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<br />
<br />Community Affairs (DCA), which is completing revisions for
<br />submission to the Florida legislature.
<br />The DCA proposal is tied to its Eastward Ho! initiative,
<br />discussed in last month's issue, and would allow a majority of
<br />landowners in a district (most often an antiquated subdivision) to
<br />form a land assembly association with local approval to initiate
<br />replatting and undertake redevelopment. While the initiative
<br />would be private, local governments could provide certain
<br />incentives for such undertakings. The act spells out the powers of
<br />chartered associations, including their authority to place a lien on
<br />the properties of nonparticipating landowners within the district
<br />to recover the pro rata share of their benefits from improvements.
<br />It remains to be seen whether the necessity of refocusing
<br />development in antiquated subdivisions will be the mother of
<br />invention by spurring new land-use tools for use by both
<br />developers and planners.
<br />
<br />Montgomery
<br />County Updates
<br />Church Regulations
<br />
<br />Proposed zoning changes affecting religious institutions have
<br />attracted unexpected opposition from interfaith church groups
<br />in Montgomery County, Maryland. The planning board,
<br />nearing the end of a three-year study undertaken at the county
<br />council's request, had assumed that it had resolved all the issues.
<br />The county's regulations for religious institutions,
<br />unchanged since the 1950s, are among the least restrictive of
<br />any jurisdiction in the country, according to planner Judy
<br />Daniel. All churches are allowed as of right in residential
<br />districts as long as they comply with the district's basic zoning
<br />regulations. As in many other communities, however,
<br />Montgomery County religious structures have been growing
<br />significantly in size and number. The result is that parking for
<br />and access to churches located on narrow streets has become a
<br />problem.
<br />One of the proposed changes requires any church that is
<br />building or expanding to more than 100,000 square feet to
<br />apply for a special exception permit. Also, the ultimate size of
<br />any church must relate to the carrying capacity of the street
<br />where it is located. This has met with antagonism from the
<br />religious leaders of churches and synagogues that plan to
<br />expand. According to Daniel, however, only about five percent
<br />of all religious institutions are likely to be affected. A proposed
<br />parking change will increase the standard from one space for
<br />every four seats to one for every three. In addition, shared
<br />parking (with nearby office complexes and public parking lots)
<br />
<br />Zoning N~ws is a monthly newsletter pu'blished by the American Planning Associacion.
<br />Subscriptions are available for $50 (U.S.) and $65 (foreign). Frank S. So, Executive Director;
<br />William R. Klein. Director of Research.
<br />
<br />Zoning News is produced at APA. Jim Schwab, Editot; Chris Burke, Fay Dolnick, Michelle
<br />Gregory, Sanjay Jeer. Megan Lewis. Doug Marcin. Marya Morris. Martin Roupe. Laura
<br />Thompson. Reporters; Cynthia Cheski. Assistant Editor; Lisa Barton, Design and Production.
<br />
<br />Copyright@1997 by American Planning Association, 122 S. Michigan Ave., Suite 1600,
<br />Chicago, lL 60603. The American Planning Association has headquarters offices at 1776
<br />MassachusettS Ave., N.W., Washington, DC 20036.
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<br />All rights reserved. No pan of chis publication may be reproduced or utilized in any form or by
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<br />
<br />will be permitted for 70 percent of onsite parking requirements.
<br />The amendments would permit the new parking requirements -
<br />to be phased in over five years.
<br />The planning board's recommendations went to the council,
<br />which held hearings on April 29 and May 1, but council
<br />president Marilyn Praisner predicted that the strength of the
<br />objections of religious leaders might lead to further revisions
<br />before passage. Fay Dolnick
<br />
<br />Solving Day Labor
<br />Problems
<br />
<br />In recent months, PAS has received requests for information on
<br />managing the situation of day laborers congregating to solicit
<br />temporary employment. Communities have been seeking
<br />humane ways to allow day laborers to pursue work opportunities
<br />without generating negative impacts such as public consumption
<br />of drugs and alcohol, unsanitary practices, and disorderly
<br />behavior. Zoning News profiles two communities that have
<br />found solutions.
<br />Englewood, Colorado. South Broadway, a commercial
<br />corridor in a mature neighborhood, hosts an employment
<br />service center within 400 feet of a residential neighborhood. The
<br />structure is open 24 hours a day but has no sleeping facilities
<br />and an inadequate number of toilets. Bars, liquor stores, and
<br />check-cashing establishments have been proliferating amid
<br />ongoing problems of noise, unsanitary behavior, and loitering.
<br />In response to complaints, Englewood's planning staff
<br />organized four public meetings and mailed opinion surveys to
<br />area residents and business owners. They also conducted market
<br />and land-use analyses of the corridor and reviewed the zoning
<br />ordinance and comprehensive plan. These actions resulted in a
<br />proposed ordinance amendment that the city council is expected
<br />to pass.
<br />On the grounds that the primary employers of temporary
<br />labor are construction and industrial companies, temporary
<br />employment services will become a permitted use in industrial
<br />zones but must be at least 1,000 feet from the nearest residential
<br />property line. The existing temporary employment services in
<br />commercial districts will become nonconforming uses with a
<br />two-year amortization period.
<br />Glendale, California. A Home Depot store in a downtown
<br />commercial district became the gathering point for day laborers
<br />soliciting employment in Glendale. Workers, pedestrians, and
<br />business owners in the neighborhood experienced the effects of
<br />littering, noise, unsanitary behavior, and harassment, including
<br />threats against property owners trying to disperse the solicitors.
<br />A coalition of the planning department, business and
<br />community leaders,and the city's Community Police
<br />Partnership team produced a proposal for a managed site for day
<br />laborers across the street from the store on an abandoned railway
<br />easement. The lot will be improved and fenced in and include
<br />facilities such as restrooms, drinking water, lighting, tables, and
<br />benches. The ciry will provide partial funding from Community
<br />Development Block Grant funds, and Home Depot will assume
<br />a large part of the development costs.
<br />If other affected businesses are willing to contribute, Home
<br />Depot will make a five-year commitment to cover half the
<br />annual maintenance cost. Last August, the city council passed an
<br />ordinance to prohibit the solicitation of employment on the city
<br />streets while allowing it at the managed site. . Fay Dolnick
<br />
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