At the March 27-28th Design Rodeo workshop, attendees saw the planning process at work and weighed in on this topic as it continues to come together. The information and questions below seek to continue this community dialogue. Add your thoughts, by Friday, May 31st.
Assumptions regarding the placement of future growth should be based on realities, such as the existing city limits, topography, flood zones, and available utilities. Below is one assessment by mapping these realities and taking into consideration the feedback from the DNA and Castroville Dreamin' phases of this process.
Through this analysis, a map of the resulting classification areas was created. These include Areas of Conservation, Stability, and Change. Review the draft map at the bottom of this page and share your insights on how this draft map could be improved.
The City, the ETJ, and the Floodplain
Every city has its city limits, of course, and also has an Extraterritorial Jurisdiction.
An Extraterritorial Jurisdiction (ETJ) is the area of land surrounding the current city limits that could opt to be annexed into the city limits someday.
Click to enlarge. Once enlarged, use the functions at the top right of the screen to zoom in, zoom out, etc.
The first two maps align the floodplain with the existing city limits and the Extraterritorial Jurisdiction (ETJ) boundaries, looking at topographic contour lines as well as an aerial satellite image. This can help identify ecologically sensitive areas as well as areas important for stormwater catchment and aquifer recharge. It can also identify areas where flooding will impede development, and where intentional open space for conservation could become new parkland.
The map on the right indicates the current limits of the water and wastewater lines, and existing utility infrastructure. One important dynamic to note when analyzing where future growth would best fit, is that far-flung development outside of the existing utility lines will require a significant financial investment to simply extend the lines out to the new development. In order to serve an area away from the existing coverage area, that expense will then become the financial burden of all who share in the utilities. In other words, by keeping new development near existing infrastructure, utility costs stay lower for everyone. Allowing far-flung new development to be served by existing utilities will incur higher costs for everyone. This helps identify the best places for immediate new growth.
Exisiting Parcels, Buildings, and Zoning
Click to enlarge. Once enlarged, use the functions at the top right of the screen to zoom in, zoom out, etc.
These maps are largely for reference, to understand what is currently on the ground. This first map details the individual parcels within Castroville city limits and the location of buildings within those parcels. This information relates to front yard, side yard, and rear yard setbacks that vary according to the zoning designation. The map demonstrates that in reality there are few standardized setbacks in Castroville.
The middle map highlights residential parcels that are 1/3 acre lots and larger, while all other residential lots (without color) are smaller than 1/3 acre.
The third map depicts the current zoning designations within the city limits of Castroville.
Resulting Area Classifications
Click to enlarge. Once enlarged, use the functions at the top right of the screen to zoom in, zoom out, etc.
These maps depict the configuration of developable land, based on the above analysis.
Areas designated as Areas of Conservation are in green, Areas of Stability are in blue, and Areas of Change are in brown. The area in yellow includes both the Downtown and the I-90 commercially-zoned area which reflect a different character than the surrounding single-family-zoned area.
The Area Classifications legend to the left includes a more elaborate description of the intended characteristics of these areas depicted in the first two maps.
Additionally, notice the small dotted circles on the first two maps. These are intended to represent a "walkshed": a walkable distance, where residents might be able to walk from their homes to nearby neighborhood-scale commercial businesses (such as a coffee shop, a restaurant, or a small office business.) Each walkshed becomes a "complete neighborhood" with a mix of daily uses nearby, easing traffic congestion across the town. As the maps depict, new development around existing Castroville could accommodate quite a few complete neighborhoods within small walksheds.
The third map, distinguishes the Downtown Core area type from the Highway Commercial area type along Hwy 90 and overlays the flood zones.
Thoughts & Recommendations
After looking into the previous analysis and Area Classifications, what are your thoughts?
Open for comment through May 31st.
