In October, Gov. Jay Inslee and Washington State Dept. of Commerce Director Lisa Brown honored the City of North Bend with the Smart Project Award for the City’s adoption of Form-Based Code for its Downtown Commercial zone.
Since then, representatives have visited North Bend, where they filmed a tour of the downtown with Mayor Rob McFarland and Community and Economic Development Director, Rebecca Deming. As they walked, they shared insight into the City’s ongoing work with downtown revitalization, environmental preservation and the ever-present sense of community that is so strong in North Bend.
“People engage with each other, they care about their community,” shared Mayor McFarland. He said the community cares about taking care of natural resources, which North Bend has in abundance. “We are folks who believe in the principles that guide our state in ensuring we’re taking care of those things while acknowledging that we are a growing society.”
Watch the Washington State Department of Commerce’s video of the tour HERE.
Adopted by City Council in June, 2021, Downtown Form-Based Code helps to ensure future redevelopment fits the character of the community and provides more housing options. Form-based code is a land development regulation that fosters predictable built results and a high-quality public outcome by using physical form, rather than separation of uses, as its organizing principle. Learn more about Downtown Form-based Code HERE.
Launched in 2006, the Governor’s Smart Communities Awards program annually recognizes local governments and their partners for exceptional work in implementing the state’s Growth Management Act (GMA) to shape future growth, economic vitality and quality of life in communities across Washington.
Original source can be found here.
