urban design thoughts through the filter of living in a small town
Today is Park(ing) Day! Started in San Francisco in 2005, Park(ing) Day has turned into a global phenomenon to highlight the need for more people space in our communities by repurposing a parking space and turning it into a parklet for the day. These have become very popular during Covid
There is a bank in downtown Sebastopol that, given the architecture, was probably built in the 1960s. The bank is on the corner of the main intersection downtown, and is a really horrible downtown building. But that might be a topic for another post. The bank has a parking lot
One of the biggest complaints about urban areas is the lack of parking. This happens even in small towns like Sebastopol. People can get really worked up and possessive about parking. I lived in San Francisco at one time. I get it. Parking can be hard to come by in
Here is another example of affordable housing in Sebastopol that would not be able to be built today because of our current zoning code. Every city has these buildings. Most were built before there was such a thing as a zoning code and are now considered ‘legal non-conforming properties.’ And
Auto-oriented development has been the scourge of cities across the country for the past 75 years or so. Since World War II, the primary development pattern has been one that has embraced the automobile. From wide roads with limited pedestrian infrastructure, to strip malls, our landscape is littered with development
A project came before the Planning Commission last fall that required a Use Permit and a Variance. The proposed project was for a new carwash facility on a site that already contained a tire shop and and auto repair. So the project is an expansion of an existing auto-oriented use
Downtown Sebastopol is bisected by two Caltrans controlled state highways. Highway 12 heads east from downtown toward Santa Rosa on Sebastopol Avenue. Highway 116 is north-south and uses two one-way roads, Main Street and Petaluma Avenue. Caltrans has recently made some ‘improvements’ to downtown intersections and some driveway curb cuts
Much has been written about the housing affordability problem in California, and across the country. I’m going to offer a local perspective of how we continue to fail to address barriers to developing more housing, which is the core of the issue. I live and work as an architect in
I participated in the Sebastopol City Council Housing Subcommittee as a Planning Commission liason last summer. We had a series of meetings discussing how to create more affordable housing in Sebastopol. There are many reasons for the lack of affordable housing in Sebastopol, and many other places in California, but
The Parklet Project was a success! We set up 3 parklets on Main Street and blocked a section of street to create a pop-up plaza last Saturday. The 3 Main Street parklets were all of the same design; plywood floors on sleepers to align with the sidewalk, and OSB walls
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FRITZ ARCHITECTURE-URBANISM
small town urbanism
urban design thoughts through the filter of living in a small town
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