Areas of Practice Flashcards
cards
Fiscal Impact Analysis
Is used to estimate the costs and revenues of a proposed development on a local government.
Average Per Capita Method
Simplest method, but it is also the least reliable. It divides the total local budget by the existing population in a city to determine the average per capita cost for the jurisdiction. The result is multiplied by the expected new population associated with the new development.
Adjusted Per Capita Method
Uses Average per capita calculated and adjusts this based on expectations about the new development. This relies on subjective judgment.
Disaggregated Per Capita Method
Estimates the costs and revenues based on major land uses; for example, the cost of servicing a shopping center versus an apartment complex.
Dynamic Method
Applies statistical analysis to time-series data from a jurisdiction. For example, how much sales tax revenue is generated per capita from a grocery store and applies this to the new development
basic steps of plan-making for comprehensive planning
Identify stakeholders Define goals Gather information and analysis Develop alternatives Select an alternative Implement (set budget and action steps) evaluate and amend
Tribal Planning
Engages tribal government leaders, residents, and businesses in preparing plans and administering planning processes in support of the tribal community.
subdivision
Is the division of land into two or more parcels, sites, or lots, for the purpose of transfer of ownership, development, or other forms of valuable interest.
plat
a map of a tract or parcel of land
replat
Allows for lots to be subdivided further or added back together
amending plat
Corrects errors or adds additional information to a plat
vacating plat
Allows for a plat to be terminated prior to the selling of any lots.
preliminary plat
To-scale mechanical drawing with precise topography and prescribed intervals showing the calculated location of all lots, streets, drainage patterns, facilities, and proposed dedications.
final plat
Is the approved preliminary plat with all bearing, monuments, curves, and notations, together with all dedications, easement, and approvals.
extraterritorial jurisdiction (ETJ)
Is a distance outside of the city limits where the subdivision regulations apply.
performance bonds
Is an agreement between the property owner and the community to ensure that the final plat is built as shown on the drawings within a certain time period. If the developer fails to meet the requirements, the government may use the bond to cover the cost of constructing the improvements
Dedications
Gifts of land for public purposes, such as roads, parks, and utilities
Impact fees
Typically charged for off-site infrastructure that is needed to provide service to a development, such as a water or a sewer main
development agreement
a voluntary contract between a local jurisdiction and a property owner detailing the obligations of both parties and specifying the standards and conditions that will govern development of the property.
subdivision bonuses
Is the extension of development benefits beyond those normally offered in exchange for enhancements such as affordable housing, cluster housing, and open space preservation.
Zoning
Is the separation of land uses or functions into separate districts. Zoning is implemented through locally enacted legislation that regulates and controls the use of private property. The purposes of zoning are to regulate land use, prevent land use conflicts, and allow growth to occur in a planned manner.
Zoning Regulate
Land use Lot Size Density Building placement Building height Building bulk Setbacks Provision of adequate light and air Parking Landscaping Signage
Planning and Zoning Commission (P&Z)
Is required to issue recommendations in matters of zoning. Members are appointed by the governing body.
Board of Zoning Appeals
Is a quasi-judicial board that hears cases for variances, special exceptions to the zoning ordinance, and appeals of staff’s administration of the zoning ordinance.
City Council
The governing body of a city often has the final say on zoning issues.
Zoning Text
The zoning text, ordinance, or code lays out the exact regulations that zoning is created to implement.
Zoning Map
Is where zoning clearly becomes applicable to individual properties. The color-coded map shows which types of land uses are allowable where.
Zoning Amendments
Two ways that zoning can be changed. One is an amendment to the zoning ordinance or text. The other is an amendment to the zoning map. An amendment to the zoning ordinance changes the requirements for all properties. An amendment to the zoning map changes the zoning district on a particular property.
Euclidean Zoning
It places the most protective restrictions on residential land uses, less on commercial uses, and virtually none on industrial uses.
Cumulative Zoning
Single-family residential districts are the most exclusive. Successive zoning district allows all the uses from the previous zones. For example, a house could be built in an industrial zone but a factory could not be built in a residential zone.
Modified Cumulative Zoning
Districts are typically cumulative by type of land use. For example, a multi-family district would allow both single-family homes and multi-family housing..
permitted uses
If a retail zoning district lists barber shops as a permitted use, a business could open a barber shop without having to ask the city for permission.
