Chapter 20

Question 1

Land (Deed) use

Answer 1

is regulated by public and private restrictions and through the public ownership of land by federal, state, and local governments. The restrictions will look like a up side down triangle form. The local governments will have more power to restrain the rights of land use from private and public purposes.

Question 2

State police power

Answer 2

has the authority to create regulations needed to protect the public health, safety, and wealth through enabling acts.

Question 3

Enabling acts

Answer 3

The state police power to regulate the use of lands.

Question 4

Home rule units of government in Illinois

Answer 4

1. Any municipality with a population in excess of 25,000 and any county that has a chief executive officer elected by the people are automatically home-rule units.
2. If fewer than 25,000, people may elect by referendum.
3. Township are not allowed to be home-rule units.
4. If any ordinance of home rule county conflicts with any ordinance of a home rule municipality, the municipal ordinance prevails.
5. Township zoning ordinances must give way to country zoning ordinances, and townships are not empowered to pass subdivision controls or building codes.

Question 5

Non-home-rule units

Answer 5

can derive their authority to pass land-use controls from the state government through enabling statutes.

Question 6

Comprehensive plan (master plan)

Answer 6

1. a guide to planning for change rather than reacting to proposals.
2. long term, ca. 20 years
3. includes basic elements
   a. land use
   b. housing needs of present and anticipated residents
   c. movement of people and goods (highway and public transit)
   d. community facilities and utilities
   e. energy conservation and promote the use of renewable energy sources

Question 7

Zoning

Answer 7

a regulatory tool that helps communities regulate and control how land is used.

Question 8

Zoning ordinances

Answer 8

1. local laws that implement the comprehensive plan and regulate and control the use of land and structures with designated land-use districts.
2. No nationwide or statewide zoning ordinances exist.
3. zoning powers are conferred on municipal governments by state enabling acts.
4. State and federal governments may regulate land use through special legislation.
5. ZONING ORDINANCES CANNOT BE STATIC, THEY MUST REMAIN FLEXIBLE TO MEET THE CHANGING NEEDS OF SOCIETY.

Question 9

Zoning affects

Answer 9

1. permitted uses of each parcel of land
2. lot sizes
3. types of permissible structures,
4. building heights,
5. setbacks (the minimum distance away from streets, or sidewalks that structures may be built.)
6. style and appearance of structures
7. density (the ration of land area to structure area)
8. protection of natural resources

Question 10

Buffer zone

Answer 10

1. a way that municipalities often adopts ordinances (buffer zone) for subdivisions and planned residential development to meet the need for innovative residential and nonresidential development.
2. a strip of land separating land dedicated to one use from land dedicated to another use. For example, landscaped parks and playgrounds and hiking trails are used to screen residential areas from nonresidential zones.

Question 11

Bulk zoning (density zoning)

Answer 11

control density and avoid overcrowding by imposing restrictions such as setback and maximum building heights, and requiring a specified percentage of open area or by restricting new construction projects.

Question 12

Aesthetic zoning

Answer 12

to specify certain types of architecture for new buildings

Question 13

incentive zoning

Answer 13

to ensure that certain uses are incorporated into development, such as requiring the street floor of an office building to house retail establishments.

Question 14

14th Amendment

Answer 14

1. prevents the states from depriving” any person of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law.”
2. The government provides public hearings for citizens to discuss zoning ordinances before they are enacted,

Question 15

Compensation

Answer 15

1. may be negotiated between the owner and the government. or the owner may seek a court judgment setting the amount.
2. before-and-after method is one method used to determine just compensation.

Question 16

Taking

Answer 16

1. The concept of taking is similar to eminent domain in that it comes from the takings clause of the 5th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution.
2. “Nor shall private property be taken fro public use, without just compensation.”
3. When land is taken for public use through the government’s power of eminent domain or condemnation, the owner must be compensated.
4. In general, no land is exempt from government seizure.

Question 17

Inverse condemnation

Answer 17

The property is condemned because its use and value have been diminished due to an adjacent property’s public use. For example, property along a newly constructed highway may be inversely condemned.
The owner may bring an inverse condemnation action to be compensated for the loss.

Question 18

Zoning permits

Answer 18

1. owners should obtain the permit before they begin any development.
2. Zoning permits are usually required before building permits can be issued.

Question 19

Zoning Hearing Board (zoning boards of appeal)

Answer 19

in most communities to hear complaints about the effect as zoning ordinance may have on specific parcels of property.

