In 2007 Sarasota County adopted a "floating form-based code", prepared by Dover Kohl & Partners, that provided a comprehensive set of development standards for building walkable neighborhoods, districts and corridors. This code was available to developers as an alternative to the pre-existing conventional zoning and its auto-oriented suburban development standards, offering higher development intensities, a more transit-oriented development pattern, and generally higher property values in return for more complete, walkable places.
To demonstrate the potential value of applying such standards to an existing, underperforming commercial strip, the County retained Moule & Polyzoides to prepare a conceptual design and a series of photo-transformations to help County officials and the public to visualize the power of a coordinated series of public and private improvements to transform a place. The Bee Ridge Corridor - a potential bus rapid transit (BRT) line - was selected as the case study location, and David Sargent - at that time a senior associate of the firm, led a small team that included including Hall Planning and Engineering and Urban Advantage to in work with County staff to analyze the corridor and prepare a conceptual corridor design and illustrations. The resulting presentation was very well received by the County Commission, and larger scale applications of that development code are ongoing.
