Map2009 Brevity And Clarity In Your Zoning Ordinance

What’s in Your Zoning Ordinance? Ten ways to apply the principles of brevity and clarity to local zoning 2009 Annual Conference Michigan Association of Planning October 2, 2009 Rodney C. Nanney, AICP Building Place Consultants http://www.buildingplace.net

Agenda
Introduction and Welcome
Tricks of the zoning ordinance trade that help make smart planning consultants look good
Questions
Wrap Up
Presentation materials will be online Monday at http://www.buildingplace.net

Rodney C. Nanney, AICP
Professional Planner and Planning Consultant
“ Zoning Guru”
Writer
Public speaker
Focus:
To translate planner-speak, lawyerese, and zoning jargon into plain language
For more, visit http://www.buildingplace.net

Zoning as a Rocket Science?

The Rocket Science Technical Manual Model of Zoning Ordinance Formatting
Times New Roman - not Web friendly
eight point font
no graphics
list & outline layout
few subject headings & titles

Rocket Science Technical Manual Model of Zoning Terminology “ Farm” 160+ words for:

Ten ways to apply the principles of brevity and clarity to local zoning
Read the ordinance
Eliminate unnecessary words and phrases
Touch up the definitions
Add subject headings and titles
Consolidate subject areas into a single section
Use a “land use table” format
Organize regulations into tables
Clarify processes with flowcharts
Add illustrations
Compare your zoning ordinance to your master plan

Read Your Zoning Ordinance
The Zoning Guru Guarantee:
You will be surprised by something you find in your community’s zoning ordinance
You may even be appalled by something you find lurking in the dark corners of the document
Zoning Ordinances make excellent bedtime reading
Read from beginning to end, or
Search the document by subject

Read Your Zoning Ordinance
Take notes in the margins
It’s OK, it’s not a school textbook
Highlight important or questionable parts
Write down a list of questions that come to mind as you read

Search your Zoning Ordinance
Look for all provisions related to a particular topic
Landscaping and screening
Signs
Outdoor storage
Exterior lighting
If you have trouble finding the multiple references, it’s time to consolidate!

Compare Your Zoning Ordinance to Your Master Plan
Section 501(4) of the Michigan Zoning Enabling Act:
“ A site plan shall be approved if it…is in compliance with the conditions imposed under:
The zoning ordinance,
Other local unit of government planning documents ,
Other applicable ordinances, and
State and federal statutes.”
In other words, “Your Master Plan has Teeth!”

Read Your Master Plan
Questions to ask yourself as you read:
Is your Zoning Ordinance working for or against your Master Plan?
priorities
recommendations
goals
policies
Does your Master Plan provide a strong foundation for your Zoning Ordinance?

Where in the World is our Master Plan?
Call out the search dogs!
Blow the dust off!
Dig out the microfilm reader!
It must be around here somewhere!

Compare Your Zoning Ordinance to Your Master Plan
Section 203(1) of the Michigan Zoning Enabling Act:
“ The zoning ordinance shall be based upon a plan….”
If provisions of your Zoning Ordinance conflict with your community’s Master Plan goals, objectives, or policies,
Then there is no better time to begin updating one or both of these important documents!

Organize Regulations into Tables
Lists by district
Paper intensive
Repetitive
Hard to compare zoning districts

Dimensional Standards Table

Anatomy of a Dimensional Standards Table

DST Example: Many Zoning Districts

Any numbers or lists can be put into a table format
This….

Any numbers or lists can be put into a table format
…can become this:

Add Illustrations
Picture = 1,000 words
Vilican-Lehman Associates created most widely used/copied zoning illustrations in Michigan 30+ years ago
If your Zoning Ordinance has no illustrations, or they look like these, it is time for a change:

Add Illustrations
Zoning Terms:
Lot width
Lot lines
Lot depth
Front yard
Side yard
Rear yard
Right-of-way

Add Illustrations

Typical Zoning Ordinance approval processes include:
Site Plan Review
Special or Conditional Use Permit Approval
Planned Unit Developments
Rezoning

not Web friendly
small font
list & outline layout
Difficult to follow

As you read your Zoning Ordinance, consider:
Can the regulation be stated in fewer words?
Does the text clearly reflect the intent of the ordinance?
Too often, the purpose is lost in multiple clauses and phrases, exceptions and double negatives.

Eradicate legalisms like “herewith,” “therewith,” “herein,” “hereby,” “heretofore,” “thereof,” and “theretofore” wherever they are found to be hiding!
Eliminate filler or vague phrases like “in furtherance of,” “deemed to be,” “in order to,” and “to the maximum extent feasible.”
Break up paragraph-long sentences into short declarative sentences
Watch for the semi-colons!

Add new land use definitions
Replace outdated terms like “mobile home”
Word search for unused terms
Expect to have 150 - 250 defined terms

The “heart” of the ordinance
Zoning Districts
Permitted Land Uses

Land Use Table

Keys to a Successful Land Use Table
Organize land uses into groups for readability and convenience
Rural Uses
Residential Uses
Office, Service, and Community Uses
Commercial Uses
Industrial, Research, and Laboratory Uses
Other Uses
Delete the old zoning district text when you adopt the Land Use Table format

Zoning Districts vs. “Use Groups”
“ Use Groups” are only an organizational tool
Easier to find specific land uses in the Land Use Table
A land use in a particular “Use Group” may be listed in multiple zoning districts
Ex. Churches, office buildings, retail sales

Keys to a Successful Land Use Table
“ Other Uses ”
These are uses that, because of unusual character, intensity or nuisance factors, do not fit well into the preceding use groups
Examples:
Adult Entertainment/Sexually-Oriented Businesses
Sanitary Landfill
Airport
Concrete and Asphalt Plants
Composting Centers or Recycling Facilities

Keys to a Successful Land Use Table P = Principal Use (or “ Principal Permitted Use”) a use permitted “by right” – may require site plan approval C = Conditional Use (or “ S = Special Use”) a use that may be permitted only after a public hearing

Land Use Table - Multiple Districts

Land Use Table - Rural Township

RECAP: Ten ways to apply brevity and clarity to zoning
Read the ordinance
Compare your zoning ordinance to your master plan
Organize regulations into tables
Add illustrations

Four More Warning Signs that your Zoning Ordinance Needs Brevity and Clarity
Zoning Ordinance adopted more than five years ago
… or you are on Amendment Supplement #23
The ZBA has a full agenda each month
High or rapidly rising legal costs for zoning and land development issues
Planning commissioners have to ask for legal opinions to understand the ordinance
The only “good developments” are PUDs

Get the Right Sort of Professional Help
Hire the right sort of community planner to help you modernize your zoning ordinance
You wouldn’t hire a corporate finance attorney to defend you in a criminal trial
Like lawyers, community planners specialize:
Urban design
Statistics/demographics
GIS/mapping
Downtown revitalization
Historic preservation
Zoning and land use planning
Public participation/visioning
Site planning and land development

Questions?

Map2009 Brevity And Clarity In Your Zoning Ordinance

by buildingplace on Oct 03, 2009

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