Legal Definitions - zoning

Zoning refers to the system by which local governments divide land within their jurisdiction into different areas, or "zones," and establish specific rules for how land and buildings can be used in each zone. These rules, outlined in a zoning ordinance, dictate everything from the type of buildings allowed (e.g., residential, commercial, industrial) to their size, height, density, and even aesthetic characteristics. The primary goal of zoning is to promote orderly development, protect property values, and ensure the health, safety, and general welfare of the community.

While zoning provides a structured framework for land use, governing bodies often incorporate mechanisms to allow for flexibility in specific situations:

• Non-conforming use: This allows a property use that was legal and existed before a new zoning ordinance was enacted to continue, even if it no longer complies with the current zoning rules for that area.
  • Example: A small, family-owned dry cleaning business has operated for 50 years in a neighborhood that is later rezoned exclusively for residential homes. Under a non-conforming use provision, the dry cleaning business is typically allowed to continue operating, even though new commercial businesses would not be permitted to open in that residential zone.
    Explanation: This illustrates how a pre-existing, legal use is permitted to continue despite a change in zoning regulations that would otherwise prohibit it.
• Variance: A variance is an official permission granted by a zoning board to a property owner to deviate from a specific zoning regulation. This is typically granted when strict adherence to the rule would create an undue hardship due to unique physical characteristics of the property, and the variance would not harm public welfare.
  • Example: A homeowner owns a narrow, irregularly shaped lot that makes it impossible to build a garage that meets the standard 10-foot setback requirement from the property line. The zoning board might grant a variance allowing them to build the garage 5 feet from the property line, acknowledging the unique hardship imposed by their lot's unusual dimensions.
    Explanation: This demonstrates an exception to a zoning rule granted due to specific, unique circumstances of a property that make strict compliance impractical.
• Spot Zoning: This occurs when a single parcel of land is rezoned to a classification that is inconsistent with the zoning of the surrounding parcels, often to benefit a specific property owner. While not always illegal, it can be controversial if it appears to serve private interests rather than a broader public purpose.
  • Example: A city council votes to rezone a single, privately owned acre of land located entirely within a large public park from "public open space" to "commercial" to allow a specific developer to build a private restaurant. All the surrounding parkland remains zoned as "public open space." This could be considered spot zoning if it primarily benefits the private developer without a clear, overriding public benefit, creating an inconsistent island of commercial use.
    Explanation: This shows a zoning change applied to a very small, isolated parcel that deviates significantly from the established zoning pattern of the surrounding area.
• Conditional Use Zoning (Legal) / Illegal Contract Zoning:
  • Illegal Contract Zoning: This occurs when a government agrees to change zoning in direct exchange for a specific promise or benefit from a landowner, essentially making a private bargain. This is generally illegal because zoning decisions should be based on public planning principles, not private contracts.
  • Legal Conditional Use Zoning: This involves approving a zoning change or a specific project *conditioned* upon the landowner fulfilling certain requirements that mitigate the impact of the new use or provide public benefits. The conditions must be directly related to the proposed use and its impact.
    • Example: A developer wants to build a large apartment complex in an area currently zoned for lower-density housing. The city council agrees to rezone the land to allow the complex, but under conditional use zoning, they require the developer to include a certain percentage of affordable housing units and dedicate a portion of the property as publicly accessible green space. These conditions are directly related to the impact of the increased density.
      Explanation: This illustrates how a zoning change can be approved with specific requirements that address the potential impacts of the new development, ensuring public benefits are tied to the approval.
• Incentive Zoning: This is a regulatory tool where a local government offers developers incentives, such as permission to build taller structures or increase density, in exchange for providing desired public amenities or benefits (e.g., affordable housing, public plazas, environmental features).
  • Example: A city's zoning ordinance limits buildings in a downtown district to 20 stories. However, through incentive zoning, the city allows a developer to build an additional 5 stories on a new high-rise if they include a publicly accessible art gallery on the ground floor and contribute to a fund for local park improvements.
    Explanation: This demonstrates how a city can use zoning to encourage developers to provide public amenities by offering them specific development bonuses.