Property Owned, Leased or Operated by Public Agencies: Property leased or operated by the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania or the United States, and property owned, leased or operated by the City of Philadelphia, or any other public or governmental body or agency, shall be subject to the terms of this Title, as follows: (a) Where such public or governmental uses are specifically listed, they shall be governed as indicated; (b) Where such public or governmental uses are not specifically listed, they shall be permitted only in districts permitting private uses of a similar or substantially similar nature; (c) Property owned by the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania or the United States shall be exempt from the provisions of this Title only to the extent that said property may not be constitutionally regulated by this City. The various zoning classifications discussed previously for public uses apply also to privately owned utilities. . a) there is no existing use on the property. Since counties and municipalities are usually considered creatures of the state, local regulations have been held ineffective when applied to state departments and agencies. In 2017, nearly half of renter households spent more than 30 percent of their income on rent, meeting the Department of Housing and Urban Developments (HUD) definition of being cost-burdened. While affordability has long been a problem for poor renters, even middle-income households are facing greater challenges, particularly in urban areas with strong job markets. A privately owned public utility sometimes presents many of the same zoning problems to a community that a neighboring government does. If it cant be found there, a call to City Hall (and likely a couple of transfers to get you to the planning department) will unearth the plan. We'll be in touch with the latest information on how President Biden and his administration are working for the American people, as well as ways you can get involved and help our country build back better. But upzoning and moving to land value taxes could worsen affordability pressures. They review the application and work with the applicant to ensure its compliant with the zoning ordinance. If the use requested in a CUP application is one of the conditional uses specified in the ordinance, and if the conditions are accepted, the permit must be granted as a matter right. The court nevertheless approved granting an order to remove the partly completed tower. To achieve this purpose, zoning laws regulate the impacts of land use that may not be in the best interests of the people, generally including such things as: Cities want industrial uses for economic growth, but cities also want single-family residential areas for people to live. Since the zoning law of these two Lastly, as described below, the ordinance will allow for a variance from some of these regulations where circumstances merit. Another common system of classification lists some public and utility uses as permitted by right, although others require a special permit. 9) A form of zoning which regulates density is referred to as, 10) A home in a residential zone is converted to an antique store. board. b) existing zones do not conflict with the use. On the other hand, electric substations and water pumping stations may require some special treatment whether they are publicly or privately owned. Several of the 2020 Democratic presidential candidates have proposed plans to address housing affordability through relaxing exclusionary zoning. While the General Plan Land Use Element generally defines commercial uses versus residential uses, for example, the Zoning Regulations more specifically define the types of commercial uses, A non-conforming use is any use, structure or building that doesnt comply with the zoning ordinance. Mixed-use districts allow for a combination of broader use categories (e.g., both commercial and residential), and are often used in downtown areas. and also for inevitable special circumstances. For example, local zoning regulations prohibit building anything other than single-family detached houses on three-quarters of land in most U.S. cities. c) Subdivision regulations. c) do not interfere with fair trade practices. d) the grantee of a property via restrictive covenants. Zoning is supposed to guide community development in accordance with a comprehensive plan, or at least to guarantee certain amenities to property owners. The application of planning controls to private property is now a fairly routine matter in most states. And in Taber v. Benton Harbor, 274 N.W. It is often said that officials should be the first to comply with their own regulations. As already mentioned, the courts have been very hesitant to hold cities bound by their own zoning ordinances in the absence of clear indication that this result was intended when the ordinance and enabling legislation were passed. And in Mayor of Savannah v. Collins, 84 S.E.2d 454, 7 ZD 27 (Ga. 1954), the court allowed the city to place a fire station in a residence zone, since the city had the power of eminent domain for this purpose. The Standard City Planning Enabling Act provided for overruling the planning agency by a two-thirds vote of the council. As an alternative to such an order, a state legislature might include a provision in authorizations for state projects that they are subject to local zoning. It seems that this type of provision could properly be extended by explicit reference to zoning ordinances in addition to building codes. One interesting