The city’s 62-year-old zoning code and land use policies are being remolded. The place-based economic development strategy intends to give Buffalo a blue print to follow when it comes to building a better Buffalo.

“The Buffalo Green Code is a significant accomplishment that will revolutionize the way Buffalo does business,” said Mayor Byron Brown at a press announcement in Larkinville yesterday. “As we continue to build a city of opportunity in Buffalo, where over $5.5 billion in new economic development activity and job growth is underway, we are rewriting Buffalo’s development DNA and the impact of this new zoning ordinance will be seen in more vibrant and pedestrian-friendly neighborhoods, in buildings that fit our historic city patterns, and in a more common sense approach to the process for those who build and live within our city. The Green Code is a complete overhaul of the existing zoning code, and from beginning to end, we listened to over 5,000 residents, neighborhood groups, businesses, and public and private institutions. This document represents the best ideas, creates more modern development standards, and preserves and builds upon Buffalo’s strengths as a great 21st century city that can compete head-to-head with any city in this country.”

Brendan Mehaffy, Executive Director of Strategic Planning, filing the #GreenCode with the Common Council today! pic.twitter.com/PVFgqukn04 — Buffalo Green Code (@newbuffalocode) October 22, 2015

Upon acceptance of the Green Code Draft Generic Environmental Impact Statement at a Common Council meeting in November, the document will then enter into a formal public review and comment period (State Environmental Quality Review Act – SEQRA). From there the Office of Strategic Planning will review all comments and concerns, before being adopted.

“At the direction of Mayor Brown, the city’s Office of Strategic Planning implemented an unprecedented community outreach program to engage residents to provide their vision for Buffalo for the next 20 years,” said Brendan Mehaffy, executive director of the Office of Strategic Planning. “The submittal of the Green Code to the Common Council is the culmination of hundreds of community meetings and participation by more than 5,000 residents and stakeholders in the Green Code process. We now enter the final phase of this rigorous process during which we will work to ensure the public remains actively engaged so the final product best represents the vision of the community.”

“The Green Code will help move the needle in our economic development efforts, while embracing a smart growth vision for Buffalo,” said Howard Zemsky, Empire State Development Corp. “I applaud Mayor Byron Brown for taking on this zoning reboot, which will remove regulatory barriers to investment and entrepreneurship in our historic neighborhoods. Now, it’s time to get the new code adopted!”

“The Buffalo Green Code is the product of over five years of effort, a true collaboration between citizens and City Hall. Mayor Brown, along with other visionary elected leaders in the Common Council, saw the importance of reforming a broken development system—over 1,800 pages of confusing, contradictory legalese that hadn’t been significantly updated since 1953,” said Chuck Banas, Chuck Banas Design. “A product of the 1950s, the old code was designed to suburbanize the city, and makes most of Buffalo’s compact, walkable, mixed-use neighborhoods illegal. For decades, it has been too difficult for the city to build the very kind of neighborhoods the people of Buffalo have consistently stated they want to enhance and build more of, the kind of neighborhoods that make Buffalo the great place it is. The Green Code is a giant leap forward for Buffalo, only the third city in the nation to undertake such comprehensive reform. The new code will honor Buffalo’s grand legacy while helping to make the city competitive in the 21st century.”

Tim Tielman of the Campaign for Greater Buffalo, History & Culture, said, “Perhaps nothing has done more damage to the character of Buffalo, its small businesses, and its building stock than the intolerably dated 1953 zoning code. For generations, it has forced anyone who would build a new home or business, or to expand a business or institution, to knock down and pave over more of the city than anyone would need or want. This has steadily eroded the character and viability of our neighborhoods and business districts for longer than most of us have been alive. We see pictures of pre-1953 Buffalo and see a city of opportunity—people filling the sidewalks, streets lined with stores, houses, buildings. The purpose of the 1953 law seemed to be to get rid of all that, to simply pave the way for more paving. We feel the loss daily. It weighs on us because current zoning prohibits such a city from rising again. The Green Code rectifies that mistake. Now, we can have buildings and businesses again, instead of paving. Housing instead of paving. Public space instead of paving. People instead of paving. Green instead of gray.”

