Landscape, Architecture, and Parking Templates for Affordable and Accessible Housing

For my Masters in Urban and Regional Planning Capstone I completed a report on landscape, architecture, and parking templates and created sample templates for my client - the City of Pueblo, Colorado. The City of Pueblo’s Community Commission on Housing and Homelessness (CCHH) found that it is more difficult for developers to build affordable and accessible housing within the City of Pueblo due to local code requirements that increase development costs. This project focused on reducing development costs in the City of Pueblo in order to encourage the development of affordable and accessible housing by completing three objectives. The first was to explore the feasibility and effectiveness of providing pre-certified or non-certified landscape, architecture, and parking templates to developers to reduce their design and engineering costs. The second was to provide the City of Pueblo with policy recommendations concerning templates, ways to reduce development costs, and ways to encourage affordable and accessible housing development. The third objective was to conceptualize a potential template system by creating sample templates.

During the first phase of this project I explored whether or not providing a system of landscape, parking, and architecture templates to developers is a feasible and effective way to reduce development costs and encourage the development of affordable and accessible housing. To answer this question, I collected data and information through demographic and housing data sources, an academic literature review, a review of relevant policies, interviews with professionals and stakeholders, and an analysis of GIS data. Below are a few visualizations of some of the data I analyzed.

In this phase I also researched relevant case studies. The idea of creating a system of pre-certified templates available for developers to use to reduce architectural design costs and streamline the review process is fairly new and I did not find an example of a municipality that had done something similar. However, I did find case studies that each have a few similarities with pre-certified template systems. These case studies fall within four different categories:

During the final step in this phase of the project I made a pros and cons list for both pre-certified templates and non-certified templates based on the research I had compiled and the interviews I had conducted. One of the most prominent issues concerns the pros and cons of flexibility within templates. Pre-certified templates are less flexible and might not be adaptable enough to fit different contexts such as site layout or neighborhood aesthetic. For example, a lack of flexibility could mean a developer cannot build the maximum number of units possible on a lot. Every site has unique conditions that have the potential to make prescriptive pre-certified templates less feasible or even unusable. If, despite their lack of adaptability, pre-certified templates are used often regardless of site context, it may result in many developments throughout the city having the same aesthetic designs. On the other hand, the more flexible and customizable the templates are, the less effective they will be in reducing time or money spent on design and development review. This would defeat the purpose of providing templates to developers.

I developed policy recommendations during the second phase of the project. As part of this, I also developed four types of templates, two of which are pre-certified and two that are not. The primary recommendation and template types are below.

I also developed secondary recommendations for implementing a system of templates and for encouraging the development of affordable and accessible housing. They are as follows:

During the final phase of the project I made sample templates based on the feedback my client gave me on the four template types I described in the policy recommendations. I created a total of 13 templates. Four of these templates are Conceptual Pre-Certified Landscape Element Templates. These templatized elements are intended to inform the future development of pre-certified element templates that are available for developers to use in their site plans. The rest of the sample templates are all informational. They visualize parts of Pueblo’s local zoning code and other ideas and guidelines for multifamily housing development. These templates are intended to be a resource for developers to better understand local zoning requirements and locally encouraged development forms. I developed informational templates to describe architectural styles, landscape requirements, and site accessibility.

Conceptual Pre-Certified Landscape Element Templates

I made conceptual templates for three different elements: parking islands, landscape setback areas, and buffers. These templates were designed to meet the zoning code requirements for each element and were created based on the requirements outlined in Section 17-4-7 of Pueblo’s Code of Ordinances. Some elements have multiple templates to provide different aesthetic options. The four Conceptual Pre-Certified Landscape Element Templates are shown below

Informational Architectural Design Style Templates

There are three Informational Architectural Design Style Templates which describe three different architectural design styles commonly found in the City of Pueblo. These templates are shown below. Two of these styles – Mission/Mediterranean and National Park – are encouraged in Pueblo’s zoning code. The third style – Craftsman – is a common style found in residential areas of the city. These templates describe several common architectural elements that make up each style, though there is variation between different buildings of the same style.

Informational Landscape Site Requirement Templates

There are five Informational Landscape Site Requirement Templates which visually show different landscape elements and their requirements. The landscape requirements described in these templates are Landscaped Open Space, Parking Lot Screen, End Cap and Internal Islands, Landscape Setback Area, and Buffer. These templates are below.

Informational Accessible Site Design Template

Lastly, I made one Informational Accessible Site Design Template which describes several ways to make sites more accessible. Many of these ideas are based on requirements from the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). Any residential development that is funded, at least in part, by the federal government must comply with ADA requirements. Other ideas shown in this template are not ADA requirements and are simply suggestions or best practices found through internet searches. This template, shown below, is intended to be a resource for developers who would like to make their sites more accessible and inclusive.