issue that can occur in the amendment arena is when (1) a city wants to make a change to the ordinance, (2) hasnt determined yet what that change should be, but (3) wants to temporarily halt development that, while lawful under the current ordinance, would be prohibited under the likely change, until (4) the city has had time to make well-reasoned analysis and planning decision. Unless the ordinance provides for a special permit to be issued for public uses by the planning agency, zoning control is not likely to be a satisfactory alternative. c) do not interfere with fair trade practices. Accordingly, cities break down these broad categories into as many sub-categories and districts as needed. Drafters of zoning ordinances, while making every effort to limit or eliminate actual elements of incompatibility, should consider the possibility that some of the damage caused by a pumping station that complies with all bulk requirements for one-family houses is imaginary. An official concerned with the location of fire houses or pumping stations should be (and usually is) aware that there are problems in locating such facilities in addition to providing efficient fire protection or water distribution. And the usual special permit provision gives power to the board of zoning appeals instead of the planning agency, an arrangement that seems less desirable insofar as the objective is to do any planning. Disputes over the zoning of public property often have effects that are at least as far-reaching as those involving private property. Now you understand the basics of the purpose of zoning, the creation of its guiding documents, its zoning ordinance, how zoning applications are made and appealed, and who makes these determinations. The day has evolved into a celebration of emancipation more generally, and while the country acknowledges the progress that has been made, it is imperative to not lose sight of the fact that we still have much work to do to address the vestiges of slavery and historic discrimination. It has sometimes been objected that this coordination of city departments with each other and with the plan is not really a valid function of the planning agency, since each department's proposals are presumably made with the public welfare in view. It represents a way to gain substantial payoffs for people and a way to tackle big challenges in America. To accomplish that, local governments must reduce regulatory barriers that limit the markets ability to build small, lower-cost homes on expensive land. Thus the city was bound by the ordinance, although the function in question is clearly "governmental.". 8) The right to exert public land use control is primarily authorized by which of the following? Common examples include minimum lot size requirements, minimum square footage requirements, prohibitions on multi-family homes, and limits on the height of buildings. d) building heights. Some jurisdictions create a BZA to (1) hear and act upon variance applications, and (2) hear appeals to rezoning denials where the basis for appeal is an alleged irregularity in the councils application of the ordinance. If a private citizen should decide that his land in a residential zone is really better suited to industrial use, his chances of actually using the land for industry are none too good. Zoning ordinances may also regulate lot size, placement, density, and the height of structures.. This compatibility of the whole is the task of zoning; a sort of government-imposed love thy neighbor as yourself.. The problem should be considered, however, in drafting any zoning ordinance in which different treatment of the two is proposed. Much of the litigation on this problem has involved ordinances that permit public schools in a particular district but restrict or exclude parochial or private ones. 205 N. Michigan Ave., Suite 1200 We need to devise statutes and ordinances that can be relied on to assure that public property is used as intelligently as possible and with maximum fairness to neighboring owners. . It is disappointing when this opportunity for public leadership is used in a way that conflicts with zoning requirements, which represent merely minimum standards that can reasonably be applied to private property. One situation that will fail this consideration is spot-zoning. Spot zoning occurs when a parcel is zoned differently than its surrounding uses for the sole benefit of the landowner. 1955). Youve hit the road, road map in hand, a binder of all the details that impact your progress to L.A., and then you see the toll booth ahead. Density refers to the amount of development allowed per acre, calculated either by the number of dwelling units per acre (for residential) or floor area ratio (for commercial). 