Together with Pattern Zones Co, MBL led an ambitious project to bring one of the most innovative pre-approved building programs in the country to the City of Overland Park KS.
The team’s approach went well beyond simple pre-approved buildings. Instead, the team questioned almost every aspect of the city’s current entitlement and permitting process with the goal of increasing opportunities for home-ownership.
While Pattern Zones Co focused on the zoning and development code, MBL was tasked with leading a comprehensive review of the city’s building safety policies as they relate to Missing Middle housing. The team was surprised to find that the average permit for a single family house in Overland Park was over 5,000 square feet. Because of this, the building safety department had instituted several policies that, while prudent for these large buildings, had the effect of making it far more difficult and expensive to build smaller more affordable housing types.
Through skillful navigation of Kansas statutes, the International Residential Code, and Overland Park’s own municipal code, MBL was able to recommend new policies that dramatically lower barriers not just for pre-approved buildings, but for every developer who is interested in building smaller more affordable homes in the city.
Together with Brad Lonberger and Ivan Gonzalez, MBL Planning was brought in to provide a program of pre-approved buildings for transitioning neighborhoods in and around downtown. Just the second major pre-approval program behind Bryan Texas, MBL continued to refine the process and provide innovative solutions.
For Claremore, a “Quick Start” program was introduced that provided pre-approved buildings to meet the current code. These fast-response buildings were meant to provide a stop-gap set of options outlining best practices within the current code. Concurrently, a comprehensive engagement strategy was implemented in order to provide a larger set of pre-approved buildings that would evolve entitlements in the area to better suit long-term plans.
Both the city and the planning team proved highly adaptable - modifying their engagement strategy on the fly to safely cope with the emerging COVID-19 pandemic while ensuring the ultimate success of the project.
Claremore, Oklahoma, is located northeast of Tulsa near the heart of the Rogers County. The City has been experiencing exponential growth and has had issues expanding their built environment to capture a larger share of the residential and commercial market. Administration of their existing code had been experiencing issues with conflicting regulations.
1/7
MBL Planning
Copyright © 2024 MBL Planning - All Rights Reserved.
Powered by GoDaddy
We use cookies to analyze website traffic and optimize your website experience. By accepting our use of cookies, your data will be aggregated with all other user data.