Smart Growth

Downtown Waterfront Form-Based Code Workshop

Michigan Sea Grant and the city of Marquette, Michigan, requested Smart Growth Implementation Assistance for Coastal Communities to help develop a form-based zoning code for Marquette's Downtown Waterfront District. The community wanted to:

  • Attract and support vibrant, mixed-use development. 
  • Connect the waterfront to downtown. 
  • Preserve water views and community character.
  • Create streets that are comfortable for pedestrians. 
  • Allowing flexibility through simplified code, parking design and management, and street and sidewalk design. 
  • Improve the walkability of main streets.

The final report, Downtown Waterfront Form-Based Code Workshop (2008), includes a draft form-based code to help Marquette decide how to develop in the Downtown Waterfront District. Using the elements in the report, the city has developed and approved a form-based code for the district.

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