Fundamental Planning Knowledge (15%) Flashcards
How many acres are in one hectare?
2.47 acres in one hectare
How many acres of land does it take to feed a U.S. household?
2 acres of land per household of 4
You are working with neighborhood leaders to encourage conversion of underutilized commercial buildings to housing in this historic area. Which would be the best to encourage?
Adaptive reuse
The City Council has asked you, as Planning Director, to come up with a plan to reduce the number of lots that become buildable each year. Which of the following techniques would be most appropriate to recommend?
Adequate Public Facilities Ordinance - Allows the city to determine when infrastructure will be extended and maintain an adequate level of service. New building permits would not be issued unless the infrastructure is adequate.
EDIT Which of the following measures is the most commonly used for traffic volume?
Average daily traffic (ADT) volume is the number of vehicles that travel on a road in a typical day.
What is adverse possession?
Adverse possession is a method of acquiring title to a property by possession for a period of time, based on statute. Over time you take occupancy of the property, making repairs, you then continuously occupy the property for a period of ten years. You decide that you want to have the property legally transferred into your name, and you put forward the argument that you are legally entitled to this property.
(aka conservatorship)
What is homesteading?
Homesteading occurs when the land has no legal owner or is owned by the government - the government allows homesteading with an expectation that the person occupying the property will undertake specific actions to gain the title.
What is adverse abandonment?
Adverse abandonment is associated with acquiring land abandoned by a railroad.
What are “squatters rights”?
Squatters rights are a specific form of adverse possession. Squatters typically do not have a right to the title of the property but cannot be removed without due process.
You are responsible for organizing an advisory committee that will provide comments to the city on plans for redevelopment in the neighborhood. Who should be on this committee?
I. Neighborhood residents
II. Neighborhood business owners
III. Developers
Advocacy Planning
Advocacy planning brought planning into the public eye and assisted in recognizing the different needs of interest groups in the community.
The goal was to introduce pluralism into urban planning and represent different groups.
aim to understand that each planning decision has different benefits and costs to each of the stakeholders and try to create space for each group of stakeholders.
posits that planners are political beings
You have been asked to undertake a study of housing in the city - which would be the best way to represent an affordability index?
The ratio of median housing price to median income shows how affordable or unaffordable a community may be. A ratio of greater than 2.5 would indicate that the housing may be unaffordable.
Agins v. City of Tiburon established that a regulation is a taking if:
A regulation is a taking if it deprives the property of all economic value AND does not advance a governmental interest. A temporary deprivation does not cause a taking.
As a planner for the EPA, you are responsible for air pollution management planning. You are coordinating with the state to ensure that there is coordination among the various local and regional plans as part of the state air pollution implementation plan. In your review, what would you expect to be integrated?
Regional Transportation Plans and Regional Transportation Improvement Programs.
Transportation is a major source of air pollution - for example carbon monoxide, which is required to be addressed as part of the state implementation plan.
States are required to develop a state implementation plan for air quality, which must include the following: Provisions for ozone nonattainment areas, Provisions for carbon monoxide nonattainment areas, Provisions for particulate matter nonattainment, provisions for designated nonattainment for sulfur oxides, nitrogen dioxide, or lead.
What does SIP stand for?
air quality State Implementation Plan (SIP)
Who was the first president of the American Society of Planning Officials?
Alfred Bettman was the first president of ASPO.
Saul Alinsky
Saul Alinsky was an advocate of community organizing.
Alinsky organized Chicagos poor in the late 1930s and 1940s.
In 1946 he published Reveille for Radicals, which encouraged those who are poor to become involved in American democracy. Later he published Rules for Radicals, which provided 13 rules for community organizing.
would encourage neighbors who oppose a proposal to organize and use their collective power to disrupt a public hearing.
Who is Alfred Bettman?
Alfred Bettman (1873-1945) was the first president of ASPO and one of the key founders of modern urban planning.
- Zoning can be attributed to his successful arguments before the U.S. Supreme Court, which resulted in the 1926 decision in favor of the Village of Euclid, Ohio versus Ambler Realty Company.
- The concept of the “Comprehensive Plan,” as used in most cities across the U.S., was in no small part due to the work of Bettman and Ladislas Segoe on the “Cincinnati Plan.”
- Communities of all sizes across the U.S. may also thank Bettman for his part in creating the “Capital Improvements Budget.”
Provide a summary of ADA history.
The Americans with Disabilities Act passed in 1990 and was significantly amended in 2008. Current regulations are set in the 2010 Standards for Accessible Design, which replaced standards set in 1991.
The ADA Amendments Act of 2008 overturned two controversial Supreme Court decisions and made the scope of the ADA more broad and inclusive. The 2010 ADA Standards for Accessible Design set minimum requirements for newly designed and constructed or altered State and local government facilities, public accommodations, and commercial facilities to be readily accessible to and usable by individuals with disabilities.
Amitai Etzioni proposed which theory?
Mixed scanning
When using ArcGIS, a planner can obtain mapping data from which 3 sources?
the Census, United States Geological Survey, and ESRI
What is an arterial street?
Arterial streets limit direct access to homes and businesses (local, non- arterial streets). A high-capacity urban road for through traffic on a continuous route with a high level of traffic mobility.
Principal arterials serve longer trips, carrying the highest traffic volumes, and a large percentage of the VMT on a minimum amount of mileage while providing minimal land access.
What is the historical relationship between the American Society of Planning Officials, the American Institute of Planners, and the American Planning Association?
The APA was formed in the late 1970s when the AIP and ASPO consolidated. The AIP first started in 1917 as the American City Planning Institute until it was renamed in 1939.
Associated Home Builders of Greater East Bay v. City of Livermore dealt with what issue?
Timing of Development
Eg. The city you work for in California has been experiencing significant growth, and the planning commission has asked you to investigate ways of putting in rules that would phase development. You advise that the phasing of development should be contingent on performance standards being met. It is related to this legal case.
What 3 things would be most useful in marketing in order to attract e-commerce companies?
E-commerce companies need a well-educated workforce with web design skills. They prefer a region with utility competition, which results in lower costs for internet service. They prefer downtown offices and their workforce wants vibrant urban scenes and active nightlife.
- A large university in the region with a well-known design program
- Significant utility competition
- A vibrant downtown with an active nightlife
You are looking at how you can make sure all voices are heard as you plan for engagement meetings.
Which of the tools would be most effective in ensuring that you maximize participation of those in attendance?
Audience Response System - an instant polling software where answers are sent anonymously
What is the Audience Response System?
ARS is an instant polling software used in conjunction with a slide presentation. A USB receiver/base station retrieves the data provided by an audience using wireless hand-held devices and stores this information on the presenter’s computer. Some ARS programs offer the option of participating in the process via personal cellular phones or laptop computers. The most obvious benefit of ARS is the chance to receive instant and accurate feedback from the audience. This feedback is assumed to represent honest opinions because the answers are sent anonymously.
You ask a developer to provide evidence that the soil is suitable for septic tanks - what report would the developer provide?
An auger test - An auger can be used to retrieve soil samples and then examined for the soil profiles.
What is an auger test and what is it used for?
An auger can be used to retrieve soil samples and then examined for the soil profiles.
Which of the law cases is the eminent domain case?
In economics, the “free rider problem” refers to a situation where…
Some individuals in a population either consume more than their fair share of a common resource, or pay less than their fair share of the cost of a common resource.
Someone benefits from the consumption of a public good without paying their full share.
Binary Variables
have only two different values, typically represented as 0 and 1.
Binary variables are used for variables for which there are only two possible outcomes, such as male or female, or yes or no.
What is biophilic design?
