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fore, when zoning districts are based on the functional
<br />relationship of uses proposed in a comprehensive plan,
<br />certain special requirements must be imposed on uses
<br />that are functionally related but potentially incompatible
<br />with other uses in the district. Such special requirements
<br />are intended to bring about compatibility, principally
<br />with other uses in the district, but also with adjacent
<br />uses in neighboring zoning districts.
<br /> Because circumstances can vary widely from one case
<br />to another even within the same use category, not all
<br />special requirements and conditions needed can be ex-
<br />pressed in universally applicable terms or regulations.
<br />The requirements and conditions, even for the same
<br />type of use, need the flexibility to vary from case to
<br />case.
<br />
<br />Rejection of cumulative zoning
<br /> The approach known as cumulative, or pyramid,
<br />zoning customarily involves establishing a highly re-
<br />stricted residential district at one end of the zoning
<br />spectrum, then proceeding through a series of progres-
<br />sively less restricted districts to nearly unrestricted or
<br />"open" industrial classifications. Uses permitted in the
<br />most restricted district also are permitted in the next
<br />less restricted district, along with some additional uses,
<br />and so on. In the least restricted district, all kinds of
<br />uses may be mixed without regard to function or com-
<br />patibility.
<br /> Alfred Bettman argued (Toll 1969) that zoning is di-
<br />rectly related to planning and a comprehensive plan
<br />and that there could be no proper zoning without plan-
<br />ning. As zoning increasingly has found its justification
<br />in the comprehensive plan, the once universally applied
<br />cumulative zoning concept has lost its validity, mainly
<br />because of its adverse effect on planning for public fa-
<br />cilities and services--one of the principal benefits of
<br />comprehensive planning. Since the size of utility lines
<br />and drainage facilities, the type and capacity of streets,
<br />and the kinds of community facilities needed are dif-
<br />ferent for residential, commercial, and industrial de-
<br />velopment, public capital improvement planning and
<br />programming in advance of private development is far
<br />less effective with cumulative zoning than it would be
<br />with an approach that better linked zoning to imple-
<br />mentation of the comprehensive plan. Indeed, cumu-
<br />lative zoning may result in development delays, higher
<br />or misallocated government expenditures, and lower ef-
<br />ficiency of operations, because the need for and optimal
<br />size and location of streets, sewers, water mains, fire
<br />stations, and other public facilities cannot be fully an-
<br />ticipated.
<br /> In spite of such drawbacks, however, practically all
<br />cities with populations exceeding 500,000 have cumu-
<br />lative zoning ordinances, according to the staffof APA's
<br />Planning Advisory Service. Those cities include Kansas
<br />City and Dallas, although the Dallas City Council re-
<br />
<br />cently voiced support for express-purpose zoning (City
<br />of Dallas 1983).
<br />
<br />Express-purpose zoning
<br /> With express-purpose zoning, each district is assigned
<br />an express purpose in harmony with the proposals of
<br />the land use element of the comprehensive plan. The
<br />resulting districts give definition and precision to the
<br />broad land use categories established in the compre-
<br />hensive plan.
<br /> A dearly understood and definitive name and a de-
<br />tailed description of the purpose and intent of each dis-
<br />trict is essential. The following example from the Beau-
<br />mont, Texas, zoning ordinance provides an illustration:
<br />
<br /> Section 30-12. NC, Neighborhood Commercial
<br /> District. This district is primarily intended for the
<br /> retail sales of convenience goods or personal ser-
<br /> vices primarily for persons residing in adjacent
<br /> residential areas. It also includes selected retail and
<br /> service uses that are similar in ]and use intensity
<br /> and physical impact to the neighborhood retail
<br /> sales and service uses permitted in this district. Be-
<br /> cause the retail and personal service uses permitted
<br /> may be an integral part 9f the neighborhood closely
<br /> associated with the residential, religious, recre-
<br /> ational, and educational uses in the neighborhood,
<br /> more restrictive requirements for light, air, open
<br /> space, landscaping, and off-street parking are made
<br /> than are provided in other commercial districts.
<br /> The NC-Neighborhood Commercial district is lo-
<br /> cated on the periphery of the residential neigh-
<br /> borhood on a major street in close proximity to the
<br /> intersection of two major streets. (p. 18)
<br />
<br />Simplifying and modernizing
<br />the zoning ordinance
<br />
<br /> As older zoning ordinances are modernized so that
<br />they advance, rather than obstruct, achievement of the
<br />objectives of the comprehensive plan, there is an op-
<br />portunity to make other improvements as well. Our ex-
<br />perience suggests three changes: simplification of terms,
<br />reduction of the number of districts, and modernization
<br />of the list of permitted uses.
<br />
<br />Use simple, indicative terms. Rather than using letters
<br />and numbers to label districts, as is common in many
<br />older ordinances, it is better to use terms that are in-
<br />dicative of a district's purpose. Simple and accurate no-
<br />menclature used in conjunction with meaningful de-
<br />scriptions of purpose can contribute significantly to
<br />successful administration and public understanding of
<br />an ordinance. (For example, it is certainly easier to un-
<br />derstand what "NC, Neighborhood Commercial"
<br />stands for in the Beaumont ordinance cited above than
<br />
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<br />APA JOURNAL
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