Planning 2011-12-15 COMPLETE AGENDA PACKET

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Southcenter Plan Book 1: Community Intent 1.1. ORIENTATION This Plan is both an implementation and a policy document, in that it is intended as a strategy for change and as a regulatory policy to guide and govern future development within Tukwila's urban center, Southcenter. This Subarea Plan establishes a planning and design framework to further the vitality, functionality, and sustainability of the Southcenter area in accordance with market forces and the community's vision for its primary commercial district. Book 1 of the Plan describes the community's aspirations for Southcenter, and the physical outcomes that the Plan is intended to orchestrate as new investment creates change. This first section of the Plan also outlines the means by which the community intends to support and promote the realization of the vision of the future Southcenter. Finally, Book 1 is intended to provide guidance for actions not specifically covered by the development regulations or city actions that are contained in Books II and III of this Plan. This plan recognizes a set of integrated principles that have produced the best places and cities throughout the world. In Book I, these principles are translated into objectives and short term strategies directing reinvestment and new development that successfully transitions Southcenter from a suburban to a more urban center. The planning principles for great cities are as follows: Make greatstreets. Street design dictates the form of individual blocks and buildings that enclose each streetscape. "Complete streets" provide for pedestrian comfort, bicycle safety and automobile movement according to their location and necessary function in the overall area. Streets of various types are designed to further improve pedestrian crossing safety and balance automotive speed with the needs of non motorized transportation. Where appropriate, streets have on- street parking in order to provide a buffer between the moving traffic and the pedestrian, thus diminishing perceived and actual danger. Further, in key commercial environments, on- street parking plays a critical role in the daily and long -term viability of businesses. Break up the super blocks. The most effective redevelopments will be those that retrofit the streets, blocks and lots to provide a compact, connected, walkable mix of uses and housing types. Retrofitting the underlying layout of the streets and blocks transitions auto oriented suburban patterns and behaviors into more sustainable ones. A fine network of interconnected streets, rather than super blocks and limited number of roadways, encourages pedestrian movement. Such a network also provides multiple routes that diffuse traffic, increasing the options for travel to various destinations, improving safety response time and creating alternatives for emergency access. 1 Adapted from the Santa Ana Renaissance Specific Plan, 2007 W: \Long Range Projects \Southcenter Plan \Plan 2011 \Book 1 \FINAL Book 1_12.7.2011_PC.dou Page 1 12/7/2011 5