Biophilic Design brings humans and nature together through sustainable strategies, which can include lighting, ventilation, access to water and natural elements.
includes:
-Natural attributes in buildings
-Stormwater reuse irrigation
-Dynamic artificial lighting
The Standard State Zoning Enabling Act (and most state zoning enabling statutes) authorized a board of adjustments to do what:
- Grant variances to provide relief from the terms of the zoning ordinance
- Hear and decide appeals from determinations made by local zoning officials
Board of Zoning Adjustments cannot: enact or amend zoning ordinances or permit special exceptions or develop a comprehensive plan
Those are achieved through a legislative process with the planning commission.
issued by this Federal Department of Commerce (1924)
How is brainstorming as a method for public participation used in the planning process?
I.Getting a sense for what agencies want to accomplish together
II. Identifying the measurable improvements that will be achieved through working together
III. Informally gathering input in the initial stages of a project
Recently cities have undertaken efforts, known as __________, in order to create a specific image of a city that is embedded in the minds of the public.
Branding
How might someone use bridging to communicate a clear message to the public?
A transitional phrase to stay on message when the question could take you off topic.
Bridging is used to bring the conversation back to the central message when questions take you off topic.
What is another name for abandoned industrial sites?
Brownfields - contaminated industrial sites
What is a “buffer” in map-making?
A buffer is a reclassification based on distance. Buffering measures distance outward in directions from an object, in this case a stream. Buffering can be done on three types of vector data - point, line, area.
Could be used to illustrate: A proposed stream corridor protection ordinance which calls for a 50 foot setback from all stream corridors. As part of the staff report for the draft ordinance you want to include a map that illustrates the ordinance.
The city requires a building permit before construction can begin. This is an exercise of:
Police Power
What is police power?
Police Power is the power of a government to impose what it considers reasonable restrictions on the liberties of its citizens for the maintenance of public order and safety. In the case of a building permit this is ensuring the safety of citizens.
The downtown businesses owners have been repeatedly complaining to the city council to do something about the homeless on the street panhandling, the trash, and the general dirty appearance along the sidewalk. What is the best solution?
form a block watch, or pass an ordinance against loitering.
DON’T simply to place the homeless in jobs.
What is a cap park?
A cap park provides a park over a segment of the freeway to encourage people to move through the space going from one area to another.
What is the best way to reach the Hispanic population?
Among Hispanics, 61% have wireless service only. With a younger population, they are unlikely to respond to a mail survey. While social media is a way to publicize the survey, you will be more likely to get a response through direct contact with residents via cell phone.
According to the Pew Research Center, almost half of Americans have a cell phone, but no landline service (as of 2015) (http://www.pewresearch.org/methodology/u-s-survey-research/collecting-survey-data/).
The primary purpose of the Census is to provide the basis for…
Fairly apportioning the number of seats in the United States House of Representatives for each state.
NOT to determine the population or to distribute funds; though, it does help serve these purposes, too
Which of the following most accurately describes how the US Census Bureau collects data through the American Community Survey?
It uses a series of monthly samples to produce annually updated estimates for census tracts and block groups.
The percentage of multigenerational households has grown from a low of 12 percent in 1980 to approximately ______ percent of households in 2021.
18%
The theorist associated with incrementalism is:
Charles Lindblom - wrote about incrementalism as a step by step incremental approach to achieving plans.
The State of Pennsylvania Supreme Court upheld the use of planned unit developments in which case?
Cheney v. Village 2 at New Hope
The Court in 1968 found that planned unit developments are acceptable if the regulations focus on density requirements rather than specific rules for each lot.
The 1893 World’s Columbian Exposition included the _____________, designed by Daniel Burnham.
White City
The term has been applied to mean the color of the buildings as well as the exclusionary tactics used.
What is a chicane?
A chicane is a short, shallow S-shaped turn that requires drivers to turn slightly left and then right again to stay on the road, which results in slowing speeds down. Chicanes are most effective when there are volumes of traffic that are similar from both approaches.
Where is diagonal parking best applied for traffic calming purposes?
Diagonal parking can reduce traffic speeds, this is best applied in non-residential areas.
Where are roundabouts best applied for traffic calming purposes?
Roundabouts are intended to slow traffic while increasing traffic efficiency. Use when there is a desire to increase efficiency of traffic movement, to encourage more traffic movements.
Where are speed humps best applied for traffic calming purposes?
While a speed hump could be used to slow traffic, they have to be placed continuously along a road to be effective.
Which of the following is not a common method of achieving agreement on a course of action?
Appointing a single person to adjudicate dispute and make a final decision.
What kinds of limitations may prevent citizens from participating in the planning process?
i. No broadband access
ii. Language barriers
iii. Sight impairment
iv. Difficulty reading material
Which U.S. Supreme Court case is considered a landmark ruling that made government agency decisions subject to judicial review and also spurred the creation of large numbers of citizens groups dedicated to environmental activism?
Citizens to Preserve Overton Park v. Volpe
In the 1960s, Citizens to Preserve Overton Park filed suit against US Secretary of Transportation John Volpe after he announced plans to build Interstate 40 through Overton Park in Memphis. The suit claimed that he was violating section 4(f) of the Dept. of Transportation Act of 1966, which required the government to show there were no “feasible and prudent” alternatives to using public lands, such as parks when building freeways. In 1971, the Supreme Court ruled in favor of Citizens to Preserve Overton Park. This led to a considerable increase in grassroots environmental organizing.
Which planning movement focused on reviving the civic center of a city in an attempt to attract the wealthy, eradicate social ills, and bring US cities into parity with their European counterparts?
City Beautiful
In this case, the respondent argued that the city had violated a telecommunications act by discriminating against a commercial enterprise:
City of Rancho Palos Verdes v. Abrams
City of Rancho Palos Verdes established that there are administrative procedures to remedy violations of the telecommunications act and that an individual cannot force compliance.
What is the Civil Rights Act of 1964?
The Civil Rights Act of 1964 banned discrimination and segregation on the basis of race, religion, national origin and gender in the workplace, schools, public accommodations and in federally assisted programs.
What is the Civil Rights Act of 1968?
The Civil Rights Act of 1968 provided for equal housing opportunities regardless of race, creed, or national origin.
The Fair Housing Act (FHA) is also known as Title VIII of the Civil Rights Act of 1968.
Clarence Perry’s Neighborhood Unit Concept (1929) was published in which of the following plans?
Regional Survey of New York and Its Environs
The idea was to create complete neighborhoods that provided convenient access for residents to school and businesses.
The Regional Planning Association of America sought to undertake major regional scale projects, such as the Appalachian Trail. Who is a co-founder of the Regional Planning Association of America?
Clarence Stein is a co-founder of the Regional Planning Association of America.
As part of your comprehensive planning for the community you want to engage with regulatory authorities about ways to improve water quality on the river. Who should you engage?
The US EPA and the Army Corp of Engineers
Clean Water Act of 1972 exercised its power to regulate interstate commerce by prohibiting discharges into the nation’s navigable waters. If the body of water can be used to transport goods from one state to another it is covered by the Clean Water Act. The Environmental Protection Agency and the Army Corp of Engineers have regulatory power to prepare rules for navigable waters.
If a neighborhood wants your advice on organizing their community to support the expansion of a light rail line into their neighborhood, what would you advise?
Coalition building - bringing together organizations that support light rail to build a coalition would be most helpful.
An open house could be used to inform the public about light rail. A public hearing could be used to express interest in the part of the city council. A visual preference survey would not be helpful because people don’t need to vote on pictures of light rail.
What are some elements of the potential goals of a coalition?
Coalitions often have goals as varied as coalitions themselves, but they often include one or more elements of:
I. Influencing or developing public policy, usually around a specific issue
II. Changing people’s behavior
III. Building a healthy community
To what level of government are regional councils or Councils of Government (1954) accountable to?
Local government.
A COG or regional council is a multi-service entity that delivers a variety of federal, state, and local programs, and they are accountable to local units of government. They can also function as partners for state and federal governments.
What is the difference between a Council of Governments (CoG) (1954) and a Regional Council?
There is essentially no difference.
The terms regional council (RC) and council of governments (COG) are generally interchangeable. They might also be called regional planning commissions, regional commissions, or planning districts.
