Agenda - Planning Commission - 09/03/1996

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AUGUST1996 I I! AMERICAN PLANNING ASSOCIATION I I I Zoning and .fhe Comprehensive Plan By ~ar~ $. Deh~ison The requirement that zoning be done "in accordance with a Jcomprehensive plan" remains one of the most fundamental yet least easily tmderstood or defined concepts in zoning. This requirement orlginated from language in the U.S. Department of Commerce'S Standard Zoning Enabling Act (SZ~) of 1922. ~though the SZEA did not define comprehensivep~n, it is gener~[y unde~tood that the requirement was imposed to prevent piecemeal and haphazard zoning. %ether it :i~ a separate written document or inherent in the zoning ordin~ce, a comprehensive plan (c~led a master plan in some states) sg6uld be designed to reflect current and future regulation ofl~d uses. It should ensure that loc~ governments act rationally, not arbitrarily, in exercising their delegated zoning author}~. This issue of Zoning ~Sws outlines how different state{ interpret their laws on comprehensive plans and explains how to evMuate zoning decisions for adequate consisten~ with them. St~zte ApProaches In most states~ the comprehensive plan need not be a separate written document. The requirement is simply a shorthand label for broad valu~ judgments, such as that zoning should be the result of studied forethought, that parts of the zoning scheme relate to the whole, and that zoning be free of gross irrationalities ~nd inconsistencies. The comprehensive plan is basically a land-use development policy intended to guide future zoning decision making. To meet the requirement that zoning actions be done in accordance with a comprehensive plan, zoning decision makers are required only to take into account long-term planning and growth management goals for the area. These land-use planning policies may be gleaned from a variety of zoning and planning sources, including zoning ordinances, maps, and planning studies, which together embody the concept of a comprehensive plan. [n New York, for example, the state zoning enabling act generally requires that zoning regulations be in accordance with a comprehensive plan but does not mandate that they depend on any particular external document. (See N.Y. Town Law sec. 263; N.Y. Village Law sec. 7-704.) As explained by New York's highest court in the state's leading case on the issue, Udel{v. Haas, 21 N.Y.2d 463,288 N.Y.S.2d 888, 235 N.E.2d 897 (1968): We have found the "comprehensive ptan" by examining all relevant evidence .... iT]he "comprehensive plan" requires that the rezoning should not conflict with the fundamental land-use policies and development plans of the community, These policies may be garnered from any available source, most especially the master plan of the community, if any has been adopted, the zoning law itself, and the zoning map. (21 N.Y.2d at 471-472.) Some courts have concluded that the zoning ordinance may itself constitute the comprehensive plan with which zoning decisions must conform. This issue came before a Wisconsin court, as a matter of first impression, in Bell v. CiO; of£lkhorn, 364 N.W. 2d 144 (Wis. 1985). First, the court had to determine ~ Explicil Consislency Requirements Mar, dote, fy Comprehensive Pbm [] BoJh Requirements [] Neilher Not all states explicitly require that zoning conform with a comprehensive plan, though most do. But the definition and content of such plans vary widely. Somewhat fewer, though still about half, mandate some form of comprehensive plan for either all or certain categories of local governments. How those two requirements mesh also varies with state law, a~d the reader is advised to consult individual statutes for detaih,