Agenda - Planning Commission - 09/04/2008

Home

TheConsisten'cy Doctrine: Merging Intentions with Actions By Lora A. Lucero, AICP The zoning ordinance is the primary tool that communities use to regulate where, when, and how they will grow and develop. prehensive plan is supreme, the constitution for the community:The tools-zoning, subdivision, capital improvements, impact fees, and oth- . ers-must be consis~ent with the plan, rather than inconsistent with or blind to the plan. What role does the comprehensive (or gen- eraO plan play in the development review process? This issue of Zoning Practice discusses the disconnections between plans and zoning ordinance!i and recommends that states and local communities put teeth into their plans by adopting the consistency doctrine: the logical . connection or relationship between compre- hensive plans and the regulatory tools designed to implement those plans. The com- THE ADOPTED COMPREHENSIVE PLAN MUST BE IMPLEMENTED; IF NOT, WHY PLAN? In a democratic society, the residents of the community express their goals for the future by participating in a public planning process culminating iri the adoption of the com- prehensive plan, and by electing members of a local governing body to implement that plan. Local officials .imple- ment the community~s plan by approving the capital infrastructure budget, adopting land- use regulations such as zoning and subdivision ordinances, and approving or rejecting development applica- tions. Connecting development and land- . use "decisions to the adopted plan is the best way to achieve the community's goals, or at leastto increase the odds of achieving them. Failing to plan or successfully implement the comprehensive plan can have serious 108 consequences. The challenges and opportuni- ties confronting communities are more diffI. cult and complex today than ever before. Professor John R. Nolan from Pace University School of Law notes in the January 2008 issue of Planning & Environmental Lawthat, in just 35 years,' . . . the nation's population will grow by 100 million people: an increase of33 percent The private sector will produce:forthese new Americans over 70 million homes and over 100 billion square feet of offices, stores, fac- . tories, institutions, hotels, and resorts. Researchers predictthat two-thirds ofthe structures inexistence in 2050 will be built between now and then. This growth cannot proceed randomly with- out great cost to the economy, 'environment, and public health. This is neither an ideolog- ic'al nor a political issue. The consequences of haphazard development are not popular with the vast majoritY of,Americans. .They complain about the results of current growth patterns: an increase of asthma and' obesity among the young, traffic congestion that stalls commuters, insufficient housing for the workforce and the elderly, the decline of cities as economic and cultural centers, threats to drinking water quality and quan- tity,reduced habitats and wetlands, higher incidences of flooding, rampant fossil fuel consumption, and an ever-larger carbon footprint. (emphasis added). Communities prepare and adopt com- prehensiv.e plans to address these challenges and to balance the competing interests in a fair and democratic fashion. The public expects that the goals and policies of the plan will be successfully implemented, as evi- denced by the countless hours, days, and weeks many volunteer to engage in the como' munity's plan.ning process. Butafter the plan ZONING PRACTICE 8.08 AMERICAN PLANNING ASSOCIATION I page 2