Bernice Radle of Buffalo’s Young Preservationists stated, “The Green Code will help attract investment, retain and grow a talented workforce, and, most importantly, make it possible again to build great neighborhoods, based on the timeless principles that have made Buffalo the great city that it is. The new code, with reforms like the elimination of off-street parking minimums and the adaptive reuse permit, will make it even easier to preserve what we love about Buffalo. We applaud Mayor Byron Brown for moving forward on this historic initiative, and urge the Common Council to speedily adopt the new code.”

“Elmwood Village Association has worked many years with the community and City to develop a progressive building code that allows the city to continue our wonderful growth and we are pleased to see the results coming to fruition,” said Carly Battin, executive director, Elmwood Village Association.

“Members of my firm, including myself, have been honored to participate in professional forums and focus groups throughout the development of the Green Code,” said Joy Kuebler, Kuebler Landscape Architects. “As landscape architects and urban designers, we are thrilled with the way the Green Code prioritizes the public realm as a critical component of the built urban environment. The Green Code provides a straightforward framework that ensures each new development will not only contribute to, but will noticeably enhance the quality of life between buildings in Buffalo, New York.”

“This form-based code makes it certain that appropriately scaled and designed buildings will be built in context of existing storefronts on Amherst Street,” said Mark Kubiniec, Grant Amherst Business Association. “Our neighborhood business district will have the pedestrian streetscape maintained and enhanced. We look forward to businesses continuing to open here in Grant-Amherst with a new code that is clear and fair to everyone.”

“Partners for a Livable Western New York applauds Mayor Brown, Executive Director of Strategic Planning Brendan Mehaffy, the staff of the Office of Strategic Planning, and all of the citizens of this city who participated in the process, for the monumental effort in putting together the Green Code,” said George R. Grasser, executive director, Partners for a Livable Western New York. “It is no secret that there is a brighter future for cities and neighborhoods all over America that have adopted form-based zoning codes—codes that recognize how buildings relate to the street and to one another is more important than how fast vehicles move through or how much of the neighborhood is consumed with parking. We urge the Common Council, after due deliberation, to adopt the Green Code and send the message that Buffalo is a national leader in creating vibrant places and neighborhoods.”

“The Green Code creates a clear and graphically elegant blueprint that outlines zoning obligations and possibilities,” said Barbara Rowe, president, Vision Niagara. “Vision Niagara is excited and optimistic about implementation of the Green Code – a code that looks behind while moving forward to solidify Buffalo’s future.”

“We’re pleased to see the Office of Strategic Planning, led by Mayor Byron Brown, taking a proactive approach that is responsive to citizen’s needs,” said Nick Sinatra, president and founder, Sinatra & Company. “People in Buffalo want to walk to a corner store, have easy access to transit alternatives, and know the city will hear proposals on commercial activity through a lens of possibility, and not the restrictions of a code developed in a different time. We applaud the extraordinary amount of hours that have been put into this project, and are looking forward to examining it closely.”

“We at the Wilson Street Urban Farm are excited to see Buffalo’s Green Code move forward,” said Mark and Janice Stevens, Wilson Street Urban Farm. Its recognition of urban market gardens as a viable use of vacant land validates the time and energy we have put into our farm, and gives us hope and promise that green spaces like ours and many others will become more commonplace in healthy and vibrant neighborhoods throughout the city.”

“The local brewing and distilling industry applauds the Mayor for pursuing this forward-looking initiative,” said Ethan Cox, president, Community Beer Weeks. “Buffalo’s Green Code will enable small, craft operations like ours the siting flexibility needed to operate and grow as vibrant members of the community we serve.”

The Green Code will be available at www.buffalogreencode.com, the Office of the City Clerk at Buffalo City Hall (#1302) and all Buffalo public library locations.

Lead image: By Seth Amman | Post photos: Rachacha