The Cohort Survival population estimation method
The Cohort Survival method, also known as the population pyramid, is one of the most detailed population estimation methods.
It uses the population at the time of the last census divided into five-year age groups and gender. A death rate is applied to each age group. New groups are created based on birth rates and net migration rates.
smallest time frame using this method is 5 years.
You are organizing a committee to consider the future renovation needs of schools throughout the school district. What would be the optimal committee size?
9 to 15. Having at least 9 members ensures that all personality types are represented with a diversity of voices. A small committee can at times not bring a broad enough set of interests to the table. In this case you would want a mix of stakeholders, such as parents, neighbors, teachers, staff, administrators etc.
Communicative Planning Theory
Communicative theory emphasizes that the planner is Consensus building.
Bringing stakeholders to the table to build consensus is a cornerstone of communicative planning.
Rational Planning
Using a scientific process to plan
Incremental Planning
Viewing planning as a series of incremental steps
Transactive Planning
Working one-on-one with citizens to develop a plan
Consensus Building
Consensus Building brings together stakeholders to work together to come to a solution.
When is it good to have a Town Hall Meeting?
A Town Hall Meeting is good to identify issues.
Coalition Building
Coalition Building brings parties who agree together to promote an idea.
Conservation Zoning
Conservation zoning requires the clustering of homes while preserving open space. The subdivisions can be designed to protect well water areas by placing septic systems in other areas.
A regulatory technique that would be useful if within your city’s jurisdiction there has been a rapid increase in the number of homes built with septic tanks and the city is concerned about the possibility of well water contamination.
CORBOR refers to:
National Corridor Planning and Development Program and the Coordinated Border Infrastructure Program
It provided funding between 1999 and 2005, but was DISCONTINUED under The Safe, Accountable, Flexible, Efficient Transportation Equity Act and the Coordinated Border Infrastructure Program.
Which type of government is set up to work toward coordination of plans and programs at the regional level?
Council of Governments (CoGs—also known as regional councils, regional commissions, regional planning commissions, and planning districts) are regional governing and/or coordinating bodies that exist throughout the United States.
Started in 1954!
Crime Prevention through Environmental Design
Takes a safety-based approach to the design of the environment, including features such as lines of sight and lighting.
The American Planning Association Policy Guide on Security provides for best practices in designing secure spaces:https://www.planning.org/policy/guides/adopted/security.htm
Richard Florida, author of The Rise of the Creative Class argues that in order for a city to attract the Creative Class, it must possess “the three ‘T’s”:
- Talent (a highly talented/educated/skilled population): Significant existing employment in Science, Technology, Engineering, Mathematics, Arts, Design, and Media
- Tolerance (a diverse community, which has a ‘live and let live’ ethos)
- Technology (the technological infrastructure necessary to fuel an entrepreneurial culture)
You are undertaking a survey to assess whether opinions about public transit service will change when a new policy is implemented. You are undertaking a:
A longitudinal survey — a survey over time— which is implied by the question since you are assessing how opinions will change.
Longitudinal Survey
A survey over time.
Cross-Sectional Survey
A cross-sectional survey is a type of survey that involves the analysis of data collected from a representative subset of a population at one specific point in time.
How does the Delphi Method encourage consensus among participants?
The Delphi Method encourages the panel of subject matter experts to achieve consensus by revising their answers to hypothetical questionnaires.
Participants fill out a questionnaire and then are encouraged to revise their answers after hearing one another’s replies, decreasing the range of answers over time.
It is a technique that can be used to develop consensus on an issue and relies on input from individuals with different types of knowledge. Successive rounds of questions are used.
Citizen Advisory Committee (also known by other names in each community)
A group of appointed citizens to advise the governing body.
Which governing body is responsible for the review of historic preservation applications at the federal level?
Department of the Interior is responsible for the National Park Service, which is responsible for overseeing the National Register of Historic Places.
Dependency Ratio
the equation [(children + elderly)/(working age population)]
The dependency ratio is a ratio of dependents, those who are younger than 15 and those older than 64, to represent the working age population. Data are shown as the proportion of dependents per 100 working age population.
Descriptive Statistics
Distinguished from inferential statistics (or inductive statistics), in that descriptive statistics aim to summarize a sample, rather than use the data to learn about the population that the sample of data is thought to represent.
If you have data about a population, you would use descriptive statistics to describe your data.
You are preparing a zoning ordinance amendment that will include specific design criteria for new large scale retail development. In the staff report outlining the changes to the zoning ordinance you emphasize:
The legal basis for enforcing the design standards
You are working on a complex planned unit development project. This project includes more than 1,000 acres, of which a portion is unimproved – lacking infrastructure. As part of the land planning process, the county institutes a _______________ to ensure adequate infrastructure.
A development agreement - can be used to clarify what infrastructure will be provided as part of a development.
You have a variable that has a finite number of values. This is known as a ___________ variable.
Discrete Variable
Dichotomous Variable
A dichotomous variable has only two values, typically zero and 1. This is also known as a binary variable.
Four factors to consider in ensuring a healthy downtown commercial district in a HISTORIC community:
I. Historic Preservation
II. Parking Capacity
III. Wayfinding
IV. Small Business Promotion
What are the advantages of using visioning in a comprehensive planning process?
It keeps implementation moving forward and citizens will be motivated to keep track of actions proposed to achieve the vision they helped create.
It keeps the process on track and citizens can make sure the rest of the process addresses vision achievement.
It serves as a catalyst and brings residents together in new ways.
What are 3 disadvantages of visioning?
- Visioning adds to the cost of the planning process since it is an intensive public participation effort.
- Visioning can create unrealistic expectations that the government can’t fulfill.
- Visioning is dependent on a facilitator.
What is the purpose of visioning?
The purpose of visioning is to build consensus.
You are a planner in charge of coordinating an Environmental Impact Statement (EIS). Which step should you undertake first?
Determine whether minority populations, low-income populations, or Indian tribes are present.
It states that consideration of environmental justice issues must be considered during preparation of an Environmental Impact Statement. These considerations include documentation, data analysis and public participation, but not mitigation of past environmental injustices.
Your AICP certification was revoked five years ago and you wish to seek reinstatement. How would you pursue reinstatement?
Submit a petition to the AICP Ethics Committee.
Planners shall seek social justice by working to expand choice and opportunity for all persons, recognizing a special responsibility to plan for the needs of the disadvantaged, and to promote racial and economic integration. Which theoretical perspective most influenced this principle?
Advocacy planning, created by Paul Davidoff, emphasized the importance of planning for the needs of diverse groups of stakeholders in the community.
You are opposed to providing incentives to retailers and service providers that do not generate basic jobs. The City Council has asked you to develop an economic development strategy that includes incentives for retailers. This is completely against your beliefs. What should you do?
Prepare the report outlining the options for incentives and the pros and cons associated with the incentive options.
You are faced with an ethical dilemma and struggling to decide what you should do. What is the best course of action?
Seek informal advice from the APA Ethics Officer
Moonlighting
“We shall not, as salaried employees, undertake other employment in planning or a related profession, whether or not for pay, without having made full written disclosure to the employer who furnishes our salary and having received subsequent written permission to undertake additional employment, unless our employer has a written policy which expressly dispenses with a need to obtain such consent.”
Moonlighting is acceptable, but it should be in a position that does not conflict with your primary employment and permission is needed from your employer.
Euclidean Buffer
A Euclidean buffer measures the distance in two-dimensional Cartesian plan – that is straight line distances are calculated. This type of buffer works well when working at a city scale.
If a city is considering a new zoning requirement that would require a 10 foot setback from waterways, you’d use a euclidean buffer to present a spatial analysis of the impact of the ordinance.
Geodesic Buffer
A geodesic buffer accounts for the curvature of the earth and would be used when the map projection is at a large regional scale or global scale.
Vector Data Model
A vector data model is an overarching term that would cover buffering, overlays, distance measurement and spatial statistics.
