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Planning: general 🌇 Random Planning Thoughts (and Photos) Deserving No Thread Of Their Own

I think it's interesting how old-timey ads for shopping plazas make a big friggin' deal about the number of parking spaces.

Thruway Plaza.jpg


Lockport Shoping Center.jpg


Central Park Plaza.jpg


Smith Plaza.jpg


University Plaza.jpg


"Parking facilities are entirely adequate and having parked your car in this scientifically arranged parking area, you are immediately in the midst of a shopping center that is COMPLETE -- ready to serve every need." I remember University Plaza before most of it was demolished. There wasn't a single square inch of permeable surface anywhere on the site. Zero landscaping; just the building footprint and pavement.
 
Had you heard of "Transportation vandalism." ?

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Copied from Twitter posting
Strong Towns@StrongTowns·Aug 11
These gateway monuments stand at an entrance to Oklahoma University in Norman, Oklahoma. They're just one example of unique architecture throughout the campus. And this massive traffic signal blocking them is what we call "transportation vandalism."
 
Phew!

Doll wig manufacturers are a specifically permitted land use in all three of my industrial districts.

Justin Timberlake Eye Roll GIF by Agent M Loves Gifs
 
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We have an industrial area not far from my house that includes Big Cheese Rodent Factory, a provider of rodents in various forms for people with pet snakes and stuff. When they are processing you can tell by the smell of death coming from the area. They supposedly have a scrubber on their exhaust but if you're within a hundred feet or so you can smell it.

I wonder if "Rodent Processing" is a named use in the zoning?
 
I walked into the office a bit late today; not because I arrived late, ,but because I was sitting in my car, listening to an interesting interview with Richard Florida on Sirius XM's Canada Talks channel. (Even though I'm American, Canada Talks is one of the channels on my car infotainment presets.)
 
An older study out this way found that every SFD consumes an average of $1.83 in services for every $1.00 it pays in taxes. Not especially sustainable.
 
Gedunker said:
An older study out this way found that every SFD consumes an average of $1.83 in services for every $1.00 it pays in taxes. Not especially sustainable.
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In Ohio (at least for the last City I worked for there), the common use of local income tax usually compensates and can make it revenue positive.
 
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Best trolling of another city...

I'd like to place an adult vending machine at the splash pad (or park or library).
 
A couple questions to any planners from Continental Europe that might stumble on this post.

(1) Do suburban municipalities have any kind of architectural regulations? Are they common? Most suburban commercial development I've seen when Googledriving around various European cities looks kind of generic. I haven't seen the equivalent of the kind of development someone might see in a more tightly controlled American suburb.

For example, here's a big box home improvement store outside of Vienna, Austria. Maybe I'm not looking in the right places, but every big box store I've seen in the Euroburbs has this kind of prefab industrial look.



Here's one in France.



Meanwhile, here's a few examples of the same kind of use in some American suburbs.









(2) What's the deal with the big three-sided pole signs? The only store in North America that has that kind of signage is IKEA.

Zoom in on the scene from Vienna for a couple of examples.

(3) Roof signs also seem far more common in Euroburbs than in the States. Any reason why? I'd say the vast majority of American zoning codes ban roof signs, full stop.

France.



America.

 
Ever have one of those problems where the statute says give it to the clerk, but no one gave it to the clerk because all that stuff comes through planning and when you talk to the clerk about it they say they don't keep files like that so they would have no clue what to do with it. Yeah, I'm having one of those days right now and I just need to certifiy that this thing has been with the city since April.
 
Dan said:
(2) What's the deal with the big three-sided pole signs? The only store in North America that has that kind of signage is IKEA.

Zoom in on the scene from Vienna for a couple of examples.

(3) Roof signs also seem far more common in Euroburbs than in the States. Any reason why? I'd say the vast majority of American zoning codes ban roof signs, full stop.

France.
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I think you're absolutely right about roof signs. I remember a lot more multi-sided pole signs as kid. They were especially common around department stores and malls. We still have a four sided Kroger sign that has been modified a few times for whatever the latest grocer is occupying the space now. I'm guessing these are either banned many places, or they just aren't needed because two sides are cheaper and catch most traffic.
 
DVD said:
Ever have one of those problems where the statute says give it to the clerk, but no one gave it to the clerk because all that stuff comes through planning and when you talk to the clerk about it they say they don't keep files like that so they would have no clue what to do with it. Yeah, I'm having one of those days right now and I just need to certifiy that this thing has been with the city since April.
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Yep. Everything is supposed to "filed with the clerk" here. We fixed it by having the clerk post a notice that those things are "held by P and Z" on behalf of the clerk and may be viewed on request there. Though yesterday, while picking up my dept. mail in the Clerk's office, I realized there was a 2017 paper draft of the Comp. Plan "on file with the clerk" on their counter, undisturbed for over 5 years!
 
DVD said:
Ever have one of those problems where the statute says give it to the clerk, but no one gave it to the clerk because all that stuff comes through planning and when you talk to the clerk about it they say they don't keep files like that so they would have no clue what to do with it. Yeah, I'm having one of those days right now and I just need to certifiy that this thing has been with the city since April.
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Faust_Motel said:
Yep. Everything is supposed to "filed with the clerk" here. We fixed it by having the clerk post a notice that those things are "held by P and Z" on behalf of the clerk and may be viewed on request there. Though yesterday, while picking up my dept. mail in the Clerk's office, I realized there was a 2017 paper draft of the Comp. Plan "on file with the clerk" on their counter, undisturbed for over 5 years!
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AKA: P&Z/CD/etc. gets the 'job' because they're actually high functioning.
 
jumbach said:
We have a map file in our office marked "Hold for Pickup September 16, 1982." Should I try to get a hold of the architect to see if he still needs it?

City Hall has moved twice since then . . .
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In purging paper files I have found checks and stamped abutter envelopes dating to the early '90s but never anything from the 80s! Love it!
 
jumbach said:
We have a map file in our office marked "Hold for Pickup September 16, 1982." Should I try to get a hold of the architect to see if he still needs it?

City Hall has moved twice since then . . .
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You know as soon as you toss it, they'll be in to pick it up. :cool:
 
jumbach said:
We have a map file in our office marked "Hold for Pickup September 16, 1982." Should I try to get a hold of the architect to see if he still needs it?

City Hall has moved twice since then . . .
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That property has probably been redeveloped twice by now.
 
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