Term | Definition |
What is Zoning? | Separation of land uses
Regulates and controls the use of private property |
What does zoning do? | Protect and maintain property values
Promote public health and safety
Protect the environment
Promote the aesthetic of a community
Mange traffic
Manage density
Encourage a variety of housing
Attract business and industries |
What does zoning regulate? | Land use
Lot size
Density
Building placement
Building height
Setbacks
Provision of adequate light and air
Parking
Landscaping
Signage |
Planning and Zoning Commission (P&Z) | Made up of community residents and business owners
Members are appointed by the governing body |
What does the Planning and Zoning Commission do? | Read staff reports, visit site prior to meetings, and come prepared to participate in discussions with applications at P&Z meetings |
Board of Zoning Appeals | Also known as Board of Zoning Adjustment or Zoning Board of Adjustment
Quasi-judicial board
Members are community members who volunteer their time |
What does the Board of Zoning Appeals do? | Hear cases for variances, special exceptions to the zoning ordinance, and appeals of staffs administration of the zoning ordinance |
City Council (or County Commission) | Governing body of a city |
What does the City Council do? | Often has final say on zoning issues
Planning and zoning commission makes recommendation on zoning cases to City Council
Charged with making the final decision on whether to approve or disapprove a case |
What do you need to adopt zoning? | 1. Zoning text
2. Zoning map |
Zoning Text | Lays out the exact regulations that the zoning is created to implement
It is a document that is adopted as law by the local governing body |
What must the Zoning Text do? (1) | Must, at a minimum, establish the different zones applicable in the community and the uses allowable in each zone, either by right or with a conditional use permit |
What must the Zoning Text do? (1) | Should define various requirements for setbacks, parking, signs, and include definitions, information on height restrictions, and procedures for zoning applications and appeals, or variances, to the zoning ordinance |
Zoning Map | Zoning map is where zoning clearly becomes applicable to individual properties |
What do you need for a Zoning Map? | Color-coded map that shows which types of land uses are allowable where
It is generally detailed city map overlaid with various colors/patterns depicting the type of zoning for each property |
Zoning Map Districts | Codes, either by color or letter, that depicts different zoning districts |
Zoning Amendments | Changes a zoning ordinance/text or zoning map
Amendments can be initiated by staff, the planning and zoning commission, the governing body, or at a property owners request |
Zoning Amendments (2) | Amendments allow the community to be flexible and responsible to the changing needs of the community |
Zoning Map Amendment | Changes the zoning district on a particular property |
Zoning Ordinance Amendment | Changes the requirements for all properties |
Euclidean Zoning | Named after City of Euclid, OH
Places most protective restrictions on residential land uses, less on commercial uses, and virtually none on industrial uses |
Cumulative Zoning | Less protective of various land uses than Euclidean Zoning
Single-family residential districts are he most exclusive
Cumulative zoning each successive zoning district allows all uses from the previous zones |
Modified Cumulative Zoning | Developed to allow cities to provide a greater degree of protection than they could with cumulative zoning
Districts are typically cumulative by the type of land use |
Conditional Use Permit | Allows the governing body to place conditions on particular businesses |
How can Conditional Use Permit be issued? | Run with the land: any new user is required to follow the same conditions
Run with the ownership: conditions can be modified when a new conditional use permit is requested & allows the community to review ownership/use changes |
Nonconforming Use (1) | Is a property use that existed prior to the adoption of district regulations and is allowed to continue under the "grandfather clause" |
Nonconforming Use (2) | Can be controversial because it requires the administrator of the ordinance to determine a period of time before the use must become compliant |
Accessory Use | Uses of land that are found on the same parcel as the principal use but are subordinate and incidental |
What do Accessory Use 's do? | Use that is incidental to the main use of a property
Typically located on the same lot as the main use and smaller in size than use |
Planned Unit Development (PUDs) | Unique zoning tool that can offer on alternative to strict zoning regulations
Allow for a certain degree of flexibility between developer and the community |
When are PUD's used? | Typically used for large developments that include a mix of uses |
Advantages of PUD's | Planned entirely with attention to a site plan
Allows for innovative design
Allows for increased density or reduction in street width |
Overlay Zoning | Set of additional restrictions that are places over the top existing zone |
Common Overlay Zones | Airports
Historic preservation
Flood hazard area
Transit oriented developments |
Variance | Change in the terms of the zoning regulations due to economic or physical hardship |
Two types of variances | Use variance
Area variance |
Use Variance | Allows a property to have a use not explicitly allowed under the zoning district regulations |
Area Variance | Allows a property to be excluded from the physical site requirements under the zoning ordinance |
Big-Box Retail | Generally has 50,000 or more square feet in a large box |
Concentrated Animal Feeding Operations (CAFO's) | Includes the practice of raising farm animals indoors and in high volumes |
Floor Area Ratio (FAR) | Ratio of a buildings total floor area (gross) to the size of the piece of land upon which it is built
FAR is most frequently used in downtown areas to help control for light and air
FAR = floor area/lot area |
Maximum Parking Standards | Caps the amount of parking that any user can provide
Addresses the problem of over parking sites and providing excessive impervious cover |
McMansion | Large houses that are mass produced and have perceived negative impacts on the community |
Teardown | Refers to the demolition of a home for the purpose of building a larger home on the same lot |
Growth Management | Set of techniques used by the government to ensure that as population grow that there are services available to meet their demands |
Edge City | Concentration of business, shopping and entertainment outside a traditional downtown in what had previously been residential or rural |
Smart Growth | Concentrations growth in compact walkable urban centers to avoid sprawl |