Community and Site Planning

The community and site planning capabilities of FHI are derived from a wide range of interdisciplinary skills. FHI expertise includes master planning, municipal plans of conservation and development, numerous types of land use analyses, and expert testimony on planning and zoning issues. We specialize in assessing the link between land use and the transportation network. We also apply community planning and land use skills to environmental impact analyses under state and federal environmental requirements.

• Master planning and plans of conservation and development: FHI has comprehensive knowledge of the master planning process and master planning experience encompassing corridor planning, neighborhood/small area plans, watershed planning, airports, statewide bicycle and pedestrian facilities, greenways, natural preserve management areas, and state parks. We also have solid experience with preparing municipal plans of conservation and development, drawing on our skills in transportation, natural and cultural resources, land use, and zoning. Our staff have prepared elements of municipal plans, including transportation, aquifer protection, coastal resource management, and wetlands, and have provided presentation-quality GIS-based mapping for inclusion in these plans.

• Site planning: FHI provides a variety of planning and analysis services for the site planning and site development process, including traffic impact analysis (including peer review of traffic studies prepared by others); GIS mapping and analysis of development opportunities and constraints; development/land use trends analysis; zoning regulation review; subdivision ordinance analysis; site plan application review for land use, traffic, and environmental impacts; environmental and traffic-related permitting; and expert testimony.

• Land use analyses: FHI’s strong understanding of land use and zoning issues is applied to numerous types of land use projects. Particular capabilities include access management plans for transportation facilities based on land use and zoning characteristics, maximum community growth (“build-out”) scenarios, land use inventories; land suitability analysis; model zoning language for lessening the impacts of various land uses and promoting smart growth, growth management/land use trends analysis; zoning regulation review; and zoning model development. FHI applies a variety of GIS tools to enhance these analyses.

• Expert testimony: FHI provides expert analysis of environmental impacts and zoning/land use regulations for development proposal public hearings. Proposals reviewed have included residential development, gravel mining, large-scale distribution centers, retail outlets, power line upgrades, and convention centers, among other uses. Issues addressed have included open space preservation, conservation subdivisions, multi-use zoning, traffic, noise and air quality impacts, visual impacts, wetland impacts, traffic impacts, and development compatibility with existing zoning and subdivision regulations.