The City of Leander, Texas wanted to change their development pattern from sprawl to that of traditional, walkable, mixed-use neighborhood.  In 2005, they adopted a SmartCode.  Its details and Regulating Plan were resisted by developers.  Recognizing that the issue was not the principles of form-based coding, but in the details of the SmartCode and Regulating Plan, as well as changes in the market, the city hired Michael Watkins Architect and Sandy Sorlien to work with residents, developers and the city planning staff to rewrite the 2005 SmartCode to encourage and incentivize development. 

The updated Code utilizes growth sectors to create structured development while maintaining maximum flexibility for future changes.  The new code also focuses on a smaller subject area in the city to reflect the current market demand.  Another change was a reduction of required building heights to allow incremental urbanism, rather than prescribing the climactic condition at the outset.

The 2014 SmartCode has successfully spurred development between the existing downtown and the ?? surrounding Leader’s ?? rail station.