Which city is home to the first historic preservation commission in the United States?
In the 1920s, Vieux Carre (aka the French Quarter_, New Orleans created the nation’s first historic preservation commission.
Fiscal Impact Analysis
The purpose of fiscal impact analysis is to estimate the impact of a development or a land use change or a plan on the costs and revenues of governmental units serving the development.
Which form of zoning prescribes development standards, rather than use standards?
Form based zoning focuses on defining desired development patterns. It also allows the market to determine the use.
Future Searches
As part of the region’s visioning process, Future Search is a 2 ½ day event designed to result in a common vision of the future. The event is organized into five tasks of approximately 3-4 hours each.
-Create a group mind map
-Identify highly differentiated points of view
-Identify common futures
Future Value Equation
FV = PV (1 + r)^n
Where PV is current value ($300,000), r is the discount (or interest) rate, 0.10, and n is the
number of years (4).
So, the future value of $300,000 at this interest rate is $300,000 x (1.10)^4 = $300,000 x 1.464 = $439,200.
The reverse, the present value of $500,000 four years from now is $500,000/ 1.464 = $341,530.
So, if you waited four years and spent $500,000, it would cost you $41,530 more in today’s equivalent value (at the discount rate of 10%) than if you spent $300,000 today.
There are two main types of local governments. What is the key distinction?
Two types of local governments are: 1) general-purpose local government, which includes counties and townships; and
2) single-purpose, which includes school districts and fire districts.
_____________ is expressed as births per 1,000 persons calculated by the number of recorded live births in a year divided by the mid-year female population between the ages of 15 and 44.
The General fertility rate is the number of live births per 1000 women between the ages of 15 and 44 years.
Government regulation of land use at the local level is typically accomplished by:
Zoning and subdivision regulations manage land use.
NOT Nuisance laws since they’re not always about regulating land use, and NOT restrictive covenants since they’re private restrictions.
You have been trying to identify a participatory approach that would allow you to engage your residents in a comprehensive planning process. What electronic technology would you use to support meetings at a distance?
Groupware - includes a variety of electronic technologies that support virtual collaboration. Techniques use hardware, software, and or internet technology to allow for sophisticated collaboration activities.
5% of the housing across the city is vacant and half are in serious disrepair. You are preparing for a presentation to the city with a recommendation that CDBG funds be allocated to focus on the vacant housing problem. What would be the most effective in conveying the results?
A heat map that shows the variation in concentrations of vacant housing across the city.
A heat map would illustrate the areas of the city where vacant housing is most concentrated. Because 5% is a relatively low number it would be less impactful in a chart. A city-wide map would not be at a scale small enough to show individual properties. A photomontage would help illustrate the issue and could be used in combination with a heat map.
What is a scientific measurement that tracks environmental conditions over time?
Environmental indicator is a scientific measurement that tracks environmental conditions over time.
The Message Pyramid contains three key elements to use in communicating a clear and concise message to the public, in the following order (from first to last):
Key Message → First Proof → Second Proof
The key message comes first to provide a clear and consistent statement, followed by the two “proof layers” to back up and reinforce this statement.
Bridging
Bridging is a technique used by planners to reframe controversial issues.
Most states require local governments to adopt annual budgets. Which of the following is most important for local governments in the budgeting process?
-Consider long range capital facility and operating costs
-Forecast revenue and expenditure estimates into the future
-Determine long term benefits costs of adding personnel
What are 4 steps for creating a plan for increasing staff?
- Classification Scheme
- Recruitment
- Professional Development
- Performance Assessments
Classification Scheme
This is about the kinds of employees you would have and the job titles they would have.
Through this, you know the positions.
Which of the following would be a legally closed session by a planning commission?
Consultation with the City Attorney about commission procedures.
Final plat approval, Review of a conditional use permit, and Rezoning applications are public.
You want to make sure you conduct a _______________ analyzing the geologic, hydrologic, soil, and other physical data to understand the potential for land development.
Land capability analysis
Which of the following are the sources of land use law in the United States?
Common law, the constitution, and statutes.
NOT zoning and subdivision regulations - enabled by state statutes.
Historically, there was a shift in thinking about the role of the federal government in supporting citizens through large scale aid programs. When did large scale aid programs begin?
In the 1930s, large-scale federal aid programs were instituted to spur recovery from the Great Depression.
You are preparing a town hall meeting to discuss hazard mitigation. Which of the following would be the best way to encourage participation?
Postcards mailed to residents - the mailer is the method that allows for the broadest contact with residents. It is likely that you would pursue a mix of methods to ensure broad awareness of the meeting.
A mean is a proper summary of the central tendency of which of the following types of data: (1) nominal; (2) ordinal; (3) interval; (4) ratio.
A mean is only appropriate for interval and ratio scale data.
The values of nominal data just represent categories and in and of themselves are meaningless. The values given to the ranks for ordinal data similarly are not appropriate for computations.
What is a Message Pyramid?
A way of communicating a message to the public using a clear statement and evidence to support your statement.
The Message Pyramid is an approach to communicating clearly to the public. The Message Pyramid involves a concise key statement that creates an environment and belief system for the audience. This statement is followed by two pieces of evidence: one that supports the benefits of planning and one that amplifies the first using data or evidence.
You have been working to protect the scenic character of an important highway. You are engaging the communities along the highway in a corridor planning process. Which programs guidelines would be most appropriate to use in preparing the corridor plan?
National Scenic Byway Program
provides guidelines for preparing scenic corridor plans.
National Scenic Byway Program
The National Scenic Byway Program provides guidelines for preparing scenic corridor plans. The National Scenic Byways Program is part of the U.S. Department of Transportation, Federal Highway Administration. Established in Title 23, Section 162 of the United States Code under the Intermodal Surface Transportation Efficiency Act of 1991 and reauthorized and expanded significantly in 1998 under The Transportation Equity Act for the 21st Century and again under The Safe, Accountable, Flexible, Efficient Transportation Equity Act: A Legacy for Users in 2005.
A neighborhood is struggling to determine how they want the new community center to look. What method of structuring public participation is most appropriate to solve this conflict?
A visual preference survey best determines aggregate resident preferences, especially around the physical look of the natural and built environments.
When is a public hearing a best communication engagement method?
A public hearing is best at the end of the planning process to allow for final thoughts.
When is brainstorming a best communication engagement method?
Brainstorming is best for determining goals at the beginning of the project rather than specific details.
When is mediation a best communication engagement method?
Mediation is best for identifying interests and priorities of opposing groups, rather than getting a sense for general resident preferences.
What are three characteristics/principles of New Urbanism?
-Pedestrian scale facades
-Variety of housing types
-Multi-modal transportation and gridded street pattern
You want to create a public engagement process that will bring together the vocal minority and the silent majority to generate ideas for how to address the problem. Which of the following would be most appropriate to use?
Nominal Group Technique
The nominal group technique allows for brainstorming, enabling all members of a group to meaningfully participate. There are silent times allowing for idea generation followed by individual sharing of ideas.
The notification process of your city requires that property owners within a one-quarter mile radius of a proposed project be notified about proposals under consideration for development approval. What would be an appropriate way to handle the fact that many property owners within the one-quarter mile radius are located outside of the city’s jurisdiction?
You should provide notice to all properties within the prescribed radius (even if they’re outside of the city’s jurisdiction).
Which of the following is true of a null hypothesis?
A null hypothesis is a neutral statement that does not suggest the direction of the result.
The null hypothesis is the commonly accepted fact; it is the opposite of the alternate hypothesis. Researchers work to reject, nullify or disprove the null hypothesis. Researchers come up with an alternate hypothesis, one that they thin
Open Meetings Laws require that…
Planning Commission meetings be open to the public.
Which four requirements must ordinances and regulations that impose conditions on the issuance of development permits but do not compensate the owner for the property meet?
