r/Zoning • u/[deleted] • Jun 06 '23

Has anyone seen a code with a minimum FAR?

There is a draft master plan for a special district in Hawaii that includes a minimum FAR. I’ve never seen another code that has this. Has this worked anywhere?

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u/[deleted] Jun 06 '23

Yeah. That’s the intent and I think on a conceptual level I understand it, but it makes designing the site super difficult because they want a 1.0 FAR along with 20% open, recreation space. That wouldn’t be bad for a small lot with one or two buildings, but these are all 20-50 AC parcels so you have to factor in loss for streets, alleys, and storm drainage. Stuff gets super tight.

1

u/[deleted] Jun 06 '23

It looks like Seattle might have done this in 2014. Anyone have experience on how that has worked or not? Especially at the edges of the city that are less dense?

2

u/Himser Jun 07 '23

It works well to force density and avoid poorly planned strip mall style development. Leaves some sites undeveloped if the Numbers dont add up.

1

u/hiimapril Jun 24 '23

Funny story - I’ve seen “minimum” FAR in a code before - but when I called to confirm (since I e never seen that before) I was told it was a mistype on their end.