"Transitional Uses" refers to townhome and parking lot development that is currently permitted in a narrow band of lots abutting the Town Center zoning district. The transitional uses area provides a buffer between the more intense development permitted in the Town Center district and the surrounding single-family residences.
The buffer is intended to create an intermediate zone of residential development in the form of townhomes. Rather than single-family homes facing the commercial and mixed-use development while sharing street access, the townhomes would be across the street, facing the larger and taller buildings that are allowed in the Town Center area. A landscape buffer would be provided along the common (rear) property line between the townhomes and the abutting single-family lots.
This effort is narrowly focused to resolve the immediate problems with a lack of clear standards for townhomes in the transitional uses area. These regulations could even be considered "short-term" regulations, with the potential need for fine-tuning in a subsequent update to address any remaining and/or evolving issues. This is favored over two significantly different types of development facing one another across the street.