Promote walkable, mixed-use neighborhoods

The County will take a holistic approach to making neighborhoods more livable. It will address long-standing regulatory barriers and employ new strategies to ensure that residents can undertake a wide variety of daily errands and activities within walking distance of their homes. A complete neighborhood features grocery stores, banking institutions, childcare, parks and open spaces, robust public transit options, medical services, and much more within a small geographic vicinity. These spaces can create opportunities for more interaction and can build social connectivity and community resilience.

Transit-oriented development (TOD) plays a key role in this vision by promoting a mix of land uses and building types near high-quality transit, supported by safe bicycle and pedestrian connections. TOD has many co-benefits, including positive health outcomes related to higher rates of walking and biking as well as cleaner air as a result of reduced car usage. OurCounty supports this pattern of development with policies shaping urban design, building density, right-sized parking, and first/last mile services that encourage transit ridership and reduce auto dependency. Providing shade through tree canopy and built infrastructure is also essential to support safe, comfortable active transportation, especially as temperatures rise - a key tenet of the forthcoming County Heat Action Plan.