"Form-based zoning" was an easy sell in Lititz, where the heart of the borough was built before the age of the automobile.

The town was built to a human scale, with buildings constructed to the edge of sidewalks for pedestrian access.

The challenge came about a decade ago, when a developer chose to deviate from the pattern, Lititz Borough Council President Karen Weibel said Thursday evening.

Then, borough planners looked for a way to ensure "a conformity and consistency without quashing creativity," she said.

In nearby Penn Township, the situation was different. The commercial areas of the rural township were built later, following zoning codes designed for a car-driving population.

Buildings are set back from roads, with parking lots in front of them. There are no sidewalks or streetlights to encourage people to walk.

The result, along Doe Run Road east of Manheim, is a commercial strip that could be found anywhere in America.

David Kratzer, the township manager, said officials there were seeking a balance when they passed a form-based zoning code last May.

By establishing a clear vision for quality future development, they are balancing that development with preservation of the township's rural areas.

"It's about preserving our past and sustaining our future," Kratzer said, a reference to the township motto.

Weibel and Kratzer related the experience of their municipalities with form-based zoning at a forum on the subject hosted by the county's Coalition for Smart Growth.

The gathering at the county's Public Safety Training Center, drew about 75 municipal and county officials, real estate developers, engineers and planners.

Mark Evans, a Doylestown-based planner and architect, gave a primer on form-based codes: municipal regulations intended to curb sprawl by focusing on the physical form of development. It differs from conventional zoning, which focuses on land use and designating certain uses for certain areas.

Evans said form-based zoning is a tool that can be used with other initiatives, such as conservation design, which concentrates development in a small area to preserve open space around it; transit-oriented development, in which development is concentrated around a train station or transit stop; traditional neighborhood development, in which a mix of retail, residential and other uses occurs in proximity or in the same buildings; and downtown redevelopment efforts.

Lititz, which adopted form-based zoning in January 2010, served as an example of its use in an area that's already built out. There it will guide future infill projects.

In Penn Township, it will guide future development and redevelopment. Its first test is a project along Doe Run Road now under design.

The developer of that project, Mike O'Brien's Oak Tree Development Group, previously built the Richmond Square mixed-use community in Manheim Township, Kratzer said.

"It will be exciting," he said.

bharris@lnpnews.com