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Stephani says that zoning ordinances, which have seven elements, are simple. Virtually everyone lives in communities that have adopted zoning ordinances.

Zoning. The word itself is enough to give some managers hives. This is understandable because most zoning ordinances are written like Hieronymus Bosch drawings in text, which are full of gremlins, ghosts, goblins, and gargoyles illustrating the torments of hell. These ordinances could be worse but not easily.

Then there is the terminology: planned developments, planned area developments, development plans, planned unit developments, unit development plans, planned development units. It's as though a group of professionals gathered around a fireplace to systematically devise a way of using the words in a coded fashion so that only they can understand what the words mean, and managers will have to hire one of them to interpret what they are talking about.

Managers don't need this. They can get headaches trying to understand them, even with help. They don't need the headaches from staff attorneys, neighbors, and developers jousting eternally in front of the council chambers. The subject of zoning can be understood.

The Basics

Suspend your disbelief for a moment. Zoning ordinances are simple.

Every zoning ordinance has seven basic elements. If you can recognize these elements and how they relate to each other, you can understand a zoning ordinance. And each element is easy to recognize and understand when it's not mixed up with others like a tossed salad. Here is a basic list of the elements.

1. Lists or descriptions of groups of things that people are allowed to do ("land uses") in different areas, as well as of things that people might be allowed to do if they could do them compatibly with their neighbors' land uses ("special" uses).

2. A map with colored or shaded (on black-and-white maps) areas.

3. Measurable standards for locating and building structures, with provisions for allowing "variances" to these standards. 4. Rules for handling uses that existed before the adoption of th zoning ordinance ("nonconformities").

5. Criteria for determining when "special" uses, "variances," and other zoning permits may be allowed.

6. Procedures for processing applications for "variance," "special" use, and other zoning permits.

7. Definitions of terms specific to the ordinance, such as "cottage industry."

These are the basics. It wasn't always that way, but it is today. Some ordinances can contain other elements, including information on (8) ordinance administration and who is responsible for enforcement; (9) treatment of unique (or planned) developments; and (10) "overlay" zones.

Zoning Today

Virtually all of us live in communities that have adopted zoning ordinances. How did this happen and why? It's a simple story, and there are good books written on the subject that cover it in great detail. Here is a quick summary.

Land-use segregation. Early in the 20th century in the northeastern United States, a citizen said to a member of a local government council, "Would you do something to keep people from building a fat-rendering plant next to my house?" The result was that in some localities, areas or zones, were set apart for heavy industries.

As time went on, in addition to industries, cities and counties segregated their businesses, then their small businesses from their big businesses, then their multiple-family residences from their single-family residences, and then their agriculture from everything else. That's how we got where we are today. This may or may not have been a good thing-that is a different question-but this is what was done.

Special uses. Once cities had been entirely divided up, it became obvious that certain uses-for example, cemeteries-didn't automatically fit into any zone. They might be designed to fit into a particular lot situation, but they couldn't necessarily be allowed in any zone regardless of their design. These were called special or "conditional" uses, and to be able to build one, you had to get a special use permit.

Maps. To easily explain to citizens where different uses were permitted, local governments began preparing maps to show where the different areas were located instead of relying upon written descriptions of the zones. These maps evolved into the official zoning maps, which now are part of virtually every zoning ordinance.

Development standards. After uses had been segregated, people realized that even if the same type of use as theirs was placed next door to them, it still could be annoying if it was too close to their bedroom windows or so high that they couldn't see the sun most of the day.

To address this problem, rules were written into zoning ordinances on how high buildings could be, how far away they had to be built from property lines, and so forth. Some localities have even gone so far as to regulate how reflective a building's roof can be and what colors the exterior walls can be. These rules are measurable and are called development standards.

Variances. Soon after the introduction of development standards, citizens realized that all development standards didn't always apply well to every individual building or home. For instance, it might be reasonable to allow a variance from the required front- or rear-yard setback for a house on an especially shallow lot so that the house would not have to be misshapen. Thus, the need for "variances."