(such as the reservation of land for beach access)
All of these conditions must be met for the ordinance to be upheld as constitutional:
1. The condition must have some essential nexus with the public purpose it seeks to fulfill
2. The condition must bear some rough proportionality to the impact of the development for which the permit is sought
3. The condition may be satisfied by the payment of a fee in lieu of (FILO) compliance
4. Not result in the temporary loss of use of property while the application for the development permit is undergoing review by government staff.
What is the best description of Oregon’s Measure 37 law?
A land owner to be compensated if the land regulation results in a devaluation of the property if they are the owner at the time the regulation was put in place.
Oregon Measure 37 has had a significant impact on the ability of local governments to engage in land regulation.
You want to engage the public in planning for the future of the county. You want to get information from the public and have them analyze the information that would be used in the plan. The educational level of the community is relatively low, so which techniques do you need to use that will work for a non-literate group?
Participatory Rural Appraisal is a group of techniques that allow for the provision and analysis of information by the public. These are typically highly visual including creation of maps or picture cards.
Samoan Circle
A leaderless meeting intended to help negotiations in controversial issues. While there is no ‘leader’, a professional facilitator can welcome participants and explain the seating arrangements, rules, timelines and the process.
Plebiscite
the direct vote of all the members of an electorate on an important public question such as a change in the constitution.
You have undertaken a participatory process that allows the participants to assess project alternatives by weighing the alternatives according to a group of citizen goals. This is known as a:
Planning Cell - allows citizens to learn about, assess and choose between multiple alternatives.
Planning cells is a method for deliberation developed by Dr. Dienel, and is designed to be a “micro-parliament.” In a planning cell, about 25 people from various backgrounds work together to develop a set of solutions to a problem delegated to the participants by a commissioning body.
A farmer has been actively farming a property for the past 20 years. In that time, fences were built on the property boundaries. The farmer wishes to continue to farm the portion of the land that is not actually his property. You advise him to seek a:
Prescriptive Easement is typically obtained under principles of adverse possession. A prescriptive easement can be earned through the ongoing and regular use of a property. A prescriptive easement allows the right to use the property and does not allow the farmer to gain title to the land.
A “prescriptive’ easement arises when, for 21 consecutive years, one landowner uses the land of another in an “open, notorious and uninterrupted’ manner. If your neighbors run their cable line across your property, then after 21 uninterrupted years they have established the right to do so.
Easement Appurtenant
An easement appurtenant allows access to your property, for example giving you the right to use your neighbor’s driveway to access your property.
Easement in Gross
A public utility easement
The senior planner for a county is responsible for developing a public participation process for a county-wide plan. When should the public become involved in the planning process?
Before the plan goals have been set
You are preparing to facilitate what is sure to be a volatile meeting. In order to get the most of this facilitation session, you do which of the following:
Record the issues and suggested solutions as presented during the facilitation and group similar issues and solutions together.
As a facilitator, DON’T suggest potential solutions that best address the issues. The facilitator can introduce bias if the issues are specified by the facilitator and potential solutions are best suggested by the participants rather than the facilitator. The role of the facilitator is to record the meeting and help group ideas together.
You have been promoted to the director and you want to emphasize new regionalism. What should you emphasize?
Emphasize the importance of bringing together regional stakeholders including public and private sectors.
How would you best use a social accounting matrix (SAM) to support your work?
You would use a SAM to understand the existing state of the economy and use this to analyze the likely effects of policy proposals.
A social accounting matrix is a framework for organizing statistical data about the economy. It considers household income, household expenditures, input-output of industries, trade, taxes, government expenditures, investments, and savings. A SAM allows for an understanding of the economic actors and is a tool for understanding how policy changes could result in economic changes.
Describing the cross section of a street:
-The street is sloped so that the high point is in the middle and it drains to the edges.
-If there is a sidewalk, it is included in the right of way of the street.
-Roads are typically sloped 1/2 inch per foot or higher to ensure proper drainage.
-The traffic lanes are typically 9 to 12 feet in width.
The city is focusing on the university district. The urban design strategy for the district is focused on adding pedestrian amenities. You encourage the addition of:
Street furniture - includes benches, planting, trash receptacles, and physical elements that improve the way pedestrian experience the district.
Are social media posts considered public record?
Unclear; consult state and local regulations to determine if social media posts are considered public record
Facilitation
The facilitator is often a trusted community member.
The facilitator is third party with no direct stake in the outcome facilitates the discussion.
Mediation
Mediation is often used to help resolve conflict outside of court BETWEEN 2 PEOPLE (often not of communities).
This method has multiple stages.
The mediator is a third party with no direct stake in the outcome facilitates the discussion.
You are developing a traffic forecast that will model future traffic conditions across the metropolitan area. In order to undertake the analysis you have broken down the projections into:
Traffic analysis zones - geographic units that divide a region into similar areas of land use.
Which of the technique would be most appropriate for limiting the expansion of infrastructure and public services if you are dealing with a fiscal crisis due to increased demand for services?
Urban Growth Boundary - a regional boundary, that limits sprawl by mandating that the area inside the boundary be used for higher density urban development and the area outside be used for low density development, such as agriculture.
You are trying to identify land uses with a low average vehicle trip per unit. Based on the Quick Response Urban Travel Estimation Techniques and Transferable Parameters, which would have the lowest number of average vehicle trips per unit?
Based on the Quick Response Urban Travel Estimation Techniques and Transferable Parameters, assisted living facilities would have the lowest number of average vehicle trips per unit.
You are working on developing design guidelines for your community. The historic architecture in the community uses locally available materials, this is known as ____________ architecture.
Vernacular architecture refers to architecture based on locally available materials.
A neighborhood is struggling to determine how they want the new community center to look. What method of structuring public participation is most appropriate to solve this conflict?
A visual preference survey best determines aggregate resident preferences, especially around the physical look of the natural and built environments.
A volume to capacity ratio of 1 indicates what?
Congested traffic flow. Congestion can be measured by a volume-to-capacity ratio (V/C Ratio). A V/C Ratio of greater than 1.0 indicates severe congestion.
In preparing a comprehensive plan you illustrate development alternatives including a scenario for transit oriented development. What is the walking radius that you show?
Half a mile is a typical standard for transit oriented development. Pedestrians will typically walk up to half a mile to reach transit or destinations.
The Land Ordinance of 1785
called “the largest single act of national planning in our history.”
-rectangular survey where coordinates were created for virtually all of the country west of the Appalachians.
- Set up a standardized system whereby settlers could purchase title to farmland in the undeveloped west/Old Northwest.
-Township = 36 sq. mi.
- Congress at the time did not have the power to raise revenue by direct taxation, so land sales provided an important revenue stream.
- The Ordinance set up a survey system that eventually covered over 3/4 of the area of the US.
- Laid the foundations of land policy until passage of the Homestead Act of 1862.
- Established the basis for the Public Land Survey System.
- The initial surveying was performed by Thomas Hutchins.
- Significant for establishing a mechanism for funding public education.
- Adopted by the United States Congress of the Confederation
The Homestead Act of 1862
-Opened the lands of the public domain to settlers for a nominal fee and they had to stay there for 5 years.
-This act was signed into law during the Civil War by Abraham Lincoln
-This law turned over vast amounts of the public domain to private citizens. 270 millions acres, or 10% of the area of the United States was claimed and settled under this act.
-The Homestead Act remained in effect until 1976, with provisions for homesteading in Alaska until 1986.
-A homesteader had to be the head of a household or at least 21yo to claim a 160 acre parcel of land for a nominal fee.
-Each homesteader had to live on the land, build a home, make improvements and farm to get the land. They had to be a citizen and not an enemy of the US.
The Morrill Act of 1862
-Congress passed this Morrill Land Grant College Act in 1862 which set aside federal lands to create colleges
-This Act authorized the proceeds from the sale of land to fund the creation of colleges: “land-grant colleges”
-The new land-grant institutions emphasized agriculture and mechanic arts.
