Infill Development

What is it? Infill development has been described as "the creative recycling" of vacant or underutilized lands within cities and suburbs. Infill properties range from single vacant lots to surface parking lots to empty shopping malls. Once considered eyesores, such sites are becoming prized as catalysts that improve and revitalize communities. (Adapted from Strategies for Successful Infill Development, a publication from the Northeast Midwest Institute.)

What are its benefits? Infill development offers many benefits. It provides housing opportunities necessary to accommodate projected growth. The demographic trend toward smaller homes can be particularly well served by infill development. Infill encourages community revitalization, reduces sprawl, and is less auto-dependent than suburban development. Infill also increases the potential ridership for mass transit.

What are the obstacles? This article, Barriers to Infill Development by Carolyn Dekle and Phyllis Mofson, provides a good summary of the barriers to infill development. Barriers are categorized into financial, regulatory/legislative, social/economic, and attitudinal impediments. Financial impediments arise from the fact that infill is often targeted in areas experiencing blight. Inadequate infrastructure also is cited as a problem for infill, as many local governments invest in infrastructure on the urban edge while older infrastructure deteriorates. Regulatory impediments include the difficulty of land assembly, review and permitting processes, impact fees that don't take into account the geographic cost differences associated with provision of services, and the liability associated with brownfields. Social and economic impediments relate to the opportunities available in infill areas compared to suburban areas, including job availability and job training, the quality of schools, social service delivery, and public safety and health. Attitudinal impediments are summed up in three words: density is bad.

The article offers recommendations for resolving these issues, including public investment in urban infrastructure and targeting economic opportunities, but emphasizes that such strategies will work best if they are part of a "larger strategy to promote infill development." South Florida Regional Planning Council's Eastward Ho! effort is mentioned as an example of an initiative that facilitates infill development.

Preapproved house plans: Several communities have developed programs whereby developers can purchase "pre-approved" house plans for infill lots to streamline the development process for single family homes in older neighborhoods and redevelopment areas. The City of Sacramento has one such program, the purpose of which is to facilitate development of vacant infill lots, while at the same time encouraging quality residential development in the City. The house plans are available at the public counter for a fee. These plans are "pre-approved" through the design review process, and will need only to complete a short over-the-counter checklist.

Santa Cruz: City of Santa Cruz Accessory Dwelling Unit (ADU) Program provides for a simpler and shorter permitting process as well as ADU development incentives. In Santa Cruz, ADUs are allowed on residentially zoned lots of 5,000 sq.ft. or greater, and must meet setback, height and parking requirements.

Portland: The City of Portland's Living Smart Program arose from growing neighborhood concerns about single-dwelling infill development on 25-foot wide lots. In 2003 the City Council voted to maintain the narrow lot housing option in the single-dwelling zones, but restricted construction to currently vacant lots and added design requirements. To help address concerns about the design of these houses, a design competition was held. One of the goals of the competition was to create the Portland Catalogue for Narrow House Designs, a catalogue of plans for Portland neighborhoods. The Portland Catalogue was published in November 2004 containing the winning house designs.

After the competition was finished, the City wanted to take Living Smart one step further by providing the public with affordable plan sets of well designed narrow lot houses. BDS contracted with two designers to prepare a set of house plans that would be available to the public. To effect these changes, the City Council voted to support Zoning Code amendments exempting the two house designs from some development standards and approving the two house designs as "permit ready" houses. The city provides a document with sample fees and an explanation of the approval process. Two sets of house designs, the Higgins and the Vargas sets, can be viewed on the city's website.

The City of Boise, Idaho's Planning and Development Services Department has created an Infill Development Page as a resource for the building community. Their goal is to provide information about innovative infill developments that demonstrate the principles of compact, pedestrian design. The site includes examples of apartments, duplexes, single family homes, row houses and pedestrian commercial uses.

The Community Design Collaborative of Philadelphia held an Affordable Infill Housing Design Challenge to introduce new home prototypes that would fit within city neighborhoods where many existing homes have less than 1,000 square feet of living space and prospective development parcels might yield less than ten new homes.

