Weber Avenue Corridor Changes

Street corridors are utilized every day by people for work, school, shopping, and entertainment trips. With this high degree of use, neighborhoods and development must find ways to best build-off of the adjacent corridor.  The corridor then has a large effect on how the orientation of buildings, setbacks, parking and other development patterns should be designed.  The future corridor therefore has a large impact on the type of development pattern in that area.  The Weber Avenue Corridor is a major collector roadway serving the edge of the Downtown area.  The corridor is located within an urban core area, but also adjacent to a urban high density area (the Downtown PUD) which includes the following policies.

Description: Consists of a mixed-uses but primarily residential or institutional urban fabric. “Urban core” may have a wide range of single, side yard, and row house building types. Setbacks and landscaping are variable. The grid-style street pattern is dominant. Streets with curbs and sidewalks define small- to medium-sized blocks.

Recommendations: This style of development is typically called the “core” of the city. The grid pattern streets provide great pedestrian and street connectivity, but do not allow for efficient drainage methods (since traffic is allowed to flow in all directions—north / south, east / west; but storm runoff is not allowed into its natural drainage channels, and must be piped around these roads and structures] . Maintaining the character of the “core” is of high importance to this plan. Allowing for traditional densities should be allowed within the urban core area.  Maintaining street connectivity shall generally be maintained except along arterial roadways and institutional campuses. There, vacation of streets may occur where it is shown that street connectivity is not harmed, or that pedestrian connectivity can be maintained.  Several institutional campuses are located within this area, and great care should be taken to control transitions or encourage development styles that include vertical mixed-use (village) style development to help maintain and improve the area.

Description: Consists of highest-density and height, with the greatest variety of uses and civic buildings. It may have larger blocks, steady street tree planting, and buildings that are close to wide sidewalks. All buildings are oriented to the street.

Recommendations: Maintaining the existing urban mixed-use development style in the downtown area is a high priority of this plan.  The high-density street orientation provides a great pedestrian-oriented environment, and helps to maintain the historical character and economic and civic importance to the Sioux Falls region.  New high-density areas would be encouraged as allowed by Chapter 3: “Shape Neighborhoods” and by Chapter 5: “Shape Places” in section G. Vertical Mixed-Use.