-The Morrill Act committed the federal government to grant each state 30,000 acres of public land.
A land-grant university/college is an institution of higher education designated by a state to receive benefits.
The General Land Law Revision Act of 1891
-gave the president the power to create forest reserves by proclamation
Standard State Zoning Enabling Act (1922-26)
Authorized states to be able to do zoning and called for zoning regulations to be made in accordance with a comprehensive plan.
supported by Herbert Hoover while he was the Secretary of Commerce
published by the US Department of Commerce (1922-1926)
Standard City Planning Enabling Act (1928)
Authorized states to be able to conduct city planning; directed the planning commission to “make and adopt a master plan for the physical development of the municipality” (also referred to as the comprehensive or official plan)
The SCPEA covered:
1. The organization and power of the planning commission, which was directed to prepare and adopt a “master plan”
2. The content of the master plan for the physical development of the territory
3. Provision for adoption of a master street plan by the governing body
4. Provision for approval of all public improvements by the planning commission
5. Control of private subdivision of land
6. Provision for the establishment of a regional planning commission and a regional plan
published by the US Department of Commerce
Pierre L’Enfant
Assigned by President George Washington in 1791 to layout DC.
He produced a Baroque multi-centered plan. comparable to Paris - boulevards, sequences of spaces linked by avenues - dramatic urban form.
The City Beautiful Movement
-movement specific to the US
-Daniel Burnham’s “White City” Chicago. The buildings were white, people of color were also excluded from the city and the exposition.
-1893 World’s Columbian Exposition (Chicago)
-with McMillan Commission (Olmsted Sr.) pan for the monumental core of DC in 1902 + Burnham = resurrection of Pierre L’Enfant’s Baroque, multi-centered plan for DC.
-took root in commercial cities in the US.
-1909 Chicago Plan - civic ordering of the land, imposed on the Chicago grid.
-criticized as being not practical, not recognizing poverty and focusing on beauty and commercial benefit.
Garden City Movement
-launched by Ebenezer Howard (+ John Ruskin)
-only 3 cities: Letchworth, Welwyn, and Wythenshawe (UK)
- Garden cities were meant by Howard as having communal ownership of land, industry is part of it, and it’s completely planned as a city that had a source of employment and everything you needed for daily life
-produced many developments from this movement (“garden suburbs”)
-It involved the establishment of a limited-dividend company
-Farmland for the Garden City was to be purchased using an agricultural rate
A premise of Howard’s model was that construction of the Garden City would increase land values, and that the increase in value would pass back to the community.
Ebenezer Howard
-created the Garden City Movement
-wrote Tomorrow, A Peaceful Path to Social Reform (1898)
-wrote Garden Cities of Tomorrow (1902)
City Functional/Efficient Movement
-A counter-reaction against City Beautiful
aka “City Efficient” and “City Scientific”
-National Conference on City Planning (1909) is the launch.
-denounces the City Beautiful
-aim of this movement is to remedy congestion and making cities work well for commerce and commercialization
-Helps Zoning take off in the 1920s.
-Standardization: SSZEA/SCPEA
4 Books & their Authors against the City Beautiful Movement:
City Functional/Efficient/Scientific
- Benjamin Marsh, An Introduction to City Planning (1909)
- Charles Mulford Robinson, The Improvement of Towns and Cities (1907)
- John Nolan, Replanning Small Cities (1912)
- Flavel Shurtleff and Frederick Law Olmstead, Jr, Carrying Out the City Plan (1914)
NYC Zoning Code 1916
-NYC code that became law.
-This zoning ordinance divided NY into (1) commercial, (2) residential and (3) unrestricted districts.
- There were 5 types of “heights-of-buildings districts”
- Set-back design is mandated. Ziggurat tower came out of this 1916 code.
Zoning
-A popular “city efficient” technique
-An achievement of the City Efficient/ Functional Movement from the realists of city growth (opposing City Beautiful)
-takes off in the 1920s
-when land uses were regulated with zoning in NYC, zoning became well-known.
-Edward Bassett = father of zoning
Ziggurat = Set-back design
“setback” or “ziggurat” approach to skyscraper design. The style was fueled by the 1916 act to allow light and air to reach the streets. The “set-back” style encouraged a diversity of buildings in NYC,
Who is Edward M. Bassett?
known as “the father of zoning”
Chairman of the Heights-of-Buildings Commission in NYC
put together zoning resolution for NYC, which was the city’s first comprehensive zoning ordinance
Alfred Bettman
argued that zoning should be legalized before the Supreme Court
Euclid vs. Ambler Realty (1926)
Herbert Hoover supported zoning abd
Euclid vs. Ambler Realty (1926)
-argued by Alfred Bettman in the Supreme Court
-a landmark case established legal precedent and constitutional justification for zoning and, implicitly, “comprehensive” land-use planning
-Ambler Realty sued Euclid, Ohio because they owned several acres of land and didn’t like the zoned districts that determined what they could build or use their own land for.
upheld a local zoning ordinance as a constitutionally valid exercise of governmental power
Euclid’s zoning ordinance DID NOT become a standard used by many other communities. The ordinance was not very good (hence the legal challenge), so other cities chose to write different ordinances.
Regional Plan of New York and its Environs (1929)
-realist, quintessential City Efficient plan
-8 volumes of different surveys
-In one of the surveys, Clarence Perry’s concept of the “neighborhood unit” was formulated.
Clarence Perry
-created concept of the “neighborhood unit”
-very famous diagram
-this was picked up by developers all over the US
-Perry envisioned that the center of every neighborhood would have a school, community center, and it would be the lifeblood of the neighborhood
-mix of housing types in the neighborhood
-problematic figure because he had racist views.
What is a Neighborhood Unit and its 4 main features?
created by Clarence Perry
- a self-contained residential area
- bounded by major streets
- shops at the intersections
- school in the middle
Regional Planning Association of America (RPAA)
-against the NY RPNY, as not being enough for an equitable future.
-headed by Lewis Mumford; formed by Clarence Stein (1923)
Radburn, NJ (1929)
a “Garden City”
a very famous planning development based on Clarence Perry’s idea of a neighborhood unit
It was originally designed for 30,000 people and it called for a mix of uses.
planned out and only partially developed because of the stock market crash.
Suburban Expansion
-starts happening in the 1910s and 1920s after urban planning starts to get going.
-Greenbelt and Green Towns development - federal government developed towns
Greenbelts, Green Towns (Greenhills, Greendale, Green development…etc)
Greenbelt, Maryland was created in 1937 by President Franklin D. Roosevelt’s Rural Resettlement Administration, as part of the “New Deal.” Modeled after European “garden cities” of that era, it was one of just three “greenbelt” towns created inside a ring of woodlands.
Greenhills, Ohio (Cincinnati) 1938
Greendale, Wisconsin (Milwaukee) 1938
idea is to move everyone out, tear the city down, and make parks - criticized by Robert Fishman for this approach. calling it “corporate regionalism” / anti-urban.
Greenbelt towns which provided affordable housing for federal government workers were planned by Rexford Guy Tugwell, head of the United States Resettlement Administration, under authority of the Emergency Relief Appropriation Act.
3 Interrelated Policies of “Corporate Regionalism”
- Suburban Housing - furthered by FDR, National Housing Act
- Automobile policy to add more roads to serve urban expansion
- Regional infrastructure put into place that march outward toward suburbia
Jane Jacobs
criticizes 40s-60s agenda post-war to stop the funding of garden cities and asks to stop suburban expansion and infrastructure policy supporting suburbs to focus on central cities instead.
3 Urban Structure Models:
(patterns of human settlement)
- Burgess Concentric Model
- Hoyt Sector Model
Harris-Ullman Multiple Nuclei Model
Ernest Burgess: Concentric Ring Theory/Model
1925 Ernest Burgess wrote an essay in the book The City (1925) that talks about this model.
Homer Hoyt: Sector Theory/Model
Homer Hoyt used this model to contribute to our understanding of the spatial aspects of city growth.
it prioritizes the role of transportation in urban development.
