4.1.1

Within the G-4 Infill Growth Sector of the Regional Plan (Article 2), or other areas designated as infill, the Planning Office shall prepare, or have prepared on its behalf, Infill Regulating Plans to guide further development. Infill Regulating Plans shall be prepared in a process of public consultation subject to approval by the Planning Commission.

4.1.2

Infill Regulating Plans shall regulate, at minimum, an area the size of the pedestrian shed commensurate with its community unit type as listed in Section 4.2. The Planning Department shall determine a community unit type based on existing conditions and intended evolution in the plan area.

4.1.3

Infill Regulating Plans shall consist of one or more maps showing the following:

A.

The outline(s) of the pedestrian shed(s) and the boundaries of the community unit(s).

B.

Transect zones and any civic zones within each pedestrian shed, assigned according to an analysis of existing conditions and future needs.

C.

A Thoroughfare Network, existing or planned (Table 3A, Table 3B).

D.

Any special districts (Section 4.5).

E.

Any special requirements (Section 4.7).

F.

A record of any warrants or variances.

4.1.4

Within any area subject to an approved Infill Regulating Plan, this Code becomes the exclusive and mandatory regulation. Property owners within the plan area may submit building scale plans under Article 5 in accordance with the provisions of this Code. Building scale plans requiring no variances shall be approved administratively by the CRC.

4.1.5

The owner of a parcel, or abutting parcels, consisting of 7 acres or more of contiguous lots within an area subject to an Infill Regulating Plan may apply to prepare a Special Area Plan. In consultation with the Planning Office, a Special Area Plan may assign new Transect Zones, Civic Zones, Thoroughfares, special districts and/or special requirements as provided in this Code, with appropriate transitions to abutting areas. Special Area Plans may be approved by warrant.

4.1.6

The owner of a parcel, or abutting parcels, consisting of 30 acres or more of contiguous lots, whether inside or outside an area already subject to an Infill Regulating Plan, may initiate the preparation of a new community plan. New community plans for the G-4 Sector, or other areas designated as infill by the Planning Office, shall regulate, at minimum, an area the size of the pedestrian shed commensurate with its community unit type as listed in Section 4.2, even if it overlaps adjacent parcels. Both the site and plan area should connect and blend with surrounding urbanism.

4.2.1

Infill Regulating Plans shall encompass one or more of the following community unit types. The allocation percentages of Table 10 a. do not apply.

4.2.2

Infill TND (Traditional Neighborhood Development).

A.

An infill TND should be assigned to neighborhood areas that are predominantly residential with one or more mixed use corridors or centers. An infill TND shall be mapped as at least one complete standard pedestrian shed, which may be adjusted as a network pedestrian shed, oriented around one or more existing or planned common destinations.

B.

The edges of an infill TND should blend into adjacent neighborhoods and/or a downtown without buffers.

4.2.3

Infill TOD (Transit Oriented Development).

A.

Any infill TND on an existing or projected rail or Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) network may be redesignated in whole or in part as TOD and permitted the higher density represented by the effective parking allowance in Section 5.9.2D.

B.

The use of a TOD overlay shall be approved by variance.

4.3.1

Transect Zone standards for Infill Regulating Plans should be calibrated by means of a survey of exemplary existing and intended conditions, as identified in a process of public consultation and subject to the approval of the Planning Commission. Metrics shall be recorded on Table 10 and Table 11.

4.3.2

A Transect Zone shall include elements indicated by Article 3, Article 5, and Article 6.

4.4.1

General.

A.

Infill plans should designate Civic Space Zones (CS) and Civic Building Zones (CB).

B.

A Civic Zone may be permitted by warrant if it does not occupy more than 20% of a pedestrian shed, otherwise it is subject to the creation of a special district. See Section 4.5.

C.

Parking provisions for Civic Zones shall be determined by warrant.

4.4.2

Civic Space Zones (CS).

A.

Civic Spaces shall be generally designed as described in Table 9, their type determined by the surrounding or adjacent Transect Zone in a process of public consultation subject to the approval of the Planning Commission.

4.4.3

Civic Building Zones (CB).

A.

Civic buildings shall be permitted by variance in any Transect Zone or by warrant on Civic Zones reserved in the Infill Regulating Plan.

B.

Civic buildings shall not be subject to the requirements of Article 5. The particulars of their design shall be determined by warrant.

4.5.1

Areas that, by their intrinsic size, function, or configuration, cannot conform to the requirements of any Transect Zone or combination of zones shall be designated as special districts by the Planning Office in the process of preparing an infill plan. Conditions of development for special districts shall be determined in public hearing of the Planning Commission and Town Council and recorded on Table 11.

4.6.1

Existing buildings and appurtenances that do not conform to the provisions of this Code may continue in the same use and form until a substantial modification occurs or is requested, at which time the Consolidated Review Committee (CRC) shall determine the provisions of this section that shall apply.

4.6.2

The modification of existing buildings is permitted by right if such changes result in greater conformance with the specifications of this Code.

4.6.3

Where buildings exist on adjacent lots, the CRC may require that a proposed building match one or the other of the adjacent setbacks and heights rather than the provisions of this Code.

4.6.4

Any addition to or modification of a building of value that has been designated as such by the Town of Ridgeland Municipal Code or to a building actually or potentially eligible for inclusion on a State, Local or National Historic Register, shall be subject to approval by the Town of Ridgeland Town Administrator.

4.6.5

The restoration or rehabilitation of an existing building shall not require the provision of (a) parking in addition to that existing or (b) on-site stormwater retention/detention in addition to that existing. Existing parking requirements that exceed those for this Code may be reduced as provided by Tables 6 and 7.

4.7.1

An infill community plan may designate any of the following special requirements:

A.

A differentiation of the thoroughfares as A-grid and B-grid. Buildings along the A-grid shall be held to the highest standard of this Code in support of pedestrian activity. Buildings along the B-grid may be more readily considered for warrants allowing automobile-oriented standards. The frontages assigned to the B-grid shall not exceed 30% of the total length of frontages within a pedestrian shed.

B.

Designations for mandatory and/or recommended retail frontage requiring that a building provide a shopfront at sidewalk level along the entire length of its private frontage. The shopfront shall be no less than 70% glazed in clear glass and shaded by an awning overlapping the sidewalk as generally illustrated in Table 4 and specified in Article 5. The first floor shall be confined to retail use through the depth of the second layer. (Table 12 d.)

C.

Designations for mandatory and/or recommended gallery frontage, requiring that a building provide a permanent cover over the sidewalk, either cantilevered or supported by columns. The gallery frontage designation may be combined with a retail frontage designation.

D.

Designations for mandatory and/or recommended arcade frontage, requiring that a building overlap the sidewalk such that the first floor facade is a colonnade. The arcade frontage designation may be combined with a retail frontage designation.

E.

A designation for coordinated frontage, requiring that the public frontage (Table 3A) and private frontage (Table 4) be coordinated as a single, coherent landscape and paving design.

F.

Designations for mandatory and/or recommended terminated vista locations, requiring that the building be provided with architectural articulation of a type and character that responds visually to the location, as approved by the CRC.

G.

A designation for cross block passages, requiring that a minimum 8-foot-wide pedestrian access be reserved between buildings.

H.

A designation for buildings of value, requiring that such buildings and structures may be altered or demolished only in accordance with Town of Ridgeland Municipal Code.

4.7.2

Source water protection standards:

A.

An Infill Community Plan must adhere to the distance (no closer than 100 feet) and contaminants of concerns in relation to existing production wells in the Town of Ridgeland. Source water protection standards area as set forth in Ridgeland Code Chapter 51.