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<br />, ADDITIONAL ONLINE RESOURCES
<br />
<br />Stormwater authority
<br />www.stormwaterauthority.org
<br />This site offers links to each state's
<br />NPDES page. Go to the small tab
<br />named "Regulatory Data" to see a col-
<br />umn of states.
<br />
<br />Center for Watershed Protection
<br />
<br />www.cwp.org
<br />
<br />low Impact Development Center
<br />
<br />www.lowimpactc!evelopment.org
<br />
<br />EPA's smart growth page
<br />www.epa.gov/smartgrowth
<br />
<br />EPA's stormwater program home page
<br />http://cfpub.epa.gov/npdes/home.
<br />cfm?program_id
<br />
<br />Menu of best management practices
<br />www. cfpub.epa.gov jnpdesj stormwater I
<br />menuofbmps/menu.cf
<br />
<br />Smart growth techniques as
<br />stormwater BMPs
<br />www.epa.gov/dced/pdf/
<br />s8"-stormwatecBMP.pdf
<br />
<br />A Separate Stormwater Code
<br />A separate stormwater code is good for commu-
<br />nities without zoning or for those unable to revis-
<br />iting an existing code. For example, the stormwa-
<br />ter ordinance for Lafayette, Indiana, says the
<br />requirements of the ordinance are "in addition
<br />to" the minimum requirements of other land-use
<br />and water codes. The Lafayette code references
<br />the state's BMP manual. The key to a new
<br />stormwater ordinance is flexibility to respect
<br />local site constraints and environmental needs.
<br />(See lafayette.in.gov/Content{global{File{
<br />engineering{ ord2ooS-08.doc.)
<br />
<br />EMERGING ISSUES
<br />The stormwater rules that are the impetus for
<br />this article are still making their way through
<br />the public process in hundreds of cities and
<br />counties. Unfortunately, the complex policy
<br />environment under which many of the deci-
<br />sions are made is not well understood. Plan-
<br />ning and zoning officials should be knowl-
<br />edgeable of emerging issues.
<br />
<br />Human and Financial Resources
<br />Many cities are large enough to facilitate reg-
<br />ulation but still too small to have fully
<br />
<br />funded, state-of-the-art stormwater depart-
<br />ments. For these cities, there is the danger
<br />that BMP selection will trend toward those
<br />measures that are easiest to implement and
<br />the most familiar. As such, blanket require-
<br />ments that apply to all development projects,
<br />no matter the context, will rise to the top
<br />because of ease of implementation. Con-
<br />servation subdivision design is emerging as
<br />a popular BMP because most communities
<br />can easily modify the subdivision ordinance.
<br />Unfortunately, this does little to address
<br />the much larger implications of dispersed
<br />development.
<br />
<br />A Veneer of Green
<br />Developers are hopping on the green band-
<br />wagon in droves. The move towards green
<br />design dovetails nicely with increasing con-
<br />sumer interest to locate next to, or with views
<br />of, "green." However, green features are not
<br />synonymous with sustainable development.
<br />The Coalition for Smarter Growth
<br />(www.smartergrowth.net) and other groups
<br />have emerged to critique designs and advo-
<br />cate for compact development. One of the lat-
<br />est trends is inclusion of walking trails in site
<br />design. However. if they are not designed to
<br />replace car trips with walk trips. generous
<br />parking allotments will continue. Successfully
<br />managing impervious cover and stormwater is
<br />not just related to how water flows, but also
<br />how people flow.
<br />
<br />Gray Bias
<br />The green design movement is strong. As noted
<br />throughout this article, on-site management for
<br />water runoff has taken the engineering world by
<br />storm. While the attention is long overdue, the
<br />improvement of the gray infrastructure that sup-
<br />ports an efficient city form is as important as
<br />ever. True, the old gray paradigm of diverting
<br />water as quickly as possible to local streams is
<br />no longer valid. Now is the time to take advan-
<br />tage of existing investments and augment the
<br />gray with green.
<br />
<br />IN SUM
<br />Whether intended or not, new stormwater
<br />rules provide an opportunity to forge links
<br />among disciplines that often move along
<br />parallel tracks. Potable water, transporta-
<br />tion, housing. and jobs are impacted by
<br />stormwater runoff. To that end, good water
<br />quality practices equal irrefutabiy good
<br />planning.
<br />
<br />I :~~}I~~T~E~PORTS
<br />
<br />
<br />John R. Nolon and Patricia E. Salkin.
<br />Thomson/West, 610 Opperman Drive, P.O.
<br />Box 64526, St. Paul, MN 551264-0526. 446
<br />pp. 2006. Available from APA's
<br />PlanningBooks.com. $27.50; $25 forAPA
<br />members.
<br />
<br />Those who need a handbook-sized, but remark-
<br />ably thorough, summary of American land-use
<br />law and how it applies to current practice would
<br />do well to invest in this new edition (with new
<br />authors) of a primary resource. Every chapter
<br />gets to the point efficiently and clearly in we\!-
<br />crafted prose. Topics include common lawori-
<br />gins of land regulations, comprehensive plans,
<br />zoning, subdivision controls, and modem
<br />movements such as smart growth. More than a
<br />reference work, it can actually provide an inter-
<br />esting refresher on many points that many of us
<br />sometimes forget This book can also serve well
<br />as a readable training tool for planning commis-
<br />sioners or inexpensive textbook for university
<br />planning students or those studying for the
<br />A1CP exam.
<br />
<br />Cover photo by Justine Horrocks. A house
<br />under several feet of graphically-rendered
<br />flood waters
<br />
<br />VOL 23, NO. 11
<br />Zoning Practice is a monthly publication of the
<br />American Planning Association. Subscriptions are
<br />available for $75 (U.S.) and $100 (foreign). W.
<br />Paul Farmer, FAlCP, Executive Director; William R.
<br />Klein, AlCP, Director of Research.
<br />Zoning Practice (ISSN 1548-013s) is produced at
<br />APA. Jim Schwab, AICP. Editor; Michael Davidson.
<br />Guest Editor; Julie Von Bergen, Assistant Editor;
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<br />Copyright @2006 by American Planning
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<br />All rights reserved. No part of this publication
<br />may be reproduced or utilized in any form or by
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<br />Printed on recycled paper, including 50-70% recy-
<br />cled fiber and 10% postconsumer waste.
<br />
<br />ZONING PRACTICE 11.06
<br />AMERICAN PLANNING ASSOCIATION I page 7
<br />
<br />49
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