Vegas (Zion Version)
We left Vegas for a few days at Zion National Park. The park was beautiful, but I was also impressed by the town of Springdale right outside the park. The first thing I noticed was how the town had a small town feel even though there are corporate chains. We stayed at a Best Western but the building was done in a early 1900s Prairie style with stone veneer and timber that matched the surrounding environment.
As we went through the rest of town we saw all of the buildings shared this unified harmony with the nearby park where the structures all blended in with the surroundings rather being plopped in from elsewhere. Also of note was the density of the town where all of the buildings were 1-2 stories and no buildings stuck out by towering over their neighbors.
As we were looking at real estate listings, I noticed a few lots for sale and it was interesting to see the description specified that the lot was available for new home building but the new construction had to be done using materials appropriate to the area.
The listings made me check if there were some guidelines to how development in the town is managed. I found this on the city’s website: Springdale Design Guidelines.
While not a historic commission, the zoning and design guidelines make sure that new development doesn’t destroy the character of the town. My favorite is that the town embraces wanting to maintain a small town feel. To many times a measure of success is just infinite growth, but not all cities want to be New York City.
“The town wants to keep its small town feel, its friendly and inviting atmosphere, and its unique charm. New development in the Town should be designed to augment, rather than detract from, the village character and small town feel. ”
The other part of the guidelines is a rejection of bland and generic architecture. I can see this as a little more relative compared to density of buildings which could have a hard rule like “no buildings above 3 stories” or “buildings must be set back at least 15 feet from the sidewalk”. In the case of design guidelines, I could see owners getting upset they can’t decorate their house as they like and it being an infringement on their rights. But I’m less concerned with individual owners than corporate chains or developers that put up buildings that are stamped out like anything else found across the USA. This monolithic approach to design erases unique differences in different areas of the country.
“Likewise, architecture that is generic and bland (such as that typically found in “big box” retailers or chain motel establishments) is not appropriate in Springdale. Building designs that are “corporate signatures” for franchises or formula commercial establishments are not appropriate in Springdale.”
It’s surprising to see this amount of control over development in a Western state where I would figure everyone would be super touchy about property rights. If a small town in Utah can pass these guidelines, then we should be able to do the same in New Jersey which is far more blue than red.
