FROM OPPORTUNITY TO ORDINANCE: EMBRANCING MIXED-USE ZONING IN GILBERT

Take-Away: Strategies and opportunities for implementing mixed-use zoning and encouraging mixed-use development in traditionally suburban places.

Description: The Town of Gilbert has entered a new frontier of its planning history - 150% growth since 2000, little remaining undeveloped and agricultural land, and rising demand for infill development. The Town embraced a time-tested idea to prepare for its growing future: mixed-use development. On the heels of codifying the Town’s first citywide mixed-use zoning ordinance, planners will discuss the history of mixeduse zoning in Gilbert and challenges of creating mixed-use development confronting suburban communities. Presenters will provide insights into how planners balanced political pressures and planning goals to take a set of mixed-use zones from an opportunity to codified ordinance. Participants will have an opportunity to join breakout sessions to discuss the merits and challenges of creating mixed-use developments in their own communities.