LONGMONT-A planned new community might borrow more than its name - Burlington Village - from Longmont's original Chicago Colony settlers.

Burlington Village will be designed using ideas from community members and city officials to create the feel of a turn-of-the-century city.

The planning will take place at a public forum next month at the Dickens Opera House.

The architectural team of Andres Duany and Elizabeth Plater-Zyberk - DPZ - of Florida will conduct the forum with their team of architects and designers to plan and design the new development.

Burlington Village will be located on the comer of Pike and Main streets, on an 80-acre plot owned by John "Kiki" Wallace.

Wallace said the new development will be based on the idea that old cities worked well, with corner groceries, shops, big trees, alleyways with garages, and places where people liked to gather.

"DPZ has the solution to urban sprawl," said Wallace. "They are urban planners... They encourage apartments above garages and coffee houses. Old cities still work because the cities evolved like they should have."

DPZ is a husband-and-wife architectural team, and one of the most talked about and controversial influences in architecture.

hey say they turn back the clock to create new ideas.

Duany design's attempt to limit what he believes is too much emphasis on the automobile. His communities consist of houses close together, narrow streets, trees and shrubs and people of all social levels and ages living together.

Duany believes many zoning laws need to be changed. Critics of the DPZ philosophy say the old cities were not functional.

"This 80-acre parcel is a perfect size for a neighborhood," said Tom Low, the project manager from DPZ. "You can walk from the center to the edge in about five minutes, so it really encourages that type of activity."

Low said they like to see garages in the rear of a house because they relieve street traffic. He said that homes with huge garages in front of the house show the importance of the auto. "Andres says that you can tell that three cars live there but not much else," Low said.

He said many people sense they have lost some quality of life, but aren't sure why. There is a way to correct it, he said.

"Existing zoning codes encourage this type of mindless urban sprawl we see everywhere," Low said. "The type Of community we will create changes the DNA of the whole community. The quality of growth is affected by the whole project."

This village, Wallace said, will be designed for people, not cars. "Instead of being auto friendly, it will be people friendly. But it will be auto accessible," he said, adding that he won't know how many homes will be planned for the 80 acres until the end of the design process.

The forum process will begin Jan. 13 and end Jan. 18. The 12-member team from DPZ will fly in on Thursday and tour the neighborhoods, downtown and shopping areas of Longmont.

The architectural styles they come up with for the new development will reflect some of the early architecture and neighborhoods in the community. "There are a lot of fascinating things that will happen every day," Wallace added. "It is an amazing process to watch." Typically DPZ charges from $120,000 to $350,000 to conduct the forums depending on the size of the project, he added.

DPZ will continue its involvement in the project through every stage of development, Wallace said. "They will be involved from start to finish on the project, and they have to approve every change in the plans or they take their name off the project," he said.

An old house on the corner of Main Street and Pike Road will be remodeled and designed into the village project. Said Wallace said: "This land has been in my family for 25 years. This farmhouse and the barns will stay. This farm is 100 years old, and there is no way I would tear this thing down."

Low said the farm buildings will be used in the plans to inspire the design of the village. Other building designs in the community also will be incorporated into the total design.

'Old cities still work because the cities evolved like they should have.'