As urban districts embrace small-scale manufacturing, cities are adopting artisan zoning as a land use strategy and economic development tool.
Small-scale manufacturers can pick up some of the slack left by the factory jobs of yesteryear, while providing little of the disruption of traditional manufacturing says the Urban Manufacturing Alliance (UMA). “These producers are the bakers, small-batch brewers, woodworkers, hardware startups, and artists that enrich the city landscape, support the creation of new family-sustaining jobs, and lift up the city’s tax revenue,” says UMA.
But without specific zoning laws in place that give producers accessible and affordable locations to set up shop, cities risk loosing these new businesses.
Cities don’t necessarily need a zoning code overhaul to carve out more spaces for these types of businesses — in some cases, planning departments have pursued changes or additions to ordinance language instead of drafting new zoning maps from scratch. Some creative approaches include building ordinances around existing but unoccupied industrial facilities, or requiring that new residential buildings devote part of their bottom floor to light industrial production.
Despite the benefits, the Urban Manufacturing Alliance cautions that the introduction of a new class of businesses is not without quality of life concerns that require close supervision.
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