Conditional use
Permits allow a certain use in a district only when it is compatible with its surroundings.
Run with the land (Conditional use)
If the permit runs with the land, any new user is required to follow the same conditions.
Run with the ownership (Conditional use)
If the permit runs with ownership, it offers the community an opportunity to review the circumstances if ownership or use changes. The conditions can be modified when a new conditional use permit is requested.
nonconforming use
Is a property use that existed prior to the adoption of district regulations and is allowed to continue under the “grandfather clause.”
Amortization
Sets a definite period of time within which the use must come into compliance with the zoning ordinance. This time period is based on the property owner’s original investment, the use of the property, and other factors that affect the owner’s potential income.
accessory use
Is one that is incidental to the main use of a property. Example is a garage apartment
use variance
Allows a property to have a use not explicitly allowed under the zoning district regulations. Example property owner wants to locate a structure closer to a lot line than the Zoning allows.
area variance
Allows a property to be excluded from the physical site requirements under the zoning ordinance. Example is build a house with only a 20-foot front setback instead of the required 25-foot setback.
Big-box retail
Generally has 50,000 or more square feet in a large box.
Concentrated animal feeding operations
Include the practice of raising farm animals indoors and in high volumes. Local govs are limited based on Right-to-farm laws (limit lawsuits against farms)
Maximum parking standards
Cap the amount of parking that a property owner or business can provide. This addresses the problem of providing excessive impervious cover and undermining pedestrian quality.
McMansion
Is a term that describes large houses that are mass produced and have perceived negative impacts on the community, sometimes because they are out of scale with surrounding homes.
Teardown
Is a term that refers to the demolition of a home for the purposes of building a larger home on the same lot.
Growth management
Specific regulatory policies aimed at influencing how growth occurs, mainly within a locality. Is a planning approach that pre-dates smart growth and sustainability planning (but is in the same family).
Smart Growth
Is a term that is used to describe planning for greater sustainability. Smart growth provides economic benefits “for individuals, for neighborhoods, for communities, for developers, for land owners, and for the economy as a whole.”
Ten primary principles for Smart Growth
Create a range of housing opportunities and choices;
Create walkable neighborhoods;
Encourage community and stakeholder collaboration;
Foster distinctive, attractive places with a strong sense of place;
Make development decisions predictable, fair, and cost-effective;
Mix land uses;
Preserve open space, farmland, natural beauty, and critical environmental areas;
Provide a variety of transportation choices;
Strengthen and direct development towards existing communities;
Take advantage of compact building design
Growing SmartSM
Is a legislative guidebook that focuses on updating state legislation to encourage better planning and zoning laws.
Sustainable development
As balancing the fulfillment of human needs with the protection of the natural environment so that the present and future population’s needs can be met. Includes environmental, social, and economic components.
Triple bottom line
First coined in 1994 by John Elkington. His argument was that companies should be preparing three different bottom lines: one for corporate profit, one for people, and one for the planet. The Three Ps
Carrying capacity
Is a biological concept indicating the maximum population size of a species that could be sustained in perpetuity within the environment, given the availability of food, water, habitat, etc. First used in 1845 by James Buchanan.
Trip generation
deals with the number of trips that a particular site is likely to generate.
Origin-Destination Survey
Estimates trip generation. Survey requires that roadblocks be set up along major routes. Motorists are sampled and asked questions on point of origin.
Cross tabulation models
A statistical tool that is used to analyze categorical data. Example estimates trip generation. They allow for estimates of trip generation rates based on land use type, purpose, or socioeconomic characteristics.
Trip Distribution
Is a model of the number of trips that occur between each origin zone and each destination zone
Earth Day
The first Earth Day was April 22, 1970.
Metropolitan Water District of Southern California
Created in 1927 in order to create the Colorado River Aqueduct.
Rachel Carson
Author of Silent Spring. Examined the dangers of chemical pesticides, such as DDT, on plants, animals, and humans.
Effluent Standards
Set restrictions on the discharge of pollutants into the environment. Effluent guidelines reduce the discharge of pollutants that have serious environmental impacts.
