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Mixed-Use District

These are mixed use districts and may be designated for transit oriented development in cases where high capacity transit exists or is planned. Mixed use districts contain a mix (horizontal and vertical) of uses spanning some combination of the primary urban land use categories – retail, office employment, residential and lodging. Densities may vary, but generally most of the buildings in a mixed use district would be multi-story and there would be little or no single family detached housing.  All or most residential space would be in multifamily buildings, many of which would have other uses at ground level and perhaps on other levels as well. Mixed use districts generally would not have industrial land uses or any significant amount of warehousing or storage buildings. 

Mixed use area in Redmond
Credit: CAI
Boulder, CO mixed use development
Credit: CAI

Design considerations can be divided into three major categories:

  • Multimodal Corridor Planning deals with the design of the transportation network and its performance.
  • Site Planning involves site- and building-specific issues such as density, urban scale, and floor area ratio.
  • The Choices & Guidelines section encompasses numerous design matters including parking, setbacks, lighting, and drainage, among others.

For more information about design and the relationship between the public roadway and private property see the Design Tutorial.

Process considerations deal with the steps and procedures involved in the planning process. This manual addresses nine specific process areas.