GF worked with the City of Woodruff, SC (population 4,294) to develop a strategy to protect their downtown from incompatible growth and to frame the patterns and character of future development as the town experiences unprecedented growth. The team developed a bicycle and pedestrian connectivity plan, completed a market study, and undertook a complete re-write of the city’s zoning ordinance.
The bicycle and pedestrian plan lays out a possible network of trails, greenways, and complete streets to connect the edges with the core. This plan included design guidelines for paths, trails, and other connectivity elements. The market study analyzed the demographics of the area, existing commercial uses, and recommended types of businesses the city should target as growth continues.
The zoning ordinance was outdated, often conflicting, and sometimes redundant. GF took a fresh approach to the re-write, leaning towards a more form-based approach. Some zoning classifications were removed, and two new ones were added. Numerous residential classifications were combined and simplified, with residential zones now based on density only, removing lot requirements. A new commercial zone was added for the downtown area, with land uses controlled only by the size of buildings. Additionally, a new classification, Mixed Employment, was introduced to bridge the gap between commercial and industrial uses.
