Form-Based Code: Turning Downtown Masterplan Vision Into Action

Published on February 25, 2026

The City of Arlington Downtown Master Plan, adopted in 2018, set a clear vision for Downtown: a walkable, connected, and vibrant urban core that supports residents, businesses, and long-term reinvestment.

The new Downtown Form-Based Code (FBC) is the zoning implementation of that plan. While the Master Plan established goals and strategies, the FBC translates them into clear, usable development standards to ensure future growth aligns with the community’s adopted vision.

Currently, Downtown regulations are spread across multiple sections of the Unified Development Code, with 12 zoning districts and two overlay districts that often require additional approval steps. The Form-Based Code consolidates these standards into one article and organizes Downtown into five general sub-districts shown on a single Regulating Plan. This creates a clearer and more consistent framework for development.

The FBC is designed to make development in Downtown:

• Simpler through consolidated and clearly organized standards
• Easier by using illustrated, predictable building form standards that show how streets, building heights, frontages, and parking work together
• Faster by allowing compliant projects to move forward by right, reducing unnecessary delays while maintaining design quality

For residents, this means clearer expectations, appropriate height transitions near neighborhoods, and support for safe, walkable environments. For property owners and developers, it reduces barriers and minimizes the need for Planned Developments and lengthy processes. For businesses, it supports incremental improvements, allows more uses by right, and strengthens active street environments.

The Form-Based Code advances key Downtown strategies by encouraging adaptive reuse, improving walkability and connectivity, supporting flexible ground-floor spaces, concentrating density in the core with appropriate transitions, and streamlining development standards. Its zoning framework is structured to make these goals practical and consistent over time.

Upcoming Meeting Schedule: The Downtown Form-Based Code is now entering its final phase prior to adoption, with a Planning & Zoning Commission public hearing scheduled for March 4, 2026, followed by City Council public hearings on April 7 and April 21, 2026.

Adoption of the Form-Based Code would continue the groundwork established by the 2018 Downtown Master Plan by providing a clear regulatory framework to guide Downtown’s next phase of growth.