Nonconformities. Before zoning was adopted, citizens built pretty much what they wanted wherever they wanted. Therefore, upon the adoption of most zoning ordinances, some people found themselves owning property that was shaped, being used, or being occupied by a structure that conflicted with the new ordinance. Commonly, mom-and-pop grocery stores or service stations found themselves in zones that were supposed to be residential. Because these people's buildings, uses, or lots did not conform to the zoning ordinance, they were called nonconformities.

Because of the United States Constitution, local governments cannot take people's rights to own or use their properties by passing ordinances that make the properties' uses or shapes nonconforming. Localities, however, can prevent people who own such properties from making changes to their nonconformities; and some localities do. Some local governments allow certain changes that would not have a negative impact on the neighborhood. A permit to allow such a change is called a permit for a modification to a nonconformity.

Permit evaluation criteria. Authority to build or conduct a special use, to have a development standard varied, or to modify a nonconformity is granted by a local government in the form of a permit. Sometimes, these allowances are actual pieces of paper, but often they only exist materially in the minutes of the agency that approved them.

When these permits were first established, they were sometimes inappropriately granted because a property owner who wanted to get one was known and liked by the governing board that was acting on the permit request. Decisions made on that basis were subject to being found "arbitrary and capricious" by the courts, so localities had to write legitimate criteria for evaluating permits into their zoning ordinances.

These criteria are not measurable; they require the exercise of judgment, and that differentiates them from development standards, with which they are sometimes confused. For example, it is common for special-use permits to be approved only for uses that "will not have a detrimental impact on their neighborhoods" and for variances only in situations that 11 would otherwise impose an undue hardship" on a property owner. Permits also can be approved for modifications to a nonconformity only if they will 11 not increase the negative impact of the use on adjacent properties."

Permit processing procedures. In the early years of modern zoning, councils often made most of the decisions on zoning permit applications. As localities grew and as more permits were applied for, these councils needed help. To provide this help, councils appointed planning commissions either to decide or to make recommendations on special use permits and modifications to nonconformities. Often, decisions on variances were delegated to agencies called boards of adjustment, which also were composed of members appointed by the councils.

Every modern zoning ordinance describes the procedures that are to be followed in the review and decisionmaking processes on the permits it establishes.

Definitions. Because zoning operates in so many different physical and cultural environments, and because it is law, it needs to be precise. And to achieve that precision, zoning ordinances contain definitions describing the meanings of the terms contained in them that might not otherwise be commonly understood. For example, in some places, a "cottage industry" is an industry in which only family members living on the premises can be employed. In other local governments, a cottage industry allows one or more employees who are not family members and who do not live on the premises.

Overview

Some zoning ordinances are easy to understand. These ordinances were written in a way that clearly identifies each of their basic elements. If an ordinance is not written to improve application consistency-and such ordinances are in the great majority-a manager could help by allocating the resources necessary to rewrite it, grouping all development standards together, all criteria, all definitions, and so forth. Often, when that has been done, it becomes apparent that criteria are missing, development standards are contradictory, and definitions are redundant or lacking.

The wonderful thing about simplifying a zoning ordinance so that its form is not a mystery is that a manager can then focus on important aspects of the ordinance like: Why do we segregate our commercial and residential uses? Why do we require our homes to be set back 20 feet from the street? And once the simplicity of the form of the ordinance has been understood, the opportunities to add flexibility to its content increase greatly.

This is when zoning becomes not only understandable but also fun because zoning is the single most important control over the physical environment that we are continuously creating for ourselves. What we create through it either imprisons or liberates us; many of us are imprisoned today because zoning ordinances have been allowed to become powerful, incomprehensible restraints on our thinking and behavior. -Carl Stephani

City Manager

Glia Bend, Arizonia