In Sector theory, areas in a city develop in sectors along the lines of communication, from the CBD outwards. High-quality areas locate along roads; industrial sectors develop along canals and railways, away from high-quality housing; working-class housing locates near industry.
Sector theory is a model of urban development proposed by Homer Hoyt in which sectors radiate out like pie shaped wedges from the central business district.
Each sector represents a specific land use, and thus represents a distinct area of land values. Land use sectors either complement or oppose each other.
High-quality housing is located away from industry.
Harris-Ullman Multiple Nuclei Model
1945 developed to argue that growth and development occurs around multiple centers of economic activity in a city.
This became more prominent
1st Amendment
freedom of speech and freedom of association (eg. group homes)
3 Constitution Principles that impact urban planning:
1st Amendment
5th Amendment
14th Amendment
5th Amendment
just compensation for when a taking occurs (about eminent domain)
cases are focused on takings (vs. valid use of police power)
also a 14th amendment case (when someone argues that it’s a taking they will also argue that it’s a violation of due process)
payment for private property taken for public use - eminent domain tied to just compensation
Police Power
Zoning was legitimated as a valid use of police power rather than a taking so communities don’t have to pay everyone for the zoning laws they enact
14th Amendment
due process, equal protection under the law
Young v American Mini Theaters, Inc
(1976) 1st amendment case
Ordinance that an adult theater must not be located within 1,000 feet of any other regulated use upheld
Metromedia, Inc. v City of San Diego
(1981) 1st amendment case
Metromedia vs. San Diego was an important case about the aesthetics of sign regulation. Supreme Court found that partial ban on signs was unconstitutional.
It was decided that cities could regulate billboards, HOWEVER San Diego/municipal governments could not treat commercial outdoor advertising more harshly than noncommercial messages. San Diego prohibiting outdoor advertising display signs to improve appearance of the city is invalid.
The Supreme Court held that aesthetics alone may serve as a sufficient justification for sign regulation.
There are substantial state interests in traffic safety and aesthetics and that sign regulations are a legitimate means of serving those objectives.
Los Angeles City Council v. Taxpayers for Vincent
(1984) 1st amendment case
Supreme Court found that an ordinance banning all signs on public property was not unconstitutional but it applied to everyone equally (it is content neutral). Acceptable because it didn’t restrict particular groups.
City of Renton v. Playtime Theaters Inc.
(1986) 1st amendment case
Renton enacted a zoning ordinance that prohibited adult motion picture theaters from locating within 1,000 feet of a residential dwelling, church, park or school - upheld by the Supreme Court
City of Ladue v. Gilled
(1994) 1st amendment case
Supreme Court decided it was not permissible for a sign ordinance to ban some signs based on content. The law has to be applied equally to all people.
(eg. 1st amendment concerns would be raised if planners try to restrict distracting subject of messages or prohibit digital billboards along major roads BUT the planner COULD control billboard luminance and how fast the billboard message changes/sequencing.)
Berman v. Parker; Supreme Court (1954)
Berman v. Parker - a landmark Supreme Court case that interpreted the Takings Clause of the 5th Amendment. an eminent domain case
It upheld the use of eminent domain for aesthetic purposes - for the redevelopment of a large area of DC so as to eliminate and prevent slum and substandard housing conditions.
case upheld redevelopment program to take (through eminent domain) and transfer property to private developers to eliminate blight
It held that private property could be taken for public purpose with just compensation.
a redevelopment agency can condemn land for aesthetic purposes, if tied to a general plan
Penn Central Transportation Co. v. The City of New York
(1978) 5th amendment case
INTRODUCED THE CONCEPT OF TDR
court ruled that historic preservation ordinances were constitutional because they fulfilled a valid public purpose
Penn Central could not develop air space over Grand Central Terminal (to construct a multistory office building above it)
Nollan v. California Coast Commission
(1987) 5th amendment case
State claimed that Nollan’s house would interfere with access to the public beach. State said that they would grant a building permit but only if they allowed public access to the beach. Supreme Court said this was a taking. State should use the power of eminent domain and compensate the owner if they wanted to maintain public access to the beach.
Dolan v. Tigard
(1994) 5th amendment case
Supreme Court ruled that government can require a person to deed portions of their property if they want to get a building permit. This involved deeding a portion of their land for a greenway as a condition of expanding a business.
The amount that is charged must be proportionate to the impact.
the burden on the property owner must be roughly proportionate to the benefit for the government.
This decision limited the power of governments to force property owners to make or contribute to improvements on public property through zoning and land use regulations in situations when the improvement is unrelated to the owner’s property.
Tahoe-Sierra Preservation Council, Inc. v. Tahoe
(2002) 5th amendment case
Supreme Court ruled that development moratoria don’t constitute a taking and don’t require a just compensation. Governments can block development and do not have to pay or use eminent domain because this is not a taking.
Kelo v. City of New London
(2005) 5th amendment eminent domain case
Upheld that planners can take properties through eminent domain for the purposes of economic development.
Economic development is a valid public purpose. New London city used eminent domain to seize private property to sell to private developers. Kelo (a property owner) argued that taking private property to sell to private developers was not a public use, but the Supreme Court ruled for New London - economic development is a valid public purpose.
In response, some states enacted legislation to prohibit local governments from seizing land for private development (against the Kelo case).
The Kelo decision found that the use of eminent domain for economic development is a valid use of police powers.
Village of Belle Terre v. Boaraas; Supreme Court
(1974) 14th amendment case
Court upheld that a community may prohibit unrelated individuals from living as a family in the same house. Purpose of this case was to keep more than 2 unrelated students from renting a house together.
Village of Arlington Heights v. Metropolitan Housing Development Corporation; Supreme Court
(1977) 14th amendment case, which was about violation of the Equal Protection Clause
Supreme Court upheld a zoning ordinance that denied approval of a rezoning application for low-income housing. This was because the ordinance didn’t violate the equal protection clause.
The Metropolitan Housing Development Corp. (MHDC) was trying to build racially integrated low-and moderate-income housing, but it needed a zoning change to switch from a single to a multiple-family classification. MHDC challenged Arlington’s denial as racially discriminatory.
The US Supreme Court held that MHDC failed to establish Arlington’s racially discriminatory intent or purpose. While indicating that Arlington’s zoning denial may result in a racially disproportionate impact, the Court held that the evidence did not show that this was Arlington’s deliberate intention.
Southern Burlington County NAACP v. Township of Mount Laurel; New Jersey Supreme Court
a landmark housing case (1975)
(1975; 1983) 14th amendment case
1st case - landmark housing case - the court required that a township provide the opportunity for low-income housing development through the zoning ordinance
2nd case - “Mount Laurel 2” -
courts instruct townships to provide their fair share of low income housing which led NJ legislature to pass the Fair Housing Act in 1985
Welch v. Swasey (1909)
Zoning Law Case - US Supreme Court that provided the ability to limit building height
Local governments have power to zone via Euclid v. Ambler case, but even before that we had this case. Decision by court upheld that the statutes of Massachusettes limiting the heights of buildings in a certain quarter of the city did not violate the constitution.
Hadacheck v. Sebastian (1915)
Zoning Law Case - 14th Amendment case
considered whether some restrictions or prohibiting certain activities constituted a taking. (eg. banning a brickyard)
The Court held that an ordinance of LA, prohibiting the manufacturing of bricks within specified limits of the city did not unconstitutionally deprive the petitioner of his property without due process of law, or deny him equal protection of the laws.
Hadacheck v Sebastian was a zoning case testing whether a Los Angeles zoning ordinance violated the 14th Amendment Due Process and Equal Protection Clauses. The US Supreme Court found that the ordinance prohibiting the location of a brick manufacturing plant in a specific location in the city did not violate the 14th Amendment.
It was ruled that the restrictions didn’t constitute a taking.