• House Plans for Narrow Lots: several website offer house plans designed specifically for narrow infill lots, including the House Designers and the Cottage Company.
• Austin, TX S.M.A.R.T. Growth Initiatives include amendments to the land development code for infill projects.
• Miami Dade County Infill Housing Initiative: This is a housing effort administered by Miami-Dade Housing Agency to revitalize neighborhoods by expanding homeownership opportunities in urban areas. The main effort of the program is devoted to recycling abandoned lots and turning community eyesores into healthy neighborhoods, thereby generating a positive property tax base. It also is designed to promote on-the-job training for unskilled workers, and create employment and economic development opportunities for residents in distressed areas. Legislation and policies have been established to address the barriers of infill development and to encourage program participation by developers and community development corporations (CDCs). A local ordinance created a specific methodology for handling infill housing development, including identification of property and adjacent property, acquisition of property, transfer and sale of property, reversion of title to the County in the event of non-performance, forgiveness of liens, as well as construction and rehabilitation loan provisions. This site also explains Miami-Dade's infill initiative and offers recommendations for improving the progam, including: pre-designed and pre-permitted building plans; a comprehensive inventory of all vacant lots in distressed neighborhoods; acquisition of vacant lots; improved mechanisms for preserving affordability and lien clearance assistance; early resolution of lot size issues; and creation of a policy manual.
• The Upper Valley Housing Coalition in New Hampshire has developed a design review process whereby volunteer experts evaluate housing proposals before they go to the planning board. The goal is to assist in reducing the time a developer will spend in permitting. The review is fast, free and confidential, and towns like it. Some now strongly suggest developers have their proposals reviewed in advance, as an endorsement of quality. The purpose is not to add another layer to the regulatory process, but rather to help make an application stronger by giving the applicant timely and informed feedback before entering the permitting phase.
• FBC Infill Housing in Louisville, Kentucky, is providing affordable infill housing that is durable and energy efficient. These houses are planned with energy- and cost-saving features that make them affordable to would-be home buyers with marginal resources. Technically, the homes feature structural insulated panels prefinished with fiber-reinforced drywall that allow rapid assembly. Innovative plumbing and heating equipment are also used. Financing and maintenance programs associated with the project help the buyer with housing costs. These homes sell for $62,900 and $72,900 – only 41% and 48% of the median for the area. The homes have received a Five-Star Plus rating from the EPA Energy Star Homes Program.
• The California Infill Parcel Locator is a tool for pinpointing potential infill sites throughout the state of California. Such parcels are located in areas that have already been urbanized, but the sites are either completely vacant or have structures assessed at extremely low valuations relative to the land itself. See the Help-FAQ page of this site for an explanation of how non-vacant parcels were selected. Infill parcels may provide additional development opportunities.
• King County Washington changed zoning in most areas to eliminate minimum lot sizes. Reversing a traditional regulatory requirement, the county established a unique requirement for minimum densities.
• Clark County, Washington offers several incentives for infill development.
• This State Environmental Resource Center site lists innovative legislation for infill development and redevelopment.
• The City of Phoenix also offers infill incentives, including waiver of water and sewer fees; city participation in the cost of offsite improvements, city-concentrated efforts to control blight adjacent to infill sites; and use of an Infill Development team to expedite development approval.
• The State of Maryland provides models and guidelines for infill development. This publication includes a model infill ordinance.
• Smart Site Practices for Redevelopment and Infill Projects. Consensus document of the National Redevelopment Roundtable, Center for Watershed Protection.
• From the National Governors' Association (NGA) Center for Best Practices: Growth Tool Kit: Use Innovative Approaches to Develop Housing Infill and Redevelopment.
• The Barriers to Using Urban Infill Development to Achieve Smart Growth
• From the Urban Land Institute Urban – Infill Housing: Myth and Fact.
• Municipal Research and Services Center of Washington, Infill Development Strategies for Shaping Urban Neighborhoods.
• From the Planners Web Sprawl Guide: Infill Development Guide.
• Smart Growth: Creating More Livable Communities in the Bay Area
• California State Senate Infill Summary Report describes successful infill strategies in the state.
• National Association of Realtors, Best Practices to Encourage Infill Development includes sections on market analysis, site acquisition and assembly, redeveloping brownfields, clearing tax liens and title, financing and tax incentives, land use and regulatory issues, and examples of best practices.
• PolicyLink summary of potential Infill Incentives.