DEPARTMENT: Planning
DEPARTMENT HEAD: Bridgett White, AICP
COUNCIL DISTRICTS IMPACTED: Citywide
SUBJECT:
A briefing and discussion on the SA Corridors Strategic Framework Plan, a component of the City’s Comprehensive Plan.
SUMMARY:
A briefing on the SA Corridors Strategic Framework Plan, an implementation component of the SA Tomorrow Comprehensive Plan.
BACKGROUND INFORMATION:
SA Corridors is a partnership with VIA Metropolitan Transit to study the twelve (12) primary transit corridors outlined in the City’s Comprehensive Plan and in the VIA Vision 2040 Plan. This collaborative effort is one of the initial steps to implement the Transportation Element of the SA Tomorrow Comprehensive Plan by establishing a conceptual framework that lays out the future urban form of San Antonio in the most equitable, sustainable, and efficient manner.
On November 18, 2014 the VIA Metropolitan Transit Authority Board of Trustees authorized the use of $250,000 to grant to the City’s Planning Department to contribute to the development of the SA Tomorrow Comprehensive Plan. The funds would be used to support the concept of developing a transit-supportive land use plan for key arterial corridors and activity centers. Through City Council Ordinance No. 2018-05-19-0370, which was adopted on May 19, 2016, the City Council authorized the Planning Department to execute a professional services agreement with Fregonese Associates, Inc. for consultant services to conduct a citywide corridor land use planning study to optimize land use and transit investments to support implementation of SA Tomorrow and VIA Vision 2040 planning efforts.
The scope was developed in concert with VIA and was designed to implement both the SA Tomorrow Comprehensive Plan and the VIA Vision 2040 Plan. The SA Corridors project is guided by the following principles:
• Provide a clear path forward for achieving SA Tomorrow goals and objectives
• Clearly demonstrate implementation of SA Tomorrow
• Engage the public in planning and visioning
• Raise awareness of transit as an urban amenity
The Planning Department implemented a community support infrastructure that included:
• Neighborhood Advisory Committee to provide high-level input on transit-supportive land use concepts and to assist in spreading awareness of the value of transit, transit-supportive housing, and development.
• Interagency Advisory Group to provide specialized technical input throughout the study.
Additionally, the Planning Department conducted an extensive public awareness and engagement campaign that included neighborhood association meetings, walkshops, community charrettes, area workshops, SA Tomorrow and SA Corridor Open Houses, VIA Corridor Study Workshops and Council District Community meetings.
The burgeoning partnership between the Planning Department and VIA demonstrates the high level of intergovernmental/interagency coordination and the collective recognition of the need to accommodate a portion of the region’s projected growth along high-capacity transit corridors. By taking this approach, VIA is supported by having access to additional market support for VIA’s services. Through detailed scenario modeling, the SA Corridors Framework Plan contains comprehensive recommendations for future land use plans along the study corridors that support appropriate land use planning and the efficient use of transit.
The final Framework Plan includes profiles of each of the twelve (12) study corridors including information about existing land use, population and recommended future land use. It also includes recommendations for city-wide strategies for how to encourage more transit-supportive development. The Framework Plan also contains sixteen (16) Station Area Concepts covering existing and future land use, recommended infrastructure improvements, zoning and affordable housing strategies, and renderings of potential future development patterns. The final component of the Framework Plan are two (2) detailed Station Area Plans that delve into greater detail on affordable housing strategies and zoning recommendations needed in station areas.
ISSUE:
The SA Corridors collaborative is a significant measure to support, and make more competitive, VIA’s applications for federal funding for transit projects. Prior to the adoption of the SA Tomorrow Comprehensive Plan, the City did not have adopted policies proactively supporting development patterns that accommodate projected growth and support high-capacity transit use.
Through SA Tomorrow and VIA Vision 2040 we have taken an important step toward a citywide future land use map by designating twelve (12) major corridors as areas where future growth should be concentrated, where appropriate, and that would serve to connect the City’s employment centers. SA Corridors aims to continue this work by developing a recommended future land use map and plan for the corridor areas that implements SA Tomorrow while considering the implications of said growth on the surrounding community areas. The recommended future land use will provide guidance for the current and next phases of the Comprehensive Planning Program, as well as, land use updates and amendments. Adoption of the SA Corridors Strategic Framework Plan will not amend existing adopted plans; however it should be consulted as a guide as land uses are evaluated along the identified twelve (12) corridors.
In order to realize SA Tomorrow's vision for growth and economic development around VIA's transit investments, the proper regulations and incentives will need to be in place. Thus, the Framework Plan recommends a toolbox of suggested policies, incentives, and regulations. The focus of the toolbox is on the necessary incentives that could bring private investment into community areas. Incentives can also encourage the development of new, more transit-supportive types of development that meet a range of desires and incomes. Regulations, primarily implemented through zoning, define what the market is allowed to build. As part of the SA Corridors project, zoning within the 12 corridors was audited for its ability to deliver transit-supportive development. Through this audit, it has been determined that the appropriate zoning tools are not yet available in the Unified Development Code; thus, requiring a set of amendments to provide options for transit supportive/oriented development.
ALTERNATIVES:
The SA Corridors Strategic Framework Plan is a collaborative effort between VIA and the City of San Antonio to support the implementation of SA Tomorrow and the Vision 2040 long range plans. At this time, the two agencies have not established an alternative scenario/plan.
FISCAL IMPACT:
There is no direct fiscal impact to the City of San Antonio related to the adoption of this Framework Plan.
RECOMMENDATION:
This is a briefing to the Comprehensive Planning Committee. The Planning Commission and City Council will formally consider the Framework plan at their September 27, 2017 and October 12, 2017 public hearings respectively.