Congratulations to TCC Innovation Award Winner - Saratoga Springs, UT!
The proposed SmartCode for Property Reserve, Inc., and Saratoga Springs was awarded a Transect
Codes Council Innovation Award for its advances and code development regarding implemented
organizing principles in the code tied to the Mormon 'Plat of Zion' and the implementation of subsidiarity.
The code was prepared for Saratoga Springs, Utah, by Duany Plater-Zyberk and Company.
This is the inaugural TCC Code Innovation Award, which will be given on a quarterly basis to the zoning
code innovation in a proposed or adopted code that advances the art and practice of coding
neighborhoods. There is no innovation too small or large to be considered for the award. The innovation
is not required to be in a Transect-based code, but it must be capable of being applied to a Transectbased code.
The Mormon Church has a rich history of community building which relied upon the prevalent use of a
‘master planning” document referred to as the ‘Plat of the City of Zion’. This document was used as a
tool in the settling of over 700 communities that went as far north as Taber, Alberta, Canada and as far
south as Galeana, Mexico, with a majority of the settlements being located in the mountain west portion
of the United States. Along the sides and edges of the document were a series of instructions associated
with the implementation of the plat. Among the instructions that were given were a number of principles
which correlate directly to principles of the Charter of the New Urbanism:
Plat of Zion
New Urbanism

Defined center & edges

Neighborhood limited in physical size

Compact urban design

Well-defined and focused edges

Connected street network

Connected street pattern

Prominent buildings located in the center

Mixed-use

Architecture is reflective of the region

Mixed-housing

Mixed-housing

Architectural codes

Community

Prominent buildings placed on preferential
building sites
The ‘Plat of Zion’ was analyzed for reinstitution as part of the Saratoga Springs SmartCode. For example,
DPZ analyzed 31 historic Mormon communities and multiple block structures to determine how to best
apply their characteristics to the code through future output of community types which are emitted
based on rural to urban designations.
The application of the 'Mormon Block' was also analyzed to
determine how it could be incorporated.
Subsidiarity, the second organizing principle being recognized, is a term which translates as meaning
“help” or “assistance”. As an organizing principle its intent is to allow for the decision making process
to occur at the lowest practical level – meaning smaller, more local, or “lower”, human associations
have proper social functions which should not be assumed by larger, or “higher” associations. This was
taken a step further in the development of the SmartCode to reflect both the WHO and WHEN of the
decision making process as identified in this Andres Duany quote:
“Subsidiarity proposes that a decision is best made by the smallest competent group, at
the most local level and at the latest practical moment.”
The value in addressing the principle of subsidiarity within the SmartCode allows for both a trend for
decision making to occur at an administrative level, while also allowing for decisions to be made when
they are needed rather than front-loading the decision making process and making decisions ahead of
when they are truly needed.
We commend the recipients for their willingness to innovate, and sharing their work so that others may
benefit from the progress which has come through their advances.
Transect Codes Council
Who we are and what we do
The Transect Codes Council (TCC) is an advisory board to the Center for Applied Transect Studies (CATS).
The mission of the TCC is to support CATS in the expansion of the use of its open source Transect-based codes
and modules, for planning and regulating the built environment as part of the natural environment. The TCC
consists of 18 members, and hosts annual TCC Retreats for advanced practitioners and users of Transect-based
codes, such as the SmartCode.
Sincerely,
Transect Codes Council
Transect Codes Council
Hazel Borys | Paul Crabtree | Ann Daigle | Andrés Duany | Chad Emerson | Brian Falk
Rick Hall | Susan Henderson | Jennifer Hurley | Jason King | Marina Khoury | Matthew Lambert
Steve Mouzon | Nathan Norris | Dan Bartman | Galina Tachieva | Emily Talen