Agenda - Planning Commission - 12/01/2005

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C[assifyin§ and Defining Uses and Building Forms: Land-Use Coding for Zoning Re§u[ations By $. Mark White, Defining and classifying uses is the heart of conventional zoning systems. 68 In zonin§ law, the term "use" refers to the purpose for which a parcel or building is utilized. Land-use classification systems are a systematic organization of Wnd uses for · purposes of plannin§ or plan implementation. Conventional, or "Euclidean," zoning assigns land uses to districts that are established in the ordinance. The theory behind Euciidean zoning is that assigning the right uses to each district protects the districts from intru- sion by inappropriate uses. Precise definitions and distinctions between uses are needed not only to allocate uses to the appropriate districts, but also to determine how the uses are classified and the regulations that apply to them. Form-based zoning (FgZ) has emerged as an alternative to conventional zoning. FBZ is based on the theory that design controls can resolve many potential inconsistencies between land uses. Design controls for FBZ ordinances include building envelope standards, building frontage requirements, fenestration (w!ndow and entryway), facade coverage, and traditional facade modulation techniques. FBZ regulations apply these elements to differentiate districts by building form and buiidin§-street relationships. 8y contrast, under Euclidean zoning, a use relates to the function of a structure and not its form. FI3Z can empower the evo(ution of tradi- tional urbanism in existing and new neighbor- hoods. However, a pure FBZ ordinance ignores many of the secondary impacts of uses, such as traffic, noise, and lowering of property values, Accordingly, most existing FgZ ordinances include restrictions on uses along with design controls. Systematic approaches to defining land uses are also needed for other types of land- use regulations, incfuding impact fee.and trans- for of development rights (TOR) ordinances. For example, many impact fee studies use the broad land-use cate§odes from the institute of Transportation Engineers' Trip Generation to calculate the fees. While this is a useful methodology, the ITE categories are often car: tied forward into the impact fee ordinance. This can create administrative issues because many specific land uses arguably fit either several broad tTE categories or none of them. In addi- tion, failing to link ITE land-use categories to the zoning cate§odes leaves zoning administra- tors guessing how specific zoning uses are classified. This can be time-consuming and cumbersome, requiring the administrator to issue administrative interpretations as to which ITE category a specific land use ifts. If the alter- native land-use categories have significantly different fee amounts (which is ~/pical), prop- ert~ owners and developers will argue for the category that carries the lower fee. If their argu- ments prevail in' an administrative prqceeding or court action, this can have a significant, fiscal impact on the community. Land-use classificat!on systems are also useful for cutting-edge TOR regulations. While 'FOR typicalJy involves transfers of densities and intensities between similar uses, some programs allow residential densities to transfer to commer- 'cia[ or non-residential uses on other sites. Land- use classification systems can be useful for determining' which uses qualiE/for density trans- fers from a sending to a receiving site, and for calculating the appropriate transfer ratio. · Zoning use lists and other land-use regu- lations are often developed and adopted without a [ink to a land-use coding system. ': However, local governments increasingly use land-use classification systems to regulate uses, which is the focus of this issue of. Zoning Practice. Land-use classification sys- terns have the following advantages: J Systematically categorizing uses. Coding systems altow zoning administrators and code users to se'e the relationships between uses, which creates a framework for allocating uses to various zoning districts, · Defining uses. Land-use classification systems provide a basis for crafting definF lions for principal, discretionary, and accessory uses. ZONINGPRACTIEE 9.05 AMERICAN.pLANNING ASSOC[AnON I page