Chapter 26: Land Use Flashcards
FILL IN THE BLANK. Under cumulative zoning, __________ use is permitted everywhere.
A
nonconforming
B
industrial
C
commercial
D
You Selected: residential
Which of the following statements regarding zoning is TRUE?
A
Correct Answer: To obtain a zoning variance, the property owner must show that the current zoning law would create an unnecessary hardship from circumstances unique to the property.
B
A property owner may be able to obtain a zoning variance if current zoning imposes a financial hardship on the owner and the variance would not cause substantial harm to the public interest.
C
You Selected: If zoning laws are changed thereby creating a nonconforming use on existing property, the theory of vested rights protects the owner only if compliance would create unnecessary hardship.
D
If zoning laws are changed thereby creating a nonconforming use while a building project is underway, the owner cannot get his use grandfathered in.
Which of the following statements regarding “nuisance” is FALSE?
A
The usual remedy for a nuisance is damages.
B
You Selected: In a private nuisance, a substantial interference is more than merely offensive or annoying to the average person in the community.
C
To recover for a public nuisance, a plaintiff must show that she suffered a different kind of harm than that suffered by the rest of the community.
D
In a private nuisance, the interference is unreasonable if the injury caused outweighs the usefulness of the defendant’s actions.
Which of the following statements regarding water rights is FALSE?
A
You Selected: Under the riparian rights doctrine, the first to use the water has the rights to the water.
B
Under the riparian rights doctrine, water belongs to the landowner bordering the waterway.
C
Under prior appropriation, rights can be obtained by beneficial use of water on another’s land.
D
Under prior appropriation, any productive use is a beneficial use.
Which of the following statements regarding lateral support rights is TRUE?
A
The owner of land is strictly liable for subsidence on a neighbor’s land caused by excavating on his own land if the neighbor’s surface buildings contribute to the subsidence.
B
The owner of land may be liable in negligence for subsidence on a neighbor’s land caused by excavating on his own land if the neighbor’s surface buildings do not contribute to the subsidence.
C
You Selected: The owner of land may be liable in negligence when the owner’s actions cause a cave in on a neighbor’s land if the neighbor’s surface buildings contributed to the cave in.
D
Lateral support rights are those of the owner of the mineral rights to the land.
