Urban Development Area Planning Grants

In 2007, the General Assembly added Section 15.2-2223.1 to the Code of Virginia requiring high growth localities to designate Urban Development Areas (UDAs) in their comprehensive plans by 2011. UDAs are intended to improve the coordination between transportation and land use.

They are areas of reasonably compact development that can accommodate 10 to 20 years of projected growth and incorporate the principles of new urbanism and traditional neighborhood design.* Properly designated, designed and implemented UDAs can help reduce transportation needs and associated improvement costs. Successful transportation systems manage costs and demand by balancing mobility and proximity.

This grant program provides on-call consultant services to local governments to:

Analyze future growth patterns
Plan for and designate at least one urban development area on their comprehensive plan
Revise applicable local land use ordinances to incorporate the principles of new urbanism and traditional neighborhood design

The Office of Intermodal Planning and Investment intends to hire on-call consultants to assist local governments with these efforts. The consultants will be available to perform work for one year with a possible extension for up to one year. The following services can be provided by the consultants: (i) land use planning; (ii) scenario analysis; (iii) public and stakeholder outreach; (iv) guidance on new urbanism and traditional neighborhood design planning principles; (v) create small area plans; (vi) transportation planning; (vii) drafting amendments to the zoning and subdivision ordinances to accommodate new urbanism type development, and, other related comprehensive planning activities.

The grant program consists of two tiers. The program does not require any local matching funds. However, local governments that accept a grant will be expected to revise their comprehensive plans to incorporate at least one urban development area and revise their zoning and subdivision ordinances to incorporate the principles of new urbanism and traditional neighborhood design. Local governments that do not designate at least one urban development area and meet the other requirements of grant program outlined below within the allowable time frames will be required to reimburse the state for cost of the consultant services.

Grants will be accepted from Oct. 15, 2009, to Nov. 16, 2009, and should be submitted at UDAGrants@vdot.virginia.gov. Applications may be downloaded by clicking here.

The application should include a one-page summary that outlines the goals and vision the locality hopes to accomplish through the use of the grant, including positive impacts to transportation needs. Detailed information on the grants is below.

Tier 1 Grants

Grant awards will be at least $50,000 of consultant time, with the ability to request an additional $50,000, depending on the needs of the locality.
Grants will be awarded on a first come, first serve basis, with up to 20 grants awarded during this initial solicitation.
Local governments shall, within six months of full utilization of the grant or two years after award of the grant, whichever takes place sooner:
- Designate at least one urban development area in their comprehensive plan
- Revise their zoning ordinance to create a classification that allows for the implementation of the principles of new urbanism and traditional neighborhood design
- Revise their subdivision ordinance to include regulations that will accommodate the special characteristics of this design
Local governments shall also analyze and demonstrate the transportation benefits expected to be realized from the designation of the UDA compared to transportation needs if the UDA were not designated.
A public participation process shall be implemented.
Local governments may also, grant award permitting, create small area plans for all or a portion of the UDA and analyze the specific traffic impacts of such plan. In the development of such small area plans. the locality shall consult with the private landowners whose properties will be impacted by the small area plan.

Tier 2 Grants

Grant awards will be for up to $300,000 of consultant services.
Grants will be competitive, with awards announced within 30 days after receipt of applications. Up to six grants will be awarded during this initial solicitation.
Local governments shall, within six months of full utilization of the grant or two years after award of the grant, whichever takes place sooner:
- Designate at least one urban development area in their comprehensive plan
- Devise their zoning ordinance to create a classification that allows for the implementation of the principles of new urbanism and traditional neighborhood design
- Revise their subdivision ordinance to include regulations that will accommodate the special characteristics of this design.
Local governments shall also analyze and demonstrate the transportation benefits expected to be realized from the designation of the UDA compared to transportation needs if the UDA were not designated.
A public participation process shall be implemented.
Local governments shall create small area plans for all or a portion of the UDA and analyze the specific traffic impacts of such plan. In the development of such small area plans, the locality shall consult with the private landowners whose properties will be impacted by the small area plan.
Applications that involved transit-oriented and transit-ready developments are preferred.

*New urbanism, traditional neighborhood development creates a neighborhood or community design with qualities of a traditional small town, combining a mix of uses that may include retail establishments, offices, civic buildings, public squares, and different housing types, all in walking distance of one another. These developments may include a variety of buildings and land use densities along the same street. Street layout may follow a grid pattern using narrow streets having multiple connections to surrounding neighborhoods.

Some of the key attributes of a small town that are replicated in new urbanism development design include: (i) pedestrian-friendly road design, (ii) interconnection of new local streets with existing local streets and roads, (iii) connectivity of road and pedestrian networks, (iv) preservation of natural areas and public open spaces, (v) satisfaction of requirements for stormwater management, (vi) mixed-use neighborhoods, including mixed housing types and integration of residential, retail, office and commercial development, (vii) reduction of front and side yard building setbacks, (viii) reduction of subdivision street widths and turning radii at subdivision street intersections, and (ix) reduction of off-street parking requirements and requirements for the location of off-street parking.

Page last modified: Nov. 13, 2009