Farmington, New Mexico

Unified Development Code
   

For the City of Farmington, Duncan Associates drafted a new unified development code. The first task focused on organizational and substantive issues. This task identified information sources, refined responsibilities, discuss overall goals and reach agreement on other project issues. This task also served as a forum for further discussions on substantive issues addressed during the project. The second task provided policy and organizational framework for the drafting work. At the outset of the task, an evaluation and appraisal of the city's existing zoning, subdivision and other development regulations was conducted. This diagnosis focused

on the identification of key strengths and weaknesses of existing regulations from several perspectives, including: plan implementation and consistency, administrative efficiency, regulatory clarity and document format and organization (including ease of use/understanding). The diagnosis covered key regulatory issues, including: signs, development standards, design guidelines, central business district, riverine area, landscaping and buffers, stormwater management, access design. nonconforming uses, mixed use development, incompatible use techniques, adaptive reuse and revitalization, abandoned structures and airport zoning. In addition, policy direction was solicited through stakeholder and public official interviews and ongoing communication with City staff and a Plan Steering Committee. Findings from this task were presented in a policy directions memorandum. In addition to identifying key policy issues, the memorandum included recommendations for organization and format of the new regulations. Recommendations were presented in the form of an annotated outline of the new code. The annotated outline illustrated the incorporation of zoning, subdivision, signs and other disparate regulations into the new code.

Period:     May 2000 - present               Contact:    Michael Sullivan
Team:       Duncan Associates                                  Project Manager
                Four Corners Planning                              505.599.1282