Community Design

Building Great Places: Form Based Code & Community Design

Form-based code is a simplified set of development regulations that keeps towns compact and walkable, rural lands open, and promotes good design of buildings and places. It is a way to combine the typically complex subdivision regs & zoning ordinances into an easy to understand, single document. Form-based code allows for growth that the community will value aesthetically and fiscally for decades.

EnvisionFranklinCounty promotes form-based code as a way to help our community make development choices that are financially sound for the long term. Strong Towns, a nonprofit committed to making communities economically prosperous and resilient, promotes these ideas nationally and is a great resource. Check out this 2016 Strong Town Presentation that Envision's Brent Sweger shared around Frankfort.

Here are some interesting information about using form-based code, sometimes called smart code:

• 6 Reasons Your City Needs a Form-Based Code

• Form Based Codes Institute

• Smart Code