13) Private land use control is primarily exerted by Legislation involved in the Long Branch decision required consultation between federal and local officials so that construction authorized by the act might "so far as may be practicable, conform in location and design to local planning and tradition." There is, nevertheless, a question whether zoning is a practical device to attain these objectives when public property is involved. (The reasonableness of such a provision might be affected by the adequacy of provision made for these uses in other zones.) But the tax bill would be split across three households under the townhouse scenario, or six households under the condo scenario, just as the land costs would be shared. Neither of these objectives can be attained if the development of public property is substandard. Elementary schools seem to be in a class by themselves, since, despite unusual noise and pedestrian traffic, they almost always belong in residential neighborhoods. The nonconforming use of land shall be In authorizing construction of an airport, a state might also find it necessary to override local ordinances because of the large areas of land involved and the likelihood of local objections to the disruptive effect of the airport. State governments have the power to zone for the advancement of the health, morals, safety or general . You have the road map and maybe even a GPS to get you to L.A. In some cases the BZA will act like the planning commission, and make only recommendations to the council. Though the ordinance is presumably in the public interest, so is the decision to build the garage. Indeed, policies and practices exist today that are seemingly non-discriminatory on their face but still negatively affect many families of color, especially Black families. Zoning of public uses may or may not have any effect on zoning of similar private uses. The effect of such a provision might be to permit the single elementary school needed in each neighborhood but to exclude public high schools, as well as parochial and private schools, which ordinarily draw from several neighborhoods. Refer to the IHS Journal of Hydraulic Engineering (September 2012) analysis of the repair and replacement of water pipes, Exercise 11.2111.2111.21 (p. 655). Townhouses, duplexes, and apartment . The court reasoned: By reserving to itself the privilege of operating such lots in residence areas, the town retained complete control (through its town meeting, a public body) of a type of operation, which, if generally permitted in residence areas, might do damage to the whole zoning scheme . 14) Which of the following are not forms of public land use control? Unless he can obtain an amendment to the ordinance, his only real recourse is to the courts. Zoning ordinances generally cover three areas: (1) a zoning district section defining different types of use districts (e.g., commercial district, residential district) and the regulation of these uses; (2) a performance standards section defining regulations that apply uniformly to all districts (e.g., parking, noise, fencing and signage standards); and (3) an administrative section outlining procedures for requests under the ordinance (e.g., notices are required for a conditional use permit (CUP), the number of days a person has to approve a denial of rezoning). Individuals have also successfully challenged zoning laws that were so onerous or burdensome that they effected an uncompensated taking of property contrary to the Fifth and Fourteenth Amendments. a) Police power and eminent domain. 18) A zoning variance is obtainable in a municipality provided that The uses permitted in any one zone are ordinarily quite homogeneous. But since his primary responsibility is for the functioning of the fire or water department, he should be expected to attach greater importance to departmental efficiency and convenience than to the detriment his plans might cause to neighboring landowners, or even to other departments. For example, sound-planning policies would permit a school to be located in the center of a residential neighborhood. One area that is particularly important for economic well-being and wealth accumulation is housing. Such factors as finances and convenience, as well as detriment to surrounding owners and compliance with an over-all plan, will be weighed by the same legislative body. The community must deal in each case with an outside body that may or may not be especially concerned with the community's welfare. The difference is one of cost described above [at most about $66,000]. 7) Restrictive covenants are enforced by which of the following? If it fails these criteria, it may be characterized as a regulatory taking (well talk about takings in a little bit). The Post Office Department, for example, already complies with zoning regulations as far as possible. 1313 EAST 60TH STREET CHICAGO 37 ILLINOIS. the owner of the controlled property via deed restrictions. They chose a committee to write the Declaration of Independence explaining why the colonies should be free. . The power of a state to disregard local ordinances seems to have no relation to the desirability of its using that power in any particular case. The state commission's certificate of public convenience in Duquesne Light Co. v. Upper St. Clair Township, 105 A.2d 287, 6 ZD 178 (Pa. 1954). Currently, the ADU permits must be done in-person at Town Hall. The origins of such laws date back to the nineteenth century, as many cities were concerned about fire hazards as well as light-and-air regulations. On the other hand, most state buildings form an integral part of the cities in which they are located. Such weighing sometimes goes on, one suspects, in decisions on the applicability of the zoning ordinance to a particular activity of a neighboring government. The zoning ordinance may potentially regulate how property looks through aesthetic regulations. Land is most expensive in city centers, near job clusters and transportation nodes. How did the Second Continental Congress respond to British policies? Perhaps the greatest advantage of having such a body would be that governments would then have real incentive to try to adapt their actions to their neighbors' zoning ordinances. Well-Being and wealth accumulation is housing is most expensive in city centers, near job clusters and nodes. 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