Question 20

Nonconforming use

Answer 20

1. a lot or an improvement odes not conform to the zoning law because it existed before the enactment or amendment of the zoning ordinance.
2. may be allowed to continue legally as long as it complies with the regulations governing nonconformities in the local ordinance or until the improvement is destroyed or torn down or the current use is abandoned.
3. Licensees should never assume nor allow their clients to assume that the existing nonconforming use will be allowed to continue.
4. Buyers should verify with the local zoning authorities the conditions under which the use is allowed to remain or whether changes are permitted.

Question 21

Conditional-Use Permits (special-use permit)

Answer 21

is usually granted to a property owner to allow a special use of property, defined as an allowable conditional use, within that zone, such as ad day care enter in a residential district.

Question 22

Variance (exception)

Answer 22

1. provides relief if zoning regulations deprive an owner of the reasonable use of the property.
2. The owner must demonstrate the unique circumstances that make the variance necessary, which means he or she is harmed and burdened by the regulations.
3. “Run with the Land” means the exception is passed on to any later owners after a change has been made.,
   Example: if an owner’s lot is level next to a road but slopes steeply 30 feet away from the road, the zoning board may allow a variance so the owner can build closer to the road than setback requirements generally allow.

Question 23

Building codes

Answer 23

1. in most municipalities, to specify construction standards that must be met when repairing or erecting building.
2. set the requirements for kinds of materials and standards of workmanship, sanitary equipment, electrical wiring, fire prevention, and similar issues.
3. the building permit should be accorded with the building codes and zoning ordinances monitored by municipal officials. .

Question 24

Certificate of occupancy (occupancy permit)

Answer 24

1. Once the completed structure has been inspected and found satisfactory, the municipal inspector issues the certificate
2. indicates that the property is suitable for habitation by meeting certain safety and health standards , which must be issued before anyone moves in and often before a lender will allow closing.
3. If the construction of a building or an alternation violates a deed restriction, the issuance of a building permit will not cure this violation.
4. A building permit is merely evidence of the applicant’s compliance with mynicipal regulations.

Question 25

Subdivision (plat)

Answer 25

1. Most communities have adopted subdivision and land development ordinances as a part of their comprehensive plans.
2. A major advantage of subdivision ordinances is that they encourage flexibility, economy, and ingenuity in the use of land.

Question 26

Subdivider

Answer 26

a person who buys undeveloped acrage and divides it into smaller lots for sale to individuals or developers or for the subdivider’s own use.

Question 27

Developer

Answer 27

1. a person who improves the land, constructs homes or other buildings on the lots, and sells them.
2. In a new residential subdivision, developers usually pay the costs to provide new water, sewer, streets, curbs, and sidewalks.

Question 28

Regulation of land development

Answer 28

1. Laws governing subdividing and land planning are controlled by the state and local government bodies where the land is located.
2. municipality’s comprehensive plan is highers than development planning and prior to the actual subdividing

Question 29

Plats (map)

Answer 29

1. a detailed map that illustrates the geographic boundaries of individual lots. It shows the blocks, sections, streets, public easements, and monuments in the prospective subdivision.
2. Once a plat is properly recorded, it may be used as an adequate legal description f real property.

Question 30

Subdivision plans

Answer 30

Most are laid out by use of lots and blocks.
An area of land is designated as a block
The area makes up this block is divided onto lots.
A subdivider usually determines the size as well as the location of individual lots.
A subdivider registering a development with the U.S Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) must include a percolation report .in the application.
A subdivider should provide for utility easements, as well as easements for water and sewer mains.

Question 31

Impact fees

Answer 31

are charges made in advance to cover anticipated expenses involving offsite capital improvements such as water ans were facilities expansion, additional roads, and school expansions.

Question 32

Subdivision Density (bulk zoning)

Answer 32

1. restrict the average maximum number of houses per acre that may be built within a particular subdivision
2. a subdivider can build a single-family housing unit at 10,000 square feet, which means he or she can build 4 houses per acre.
3. The average of density of subdivision is called gross density

Question 33

Restrictive covenants (A covenant is a formal written agreement between two or more people or groups of people which is recognized in law.)

Answer 33

1. limitations to the use of property imposed by a past owner or the current owner and are biding on future grantees
2. are usually considered valid if they are reasonable restraints that benefit all property owners in the subdivision, that is they protect property values or safety.
3. In Illinois, any restrictive covenant that forbids or restricts conveyance, encumbrance, occupancy, or lease on the basis of race, color, religion, or national origin is void.

Question 34

Covenant, conditions, restrictions and (CC & Rs)

Answer 34

1. are private rules set up by the developer that set standards for all the parcels within the defined subdivision.
2. be imposed through a covenant in the deed or by a separate recorded declaration.
3. typically governing the type, height, and size of buildings
4. be enforced by the homeoweners association
5. No private restriction can violate a local, state, or federal law.