planning and Zoning Practices

The City of Philadelphia and other Pennsylvania municipalities should adopt planning and zoning practices that promote and encourage the design and development of high-performance, sustainable grocery stores.

    1. Zoning and planning regulations should promote a physical environment that encourages the sustainable growth of communities which includes dynamic retail and commercial sector growth.

    Any updates of zoning/building codes and a municipality’s comprehensive master plan should include access to fresh and affordable food as an integral component.

    See:  APA Food System Planning Guide

    2. The City of Philadelphia and other Pennsylvania municipalities should prioritize the identification and assemblage of land for sustainable food retail development.

    See:  Retail Chicago

    3. Creation of an expedited permitting process for sustainable grocery projects saves time, money, and resources, as well as encourages the development of more stores due to an inviting development environment for the retailer.

    See:  Chicago Green Permit Program

    4. The use of density bonuses for real estate development projects typically occurs in affordable housing applications; however, municipalities across the country are beginning to offer bonuses for projects with significant green, high density mixed-use and transit-oriented elements within the development.  Increasing the allowable floor area ratio (FAR) for a green grocery store development or the number of dwelling units in a mixed-use food retail/residential project provides a great incentive for developers and operators to build a high-performance store through the prospect of increased revenue.

See:  Seattle Density Bonus for Green Buildings; APA Zoning Practice Matrix

Relevant Strategies: Site Design: Site Selection

    5. Metrics for suitable parking spaces per square foot ratios used by food retailers and municipalities differ greatly; while neither account for the varied level of demand in urban markets that offer other alternative means of transport.  In fact, many shopping centers and commercial developments cite oversupply of parking where access to mass transit is adequate.  Municipalities should create more flexible guidelines for parking ratios, widths, and structure requirements within the zoning code that account for population density, access to alternative modes of transportation, and opportunity for shared parking strategies within dense commercial corridors and districts.

See:  Bay Area Parking Policy for TOD; City of Los Angeles Parking Study

Relevant Strategies: Site Design: Parking; Site Design: Alternative Transportation;