10.4 TOOLS AND STRATEGIES OF THE CITY OF DENVER
10.4.4 Transit-Oriented Denver: Denver’s TOD Strategic Plan
Blueprint Denver recommends efficient land development, especially in the transit-rich Transit-Oriented Development Strategic Plan.
The Transit-Oriented Development (TOD) Strategic Plan identifies the actions needed to promote TODs in Denver. This plan aims to integrate the policies, goals, and
strategies addressed through multiple city departments in planning and promoting TODs. The strategic plan plays a vital role in different steps of TOD implementation, including providing a foundation to guide public and private investment at rail stations.
Denver’s Station Typology classifies each station area based on five characteristics:
“land use mix,” “street and block pattern,” “building placement and location,” “building heights,” and “mobility.” The plan distinguishes five place types: “Downtown,” “Urban Center,” “General Urban,” “Urban,” and “Suburban” typologies. Urban centers are provided with robust transit and designed as pedestrian-friendly environments. Urban centers have a mix of mid- to high-rise multifamily residential integrated with commercial buildings to intensify their roles as regional employment hubs.
Twenty-eight of Denver’s rail stations were quantitively evaluated by their market potential and readiness for development and placed into three categories along a TOD continuum. Strategize stations still require additional planning and visioning. Catalyze stations have strong market potential but are lacking in infrastructure or amenities to realize significant TOD. Energize stations have both strong market potential and are ready for TOD development. By organizing these 28 rail stations into these categories, Denver was able to highlight what city investments could result in the greatest return on public investment and catalyze the most development in these critical centers to
promote a polycentric development pattern throughout Denver.
10.5 CONCLUSION
The Denver region case study shows clear coordination of regional planning that utilizes multiple levels of government to enact a shared vision of urban centers that results in a polycentric development pattern. The various policies and tools used at both the regional and local levels of government support the growth of new centers and the intensification of existing centers, especially when located on RTD’s expanding regional rail transportation system.
Opposed to other metropolitan regions, DRCOG employs a bottom-up approach to growth management that relies heavily on voluntary compliance from its member jurisdictions. This effort has been most successful when the region’s MPO, transit authority and local jurisdictions work together to align resources to plan and develop connected urban centers. The RTD investments in the regional transit system and DRCOG funding of station area and urban center planning have been critical drivers in
the Denver region’s success in establishing a metropolitan area with multiple connected urban centers. The City and County of Denver’s policies illustrates the critical role
individual jurisdictions play in the region’s strategy to guide growth sustainably.
As the region’s primary city, Denver illustrates this collaborative approach to being strategic and intentional about where and how growth should be accommodated in the region. Denver has the most urban neighborhoods in the region with some of the largest infill development sites suited for high-density, mixed-use centers. Denver’s Comprehensive Plan 2040 and Blueprint Denver continue the city’s commitment to compact development patterns and striving to create great places at strategic locations tied closely with reliable, frequent, high-quality transit options.
10.6 DOCUMENTS REVIEWED IN THIS CHAPTER
• Blueprint Denver (2019). Retrieved from
https://www.denvergov.org/media/denvergov/cpd/blueprintdenver/Blueprint_Denver.pdf
• Comprehensive Plan 2040: Denver’s Plan for the Future (2019). Retrieved from
https://www.denvergov.org/content/dam/denvergov/Portals/Denveright/documents/comp-plan/Denver_Comprehensive_Plan_2040_city_council_draft.pdf
• Denver Transit-Oriented Development Strategic Plan. (2014) Retrieved from
https://www.denvergov.org/content/dam/denvergov/Portals/193/documents/TOD_Plan/TOD _Strategic_Plan_FINAL.pdf
• Denver Zoning Code (2010). Retrieved from
https://www.denvergov.org/content/dam/denvergov/Portals/646/documents/Zoning/DZC/Co mplete_Denver_Zoning_Code.pdf
• DRCOG 2012-2017 Transportation Improvement Program. Retrieved from
http://www3.drcog.org/documents/archive/Amended%202012-2017%20TIP%20Policy%20-%20Amended%20May%202013.pdf
• DRCOG 2020-2023 Transportation Improvement Program. Retreived from
https://drcog.org/sites/default/files/resources/Adopted%202020-2023%20TIP%20Policy.pdf
• DRCOG 2040 Metro Vision Regional Transportation Plan (2017). Retrieved from
https://drcog.org/sites/drcog/files/resources/FINAL%20-%202040%20MVRTP%20-%20April%202017.pdf
• DRCOG 2050 Metro Vision Regional Transportation Plan Draft 2050 Scenario Outcome Results (2020). Retrieved from
https://drcog.org/sites/default/files/event-
materials/REVISED%20Attachment%20D%20Presentation%20-Scenario%20results%20for%20March%2023%2C%202020%20TAC.pdf
• DRCOG Community Mobility Planning and Implementation (2019). Set-Aside FY 2020 and FY 2021 Projects Eligibility Rules and Selection Process. Retrieved from https://drcog.org/sites/default/files/CMPI_Eligibility_Rules_and_Selection_Process_Final.pdf
• DRCOG Metro Vision 2020 (1995). Vision Framework for the Denver Metropolitan Region.
