Media Borough is looking to rewrite some of its residential zoning codes with form-based coding to deal with development clashes, housing affordability, urban sprawl and changes in how we work and live, write Kenney Cooper for WHYY.

They could move to a hybrid system in which residential neighborhoods would use a mix of traditional zoning practices and the more obscure form-based coding.

Council is expected to vote on the proposed changes by the end of the year.

“The concern that we’ve heard from our residents is that the new development doesn’t always match or it doesn’t always fit in well with the diversity of housing that you see throughout the borough,” said Borough Council President Brian Hall.

Media, like other Delaware County communities, now separates zones for residential, commercial and industrial. The idea is to keep each zone from negatively impacting the others.

But planners have discovered that some of the best locations mix residential and some commercial uses.

Form-based coding organizes neighborhoods based on physical form and appearance rather than use.

That means buildings would be of the right scale with the right exterior materials and parking layout that the community desires, with less concern over what goes on inside the buildings.

Read more at WHYY about new zoning codes for Media Borough.