PROJECT NEWS

8/10/10> City Council and County Commission Adopt New Unified Development Ordinance
Download the adopted version (17MB) click here.

6/10/10> LUCB Public Hearing Draft
Draft approved by the LUCB on June 10, 2010. Download here.

5/28/10> Public Hearing Draft
Public hearing draft of UDC, including amendments for consideration by the LUCB (5.7 MB) <click here>

5/26/09> LUCB Public Hearing
LUCB public hearing of UDC: Thursday, May 28 at 5:00PM. A summary of the UDC is now available <click here>

5/12/09> Public Review Draft UDC
Public Review Draft of the Unified Development Code has been posted.

2/4/09> Draft Fischer Steel Plan
Over 60 people attended a presentation of the Fischer Steel Plan. The presentation was held at the Advent Presbyterian Church. For a copy of the plan see the list of project documents.

9/26/08> Fischer Steel Charrette
The Fischer Steel charrette was an overwhelming success. For charrette work products see the list of project documents. The next step will be preparation of a formal plan for the area.

9/09/08> Fischer Steel Area Plan
The dates for the Fischer Steel Area Plan charrette have been set. The six-day charrette will begin Friday September 19th and will end Wednesday September 24th. For further information click here.

9/01/08> Staff Review
Staff has finished its initial review of the draft UDC. The consultant is currently making staff recommended changes. A public review draft will be available in early 2009.

10/30/07> New Review Draft Available
A revised version of the draft UDC is available for downloading and review.

7/03/07> Committee Review
A staff draft of the UDC is available for review. The steering committee will discuss the draft on July 26-27.

4/16/07> Staff Review Draft
A draft of the UDC is currently being reviewed by City/County staff.

2/02/07> New Broad Avenue Code
The draft districts for Broad Avenue are finally ready for public review.

12/18/06> Medical Overlay District (-MO)
A new overlay district has been adopted. The overlay is intended to act has a stop-gap measure until adoption of the full UDC.

4/18/06> Broad Avenue Master Plan
The Broad Ave Charrette Report and Master Plan has been released for public review and discussion. The Plan was presented to the general public on April 18th at First Baptist Broad Church.

3/27/06> Medical District
Lee Einsweiler and Colin Scarff were in town to discuss zoning changes for the Medical District and the creation of a new mixed use commercial district.

2/3/06> Broad Avenue Planning Initiative
Duncan Associates and Ferrell Madden Associates just conducted a very successful charrette for the Broad Avenue Corridor. For further information please go to the project web site

12/5/05> Form-Based Code Site Announced
After much deliberation the master plan form-based code site has been selected. The week long Broad Avenue Planning Initiative Charrette is scheduled for January 27, 2006. For more information click here

10/20/05> Module 2: Committee Workshop
Duncan Associates held the second Committee workshop over Module 2 (Districts & Uses) of the new development code. The module is a working draft and is still in the preliminary stages. Over the next couple months, current planning projects will be used as test cases for the proposed district regulations.

8/17/05> Module 1: Committee Workshop
Duncan Associates held the first Committee workshop over Module 1 (Administration) of the unified development code. A preview of Module 2 (Districts and Uses) was also presented. Potential form-based code sites were also discussed.

5/25/05> Form-Based Code Workshop
On May 23 and 24, 2005 Duncan Associates was in town to conduct a series of form-based code workshops. The workshops were conducted by Geoffrey Ferrell and Mary Madden of Ferrell Madden Associates. Ferrell Madden Associates is a nationally recognized firm that specializes in form-based coding. The workshops explained the principals behind form-based coding and examples were presented of how this technique has been used in various parts of the country to help stimulate urban redevelopment. At least three areas in Memphis are being considered for this technique, including a transit node along the proposed light rail line, an abandoned retail mall and a neighborhood center in Midtown Memphis.

4/18/05> Critique Presentation
Duncan Associates presented the critique to the Land Use Control Board, the City Council and the Board of County Commissioners. The critique was very well received. Drafting will occur in modules based on the recommendations of the Land Use Control Board, City Council and Board of County Commissioners and will posted as soon as they become publicly available.

4/6/05> Equitable Growth Summit
Duncan Associates was in Town on March 29th to participate in Mayor AC Wharton's Equitable Growth Summit, which was held at the Memphis Botanic Garden. Lee Einsweiler, the project manager, presented the critique to members of the general public and discussed the next steps in the process.

3/2/05> Critique
The critique of the existing development regulations has been completed. The report identifies opportunities for improving regulations that primarily address zoning and subdivision and will help the City/County and consultant reach agreement on regulatory approaches before beginning the drafting process. In a sense, the critique will serve as the “road map” for regulatory changes. Major changes in direction in the midst of the drafting process result in wasted time, effort, and overall frustration. On the other hand, having clear policy direction will enable the drafting process to occur efficiently and result in a better finished product.

10/10/04> Project Kick-off
The Duncan Associates team was in Memphis between October 4th and 7th for a very successful series of stakeholder interviews. A cross-section of those who handle the existing regulations (City and County staff) and those affected by any changes (attorneys, land owners, developers, builders, engineers, architects, planners, etc.) provided their initial concerns regarding the existing regulations. Representatives of the six cities outside the jurisdiction of Memphis and Shelby County were also consulted. The team toured the city and county to get an idea about current development activity, and the affect of existing regulations.