Laserfiche WebLink
676; <br /> Tort Y.t <br /> * <br /> 41t <br /> PurgeRetail-ZonedBack 3 <br /> The zoning technique used by most suburban communities is to designate <br /> everything along the arterial highway strip for commercial uses and wait <br /> for retailers and developers to gradually fill in all of the individual sites. In this <br /> type of environment, new development sprawls outward even as sites closer to <br /> the city remain vacant and older retail centers deteriorate. Retail overzoning <br /> thus has had the effect of extending strips prematurely in discontinuous and <br /> inefficient ways as developers leapfrog over one another onto sites farther and <br /> farther away from the city. <br /> When economic conditions change, as they constantly do, some strips, or parts <br /> of strips, are left to deteriorate even before they have been fully developed. This <br /> leaves them unfinished indefinitely, at risk to competition from newer and more <br /> enticing shopping environments, and difficult to revitalize because of their char- <br /> acteristic sprawl and lack of focus. <br /> By pruning back the amount of land <br /> zoned for retail, suburban communities <br /> can stimulate retail growth, encourage <br /> revitalization, and improve the quality <br /> of their shopping strips. It simply is <br /> not necessary for every major parcel <br /> along every arterial to be zoned for <br /> commercial or retail use. <br /> Suburban communities should take the <br /> ' following steps: <br /> r <br /> • Limit the quantity of commercially <br /> zoned land along emerging suburban <br /> strips to give landowners and retailers <br /> y ,- the incentive and economic strength to <br /> maintain a high-quality environment, <br /> IV? <br /> `' react more swiftly to societal trends, <br /> ,� 'o"" .• and evolve on site as the retailing <br /> world changes. <br /> * Rezone excess commercial land in <br /> older strips to encourage reinvestment <br /> �*' and improve the quality of existing <br /> retail properties. <br /> 0 <br /> 0 <br /> 8 <br />