Corridor and Area Plans


Raimi and Associates' diverse specific plan, area plan, and open space plan work relies on community involvement and close coordination with city staff. All of our planning work emphasizes urban design and seeks to enhance the “triple bottom line” of environmental, social and economic sustainability. Many of our specific and area plans take a form-based approach (specific plans with executed Form-Based Codes are described in the subsequent section), describing the vision for an area, identifying the range of applicable uses and building types for each district within an area, and then crafting development standards by building type. We specialize in working within an expedited timeframe, which allows the project to move quickly into the entitlement or adoption process.

A representation of our work is described below. Projects marked with an asterisk (*) were completed by a R+A team member before joining the firm.
 


Orange Line BRT Sustainable Corridor Implementation Plan

City of Los Angeles

The Orange Line is a 14-station, 14-mile-long "Bus Rapid Transit" line traveling on its own right-of-way through the San Fernando Valley. It connects to the Metro Red Line at North Hollywood, with service into the rest of Los Angeles. Raimi + Associates is working with Metro to create the "Orange Line BRT Sustainable Corridor Implementation Plan." The Plan will identify and prioritize physical improvements needed in each Orange Line station area, including improvements to transit service, bicycle access, pedestrian access, land use regulation, roadway improvements, streetscape, and community facilities. Metro's goal is to foster "transit-oriented districts" around various Orange Line Stations, with land use, employment, housing, and public space that supports and complements the Orange Line.

Back to Top


International Boulevard Transit-Oriented Development Plan and Rapid HIA

City of Oakland

Raimi + Associates (R+A), was the lead consultant on a transit oriented development plan for a six-mile segment of International Boulevard in East Oakland. The International Boulevard corridor is currently under study for a high-frequency bus rapid transit (BRT) system and the TOD Plan complimented this effort. The project prioritized social and quality of life issues in the economically challenged neighborhoods adjacent to International Boulevard, and included a rapid Health Impact Assessment to evaluate and understand the implications of proposed TOD along the corridor. It was grounded in participatory community planning input – including broad stakeholder interviews, a Citizens Advisory Committee, targeted outreach meetings, and a series of public workshops – and won the 2011 Northern California APA Section Grassroots Project Award. The project was also recognized by the State APA and received an Award of Merit. The final product included a vision and guiding principles, key objectives and strategies for each of the corridors five sub-areas, illustrative design guidelines, and identification of and strategies to develop nine “TOD Catalyst Areas.” As an accompanying product, Raimi + Associates created a detailed implementation plan for identified TOD locations along the corridor.

Download PDF | Back to Top


Downtown Fresno Neighborhoods Community Plan, Fulton Corridor Specific Plan, Health Impact Assessment, and Form-Based Code

City of Fresno, CA

Raimi + Associates is working with Moule & Polyzoides to prepare both a Specific Plan for the Fulton Corridor of downtown Fresno and a Downtown Neighborhoods Community Plan for the neighborhoods in and around downtown Fresno. Raimi + Associates has numerous roles on the team. These include serving as the primary policy consultant on the Downtown Neighborhoods Community Plan, creating a Health Impact Assessment (HIA) and health policy chapter of the Community Plan, and creating the form-based code for both the Community Plan and the Specific Plan. The Specific Plan provides land use and design guidance for corridor redevelopment and revitalization in Downtown Fresno, integrating downtown with existing neighborhoods, meeting community needs, and supporting the core goals of health, sustainability, social equity, and economic vitality. 

Back to Top



Design for Development for Treasure Island and Yerba Buena Island

San Francisco, CA

Raimi + Associates completed a technical review and revision of the Design for Development for Treasure Island and Yerba Buena Island, as a subconsultant to the design firm of Perkins + Will. A former Navy base within San Francisco Bay, Treasure and Yerba Buena Islands represent one the largest, most visible, and most centrally located redevelopment opportunities remaining within the City and the entire Bay Area. The vision presented in the Design for Development – which includes standards and guidelines for open space, infrastructure, street design, parking, urban design, and architecture – is intended to achieve LEED-ND certification and be an exemplar of sustainable neighborhood development. The design includes a multi-modal ferry terminal, rigorous green building requirements, extensive open space, building reuse, and urban design conducive to walkability. Raimi + Associates' comprehensive revision and re-write of the document emphasized clarity, consistency, and best practices in sustainability and urban design. This included coordinating the efforts of a diverse group of contributors, including landscape architects, urban designers, architects, graphic designers, the developer, and the City. The Design for Development for San Francisco's Treasure Island and Yerba Buena Island was adopted by the San Francisco Board of Supervisors on June 7, 2011. For the next 15 to 20 years, this document will guide the creation of one of the most innovative and environmentally sustainable neighborhoods in the entire country.

