Fregonese Associates, with the City of Denton, created and adopted a new development code to implement the city's revised comprehensive plan. Many of the policies in the new plan called for a complete revision in the way land use is regulated. The process involved an extensive public outreach process, consisting of public meetings, surveys, and widely distributed publications - all of which were instrumental in creating a future supported by the community.

A major component of this project was a set of environmental protection regulations that proactively protected environmental resources, could be applied flexibly (one size doesn't fit all), were simple for property owners to understand and were objective enough for city staff to administer. The new environmental protection regulations relied on Fregonese Associates' GIS models.

Progressive design standards were also an integral part of the project. The design standards were intended to focus on site design and architectural standards instead of land use. These design standards were produced with illustrations and graphics to communicate the code concepts in an easy-to-understand, non-technical manner. They included standards for placement of buildings, streetscape, landscaping, orientation and similar site design issues.

Downtown Plan

Fregonese Associates acted as consultants to the City of Denton in the creation of a new plan aimed at enhancing the health and community value of the City's historic downtown. The City adopted the Downtown Master Plan crafted by FA for which they won awards from both the Texas Chapter of the American Planning Association and the Texas Downtown Association. The plan is the result of studies and workshops that envision a downtown that functions as a center of community business and culture. A key component is the set of strategies that will lead to change-a process that builds on success and encourages private investments crucial to the downtown's vitality.

The historic downtown square with its two nearby universities are areas directed to become more pedestrian friendly by the Master Plan. This project also involved a thorough economic analysis of Denton's Downtown to gauge the potential for reinvestment and to test the feasibility of different urban design options. Using information gathered from the economic analysis, FA employed its state of the art redevelopment modeling to pinpoint areas of potential reinvestment within Denton's Downtown, and find the "tipping points" where public policy and investment could stimulate reinvestment.

FA completed an inventory of the Downtown's parking supply. Using this inventory, FA analyzed how Denton's parking supply was being utilized. This information was then used in conjunction with the redevelopment analysis, and current parking demand to derive a comprehensive strategy for parking accommodation.

In addition to the Master Plan, the Denton Downtown plan developed a strategy and budget for implementation, with key steps laid out. Denton adopted the plan and is working on implementation. The Plan received two statewide awards in 2003 from the Texas Chapter of the American Planning Association and the Texas Downtown Association.