Buffalo looks to adopt smart planning code

Steve Hawley, Jan 07, 09.

The City of Buffalo must reform its zoning code to foster economic development, according to this opinion piece written by City Commissioner for Economic Development Brian Reilly and appearing in the Buffalo News. The city adopted an award-winning comprehensive plan in 2006, but it is not detailed enough to ensure the success of specific projects.

For that to occur, the city must replace its zoning code, last updated in 1951, with a new “smart code” that focuses on mixed-use, walkable communities rather than just land use and density. The mayor created a city planner position in April 2008, and Reilly is optimistic that Buffalo can “look, work and feel like a 21st century city.” He concludes that “we must free current development from past encumbrances with not only a vision, but the finely tuned regulatory mechanisms for the development community to realize that vision.”