Download PDF | Back to Top

Moreno Valley Alessandro Boulevard Corridor

SCAG Compass Demonstration Project, City of Moreno Valley


Moreno Valley retained Raimi + Associates to direct a visioning process for 5.5 miles of one of the community's most important east-west corridors within this 150,000 person city in western Riverside County. The Raimi + Associates-led effort resulted in a vision document that expresses the community's vision for the moribund corridor into a series of related but distinct nodes. Each node serves the adjacent neighborhoods or employment center while providing the seeds for a transit corridor to link with the future Metrolink station at the I-15 interchange. As part of this effort, Raimi + Associates led the community outreach process, prepared a created a place-based vision plan tied to specific strategies and actions that include Moreno Valley-specific health and sustainability indicators to guide the process and set standards for success.

Download PDF | Back to Top


El Paso Downtown Plan

El Paso, Texas, as a subconsultant to SMWM

Raimi + Associates assisted SMWM with the formulation and drafting of the downtown plan for El Paso, Texas. The firm advanced a form-based approach to the plan, describing the vision for each development district, identifying the range of applicable uses and building types for each district and then crafting development standards by building type.

Back to Top



Hercules Historic Sub-District Plan

City of Hercules, CA

As part of its role as Adjunct Planner for the City of Hercules, Raimi + Associates led the process to adopt the Hercules Historic Sub-District Plan. The form-based plan regulates development for the Masonic Properties parcels, a portion of the historic waterfront area of Hercules. It provides use and form regulations, a parking management plan, sustainability and historic preservation guidelines, and other development controls.

Back to Top

Hercules New Town Center

City of Hercules, CA

As part of its role as on-call Adjunct Planner for the City of Hercules, Raimi + Associates served as the staff lead on a General Plan Amendment, Zoning Amendment, Environmental Impact Report process, and entitlement for a new infill, transit-oriented town center for the city. The vision for the project is to create a walkable, mixed use area on 35 acres of vacant and underutilized land in the heart of the city. At buildout, the project will contain over 1,600 units and hundreds of thousands of square feet of retail and commercial space, adjacent to a park-and-ride bus interchange and future BART station. Raimi + Associates worked closely with city staff, the developer, and a team of consultants to shepherd the plan through entitlement and complete several administrative planning tasks, including a land swap with BART and the necessary amendments to existing City planning documents. 

Back to Top

Hunters Point Shipyard Development Concept*

San Francisco, CA for Lennar/BVHP


While working for SMWM, Matt Raimi served as lead planner and project manager for planning work on the Hunters Point Shipyard Project between 1999 and 2002. Over the next 20 years, Hunters Point Shipyard, a 500-acre former Naval Base in the southeast corner of San Francisco, will be transformed from an underutilized, contaminated industrial area into a new, vibrant mixed-use waterfront community. The plan for the site, which incorporates the principles of sustainable development, calls for the development of affordable housing, museums celebrating the history and heritage of the local community, job training centers, parks, plazas, an artist community, and high-tech jobs. Mr. Raimi's work included assisting with a Preliminary Development Concept for the site, organizing public meetings, overseeing site test fits, creating detailed phasing and implementation plans, and crafting a preliminary affordable housing plan.

Back to Top

Oakland Army Base Pre-Development Planning*

City of Oakland + Oakland Base Reuse Authority, CA


While with another firm, Matt Raimi served as the project manager and lead planner on this project to develop feasible site alternatives for the former Oakland Army Base, a 200-acre site located at the foot of the San Francisco Bay Bridge and adjacent to the Port of Oakland. During the four-month, fast-tracked project, the team of planners, designers and economists led by Mr. Raimi developed a detailed opportunities and constraints report, interviewed key stakeholders including the Mayor of Oakland and several members of the City Council, developed site evaluation criteria based on the 3 “Es” of sustainable development (environment, economy and equity) and made dozens of presentations to community interest groups. Finally, the team developed and analyzed four site alternatives that included a movie/entertainment complex, industrial uses that supported the Port of Oakland and a retail district. During the process, the City Council entered into exclusive negotiation agreements to develop a movie/theme park/retail district and a logistics/distribution district. 


Download PDF | Back to Top

Purple Belt Open Space Plan*

City of Paso Robles, CA as a subconsultant to Economic and Planning Systems

While with another firm, Matt Raimi served as project manager to develop an open space plan for the City of Paso Robles. Located in San Luis Obispo County on the Central Coast of California, Paso Robles and its environs are home to over 90 vintners and 200 vineyards. The region has become one of the premier wine producing regions in the country and the wine business is a source of pride, identity and economic life for residents of Paso Robles. In an effort to preserve the quality of life, the EPS team was hired by the City to develop strategies for preserving open space around the city in a “purple” belt; so named because of the area’s reputation for zinfandel grapes. The team identified a range of funding sources and implementation strategies, worked with stakeholders to select the preferred methods of preservation and developed criteria to rank land to be preserved based on desired economic, environmental and social outcomes. The city is expected to adopt the plan and move forward with finding funding sources and regulatory tools to create the purple belt.

Back to Top