Retrieved from
https://drcog.org/sites/drcog/files/resources/1995%20MV%20Framework%201b.pdf
• DRCOG Metro Vision 2040 (2017) https://indd.adobe.com/view/8bb0b608-d82e-44da-8303-e379416c7e5a
• DRCOG Metro Vision Idea Exchange. Retrieved from https://metrovision.drcog.org/in_practice/idea_exchanges/
• DRCOG Perspective on Transit in the Denver Region (2016). Retrieved from https://drcog.org/sites/default/files/resources/RPD-RP-WHOTOD-18-10-31-V15.pdf
• RTD FasTracks Commitment in Principle
http://www3.drcog.org/documents/archive/DRCOG%20FasTracks%20Review%20and%20D etermination%20Report%20-%20April%2023.pdf
• RTD FasTracks Strategic Plan for TOD (2010). Retrieved from https://www.rtd-denver.com/sites/default/files/files/2019-08/rtd-tod-fastracks-strategic-plan-2010.pdf
• RTD First and Last Mile Strategic Plan (2019). Retrieved from https://www.rtd-denver.com/sites/default/files/files/2019-07/FLM-Strategic-Plan_06-10-19.pdf
• RTD First and Last Mile Strategic Plan (2019). Retrieved from https://www.rtd-denver.com/sites/default/files/files/2019-07/FLM-Strategic-Plan_06-10-19.pdf
• RTD Regional BRT Network Feasibility Study (2019). Retrieved from https://www.rtd-denver.com/sites/default/files/files/2020-03/RTD-regional-BRT-feasibility-study.pdf
• RTD TOD Evaluation Guidelines (2018). Retrieved from
https://www.rtd-denver.com/sites/default/files/files/2018-08/tod-evaluation-guidelines-2018.pdf
• RTD TOD Status Report (2019). https://www.rtd-denver.com/sites/default/files/files/2020-05/2019-TOD-status-report.pdf
• RTD Transit-Oriented Development Design Criteria (2012). RTD FasTracks. Retrieved from https://www.rtd-denver.com/sites/default/files/files/2018-08/tod-design-criteria-rtd-final.pdf
11.0 CASE STUDY OF POLYCENTRIC DEVELOPMENT
STRATEGIES IN SEATTLE, WA
11.1 INTRODUCTION
Although less renowned than its neighbor to the South, Portland, OR, in terms of
innovative planning practice, Seattle, WA, is also unique in its regional planning history.
Similar to the history of Portland and LUTRAQ, Washington adopted the Washington State Growth Management Act (GMA) in 1990. This legislation sought to facilitate coordination between varying levels of government to restrain uncontrolled growth.
Principally, GMA works by requiring counties of a certain size or growth rate to develop comprehensive plans and regulations that are aligned with specific goals mandated by the GMA. Cities within these counties are also required to produce comprehensive plans that are in accordance with the county plans. The GMA contains 14 explicit goals, the first three of which are most pertinent to the focus of this research. These include: 1) focusing growth in existing urban areas, 2) reducing low-density sprawling development, and 3) encouraging efficient multimodal transportation. The acknowledgement of these priorities within the GMA indicates that officials were considering the basic principles of polycentric development, hoping to facilitate this style over the conventional sprawling development patterns that dominated the period in which the legislation was passed.
An important aspect of the GMA is the framework that it designates for shared responsibility in planning between multiple levels of government. This shared responsibility, or collaboration, is depicted in the Washington State Planning Framework, which is modeled below in Figure 11.1.
Figure 11.1: Washington State Planning Framework
In this case study we use interviews coupled with review of policy and legal documents to identify tools for facilitating polycentric development in the Seattle region. We
interviewed representatives from the region’s transit agency, the City of Seattle, and the
metropolitan planning organization. Interviewees outlined the ways that their organizations promote polycentric development using explicit policies, funding mechanisms, and programs. We dive deeper into these tools through analysis of supporting documents to complete the picture of agency facilitation of polycentric development patterns. Below, we enumerate our efforts interviewing and reviewing documents for this case study.
Table 11.1: Number of officials interviewed and documents reviewed
Organization Officials Interviewed Documents Reviewed
City of Seattle One Three
Puget Sound Regional Council One Two
Sound Transit One One