Performance Standards

Generally

There are many different approaches to the regulation of the use and development of land. Each is positioned to address a different type of challenge. Performance standards are a regulatory approach that works well to:

• Protect the character of the built environment without prescribing a certain form;
• Protect natural resources, floodplains, and geologic features;
• Protect the functional integrity of streets;
• Promote land use compatibility where it is necessary or desirable to locate otherwise potentially conflicting uses near each other.

The performance approach was developed by Lane Kendig, who applied it in Bucks County, Pennsylvania, in 1973 and wrote the seminal book, Performance Zoning, in 1980. The approach has since been successfully implemented and continually refined across the country and establishes the foundation for the transect system in the SmartCode.

A Sophisticated Problem-Solving Approach

The performance approach represents a comprehensive way of thinking about the challenges of implementing land use plans through specific land development regulations. The approach is not a "one-size-fits-all" solution, but a way of ensuring that the full array of planning issues in a community are comprehensively addressed in its implementing regulations.

In our experience, land development (especially in the built environment) does not fit neatly into well-defined "boxes," such as those which are characteristic of traditional use and lot-size based "Euclidean" zoning. In built-up areas and in areas with sensitive environments, regulations ought to respect the existing condition (unless redevelopment is the desired outcome). That means that they must provide for flexible, context-sensitive decision making.

From its inception, the performance standards approach was designed to provide flexibility to designers and site planners, while ensuring quality outcomes. It can address all aspects of design, not just architecture or building form. It is designed to ensure the protection of natural resources and allow developers the necessary flexibility to design with the environment while, at the same time, making a reasonable return on their investment. Performance standards also promote protection and enhancement of community and development character for all types of communities (urban, suburban, or rural), while promoting diversity and affordability in housing.

Ready Integration Into "Hybrid Codes"

The performance approach differs from all other forms of zoning (Euclidian/Cookie Cutter, Conditional, and Form-Based) because it is based on standards that are designed specifically to meet a wide range of planning objectives. Performance standards directly address conflicts among land uses by eliminating and/or mitigating such conflicts, without necessarily dictating the precise design of new development or redevelopment.

The performance approach is readily integrated into modern "hybrid" codes, which combine multiple approaches to regulation. Kendig Keast Collaborative's expertise in developing performance standards is rooted in a problem-solving methodology that promotes the integration of any other tools that will be useful to our clients.

Beware the "Frankencode"

Kendig Keast Collaborative cautions that "Hybrid codes," as good as they sound in the abstract, can easily become collections of well-intentioned parts that do not work well together -- what we call a "Frankencode" -- if the drafters are not careful listeners who work with their clients to ensure a close fit between the perceived issue and the regulatory approaches that are used to address it. Our firm brings the breadth and depth of experience to ensure that all parts of a Hybrid code work together smoothly, making the end-product substantively useful and administratively practical.

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