Village of Euclid v. Ambler Realty Co. (1926)
Zoning Law Case - US Supreme Court
upheld zoning as a constitutional/valid use within the Police Power of the state - it’s not a taking.
Police Power vs. Eminent Domain
Police Power controls actions and property of individuals without compensation.
Eminent Domain takes private property for a public purpose WITH just compensation.
Construction Industry Association of Sonoma County vs. City of Petaluma; 9th Circuit Court of Appeals (1971)
Growth Management Case (1971) supports the idea of growth mgmt.
Court ruled that governments can preserve open space and small town character by managing growth in an orderly way. The rules upheld the city’s annual limits on the number of permits that can be issued.
The court held that a 5 year municipal housing and zoning plan that restricted housing development in the form of projects of 5 or more units for a total of 500 units per year is a valid exercise of Police Power.
Golden v. Planning Board of Town of Ramapo; New York Court of Appeals (1972)
Growth Management Case (1972)
Ramapo established a growth management system that awarded points to development proposals based on availability of public utilities. This case was upheld.
Made development conditional based on the provision of services.
The Golden case marked the first time in the U.S. that a town was legally approved to control its own growth.
upheld an ordinance that made issuance of a development permit contingent on the presence of public facilities. Golden v. Ramapo (1972) was the first growth management case, allowing the city to control its own growth. The case upheld a growth management system that awarded points to development proposals based on the availability of public utilities, drainage facilities, parks, road access, and firehouses. A proposal would only be approved upon reaching a certain point level. Developers could increase their point total by providing the involved facilities themselves.
Associated Homebuilders v. City of Livermore; CA Supreme Court (1976)
Growth Management Case (1976) related to the timing/phasing of development and performance standards
CA Supreme Court ruled that it was permissible to phase growth to allow for relief of overcrowded schools and sewer treatment facilities and to try to increase water reserves.
The City of Livermore enacted an ordinance prohibiting issuance of new residential building permits until local educational, sewage-disposal, and water-supply facilities complied with specified performance standards.
The Associated Home Builders Associations (Plaintiffs) brought suit to prevent the implementation of the ordinance on the grounds that the ordinance was unconstitutional.
ruled that if a municipal land use ordinance is reasonably related to the public welfare, then the ordinance is a valid exercise of the police powers.
“Coming to Nuisance” Cases
-Right to farm laws
-Spur Industries v. Webb Development Company (1972); AZ Supreme Court
-Alternative: “amortization of nonconforming use”
Right to Farm Laws
“Coming to Nuisance” cases
In the US, nuisance lawsuits are denied if against farmers who use accepted and standard farming practices and have been in prior operation even if these practices harm or bother adjacent property owners or the general public. Agricultural nuisances may include noise, odors, visual clutter and dangerous structures.
Passed to preserve farmland and agricultural practices in the US. Their intent is to make farming more viable. All 50 states have some form of Right to Farm law.
Spur Industries v. Webb Development Company (1972); AZ Supreme Court
“Coming to Nuisance” case
Involved new retirement community’s efforts to prohibit the operation of a preexisting feed lot. The feed lot was allowed to continue to operate.
“Amortization of nonconforming use”
A community can use this if they want to eliminate an existing use (eg. adult bookstore)
Ordinance can require the termination of uses over a period fo time. At the end of the amortization period, the nonconforming use has to end and no payment has to be made by the community.
8 Theories of Planning:
- Synoptic Rationality Planning
- Incremental Planning (Lindblom)
- Advocacy Planning (Davidoff)
- Communicative Planning
- Transactive Planning
- Radical
- Utopianism
- Equity Planning
Rational Planning (aka synoptic/comprehensive)
A scientific planning theory
“synoptic rationality” or “comprehensive rationality”
Banfield and Perloff
Collection and analysis of data, consideration of all alternatives, and selection of the best alternative
Five steps/Five “Ds”:
1.set a goal (DESIRES)
2. come up with alternatives (DESIGNS)
3. evaluate the means against the ends (DEDUCTION)
4. consider costs and benefits (DECISIONS)
5. implement the best alternatives (DEEDS)
Rational planning follows a process of determining values, analyzing data, identifying alternatives and identifying the best alternative:
useful planning model but is much criticized doesn’t take the communities desires into that much consideration
It does not consider what people actually want, and it is often not realistic cost-wise.
Centralized, Rational: the planner as applied scientist
Incremental Planning
A scientific planning theory: incrementalism = “mutual adjustment”
-Lindblom (1965 book, The Intelligence of Democracy)
-Etzioni “mixed-scanning method”
don’t try to solve everything about planning all at once. think about it incrementally.
Centralized, Nonrational: the planner confronts politics
Amitai Etzioni
“Mixed-Scanning Method” that is related to incremental planning
organizations should plan on two levels:
1. tactical
2. strategic
scan the environment on multiple levels and choose different strategies and tactics to address what they found.
Etzioni was kind-of criticizing Lindblom’s incremental planning theory because he said it was too functional.
Advocacy Planning
a planning theory
Paul Davidoff
we should recognize different groups with different perspectives. planning should be an advocate for groups (not just the under-served)
planners can focus on the needs of particular groups.
a version of this is also Norman Krumholz’s idea of Equity Planning
Decentralized, Rational: the planner as political activist
Equity Planning
-Norman Krumholz 1970s
-related to advocacy planning theory HOWEVER it is the principle of working inside the government to address the needs of the under-served.
-Thought the principle focus of planning should be helping the underserved. that we should ensure planning benefits the poor and underserved.
Communicative Planning
a planning theory
about consensus building and bringing key stakeholders together.
integrate scientific thinking with people who have their own values and goals to bring to the table.
Decentralized, Nonrational: the planner as communicator
Transactive Planning
John Friedman 1970s
planning theory
-the job of the planner is to distribute information and get feedback.
-relies on face-to-face interaction, interpersonal dialogue
-decentralized process where individual citizens have a say
-most appropriate for small scale problems because cities are too large to use this approach
Radical Planning
planning theory where the planners role is to facilitate and provide information (idea that we don’t really need planners) planners coordinate.
hasn’t really taken off in the planning world
Normative Planning Theory
Theory of “how things ought to be”
Kevin Lynch believed this planning theory was “spindly and starved for light” - that normative planning theory is underdeveloped.
important for the urban design realm
theories behind what ought to happen in the planning of cities: how should our cities look and function
Kevin Lynch made the argument that there are 3 types of planning theories.
What are the 7 Core Values of Urban Planning?
(listed in AICP Code of Ethics)
- equity and social justice
- public interest
- sustainability
- healthy and prosperous communities
- diversity
- democratic engagement
- transparency
Comprehensive Plan Standards for Sustaining Places
-a livable built environment
-planning for multi-modal transportation
-transit-oriented development
-harmony with nature
-resilient economy
Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion
understanding how we can make people who are engaged in urban planning come from a more diverse set of backgrounds. we need diverse of thought, planning, and approach
What is the difference between equality and equity:
the more important goal for us is focusing on the outcome of giving everyone the same level of resources
Equity is all about improving the distribution of resources, funding, or access in a fair or impartial way and understanding how discrimination has created these inequities.
What are some of the principles involved in building equity?
-combating structural racism
-affordable housing
-living wage jobs & job training
-quality education & early learning
-healthy food & food systems
-equitable justice system
-healthy built and natural environments
-community economic development
-transportation
-safe and supportive neighborhoods
-health care & human services
-parks & natural resources
-diversity and inclusion
-civic engagement
-physical and emotional wellbeing
What is the roadway hierarchy?
What are Land Based Classification Standards (LBCS)?
I. LBCS emphasizes activities based on observable character
II. LBCS emphasizes site development character in the overall physical development
III. LBCS has a five dimension nine color code
The Land Based Classification Standards help planners with a model for classifying land uses across 5 dimensions:
-Activity,
-Function,
-Structure Type,
-Site Development Character, and
-Ownership.