Estuary
Is an area where freshwater meets saltwater.
Lagoon
Is a shallow body of water that is located alongside a coast.
Marsh
A type of freshwater, brackish water or saltwater wetland found along rivers, ponds, lakes, and coasts.
Reservoir
Pond, lake, tank, or basin that can be used for the storage and control of water, and can be either natural or man-made
Swamp
Freshwater wetland that has spongy, muddy land and a lot of water.
Water table
The upper surface of ground water. Below is where groundwater saturates spaces between sediments and cracks in rock.
The Clean Water Act
Passed in 1972, with a major amendment in 1977. The Act requires anyone wanting to discharge pollutants into a body of water to obtain a permit.
National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES)
Permit Program controls water pollution by regulating point sources that discharge pollutants into waters
Clean Air Act
1970 and made major revisions in 1977 and 1990. Provisions that cut off federal funding for metropolitan areas that are not in attainment.
National Ambient Air Quality Standards (NAAQS)
Established for six “criteria” or major of outdoor air pollutants: lead, carbon monoxide, ozone, nitrogen dioxide, sulfur dioxide, and particulate matter.
Prevention of Significant Deterioration (PSD)
Relates to air quality and requires that a project will not increase emissions above a specified PSD increment.
Ambient Air Quality Standards
Are the maximum air contaminant concentrations allowed in the ambient air.
The National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA)
Created in 1969
The Rivers and Harbors Act of 1899
Considered the oldest environmental law in the U.S., prohibited the construction of any bridge, dam, dike, or causeway over any navigable waterway in the U.S. without Congressional approval. The Act also required Congressional approval for all wharves, piers, or jetties, and the excavation or fill of navigable waters.
The Water Pollution Control Act of 1948
allowed the Surgeon General of the Public Health Service, in cooperation with other governmental entities, to prepare a comprehensive program for eliminating or reducing the pollution. Allowed the Federal Works Administrator to assist government agencies in constructing treatment plants that could help to prevent discharges of inadequately treated sewage and other wastes into interstate waters or tributaries.
The Water Quality Act of 1965
Established the Water Pollution Control Administration within the Department of the Interior. This was the first time water quality was treated as an environmental concern rather than a public health concern.
The Coastal Zone Management Act of 1972
Later amended in 1990, focused efforts to reduce polluted runoff in 29 coastal states.
The Federal Water Pollution Control Act of 1972
Amended the Water Pollutant Act of 1948. The amendments broadened the government’s authority over water pollution and restructured the authority for water pollution under the Environmental Protection Agency. The Act changed the enforcement from water quality standards to regulate the number of pollutants being discharged from particular point sources.
The Endangered Species Act of 1973
Provides protection of animal and plant species that the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service designates as threatened or endangered.
The Public Utility Regulatory Policy Act (PURPA) of 1978
Promotes alternative energy sources, energy efficiency, and reduced dependence on foreign oil. It also created a market for non-utility power producers and requires competition in the utility industry.
The Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act (CERCLA)
In 1980 created a $1.6 billion Superfund to clean up abandoned hazardous waste sites and requires major industries to report annual releases of toxic wastes into the air, water, or ground. Over 1,200 superfund sites. Tax on petro and chemical industries provide funding.
The Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA) of 1976
Provided EPA with the ability to control hazardous waste from the “cradle-to-grave.” This includes the generation, transportation, treatment, storage, and disposal of hazardous waste, as well as the management of non-hazardous solid wastes.
The Toxic Substances Control Act of 1976
Provided EPA with responsibility for reporting, record-keeping and testing requirements, and restrictions relating to chemical substances and/or mixtures. Excluding food, drugs, cosmetics, and pesticides.
Federal Insecticide, Fungicide, and Rodenticide Act (FIFRA)
Passed in 1947. Established procedures for registering pesticides with the U.S. Department of Agriculture. FIFRA currently mandates that EPA regulate the use and sale of pesticides to protect human health and the environment.
Safe Drinking Water Act
Passed in 1974 and has been amended several times since. This law protects both the sources of drinking water and the end product.
Brownfields
Are “real property, the expansion, redevelopment, or reuse of which may be complicated by the presence or potential presence of a hazardous substance, pollutant, or contaminant.
