Topic 2: Areas Of Practice Flashcards
Fiscal Impact Analysis
Also known as cost-revenue analysis
Used to estimate the cost and revenues of a proposed development on a local government.
The fiscal impact is the difference between the revenues and expenditures generated by a proposed development, which is also known as the net fiscal impact.
Average Per Capita Method
This is the simplest method, but it is also the least reliable. It divides the total local budget by the existing population in a city to determine the average per capita cost for the jurisdiction. The result is multiplied by the expected new population associated with the new development. The major problem with this method is that it assumes the cost of service to a new development is the same as the cost to service to the existing community. This may not be true.
Adjusted Per Capita Method:
The Adjusted Per Capita Method uses the figure calculated above and adjusts this based on expectations about the new development. This relies on subjective judgment.
Disaggregated Per Capita Method:
The Disaggregated Method estimates the costs and revenues based on major land uses; for example, the cost of servicing a shopping center versus an apartment complex.
Dynamic Method:
Dynamic Method:
The Dynamic Method applies statistical analysis to time-series data from a jurisdiction. This method determines, for example, how much sales tax revenue is generated per capita from a grocery store and applies this to the new development. This method requires more data and time to conduct than other methods.
What are the basic steps for comprehensive planning?
Identify stakeholders Define goals Gather information and analysis Develop alternatives Select an alternative
Tribal Planning
Engages tribal government leaders, residents, and businesses in preparing plans and administering planning processes in support of the tribal community.
Subdivision
The division of land into two or more parcels, sites, or lots, for the purpose of transfer of ownership, development, or other forms of valuable interest. This definition varies from state to state and may include minimum acreage requirements.
What is a plat?
A map of a tract or parcel of land.
What is a replat?
A replat allows for lots to be subdivided further or added back together.
What is a amending plat?
An amending plat corrects errors or adds additional information to a plat.
What is a vacating plat?
A vacating plat allows for a plat to be terminated prior to the selling of any lots.
What is a preliminary plat?
A preliminary plat is a to-scale mechanical drawing with precise topography and prescribed intervals showing the calculated location of all lots, streets, drainage patterns, facilities, and proposed dedications.
What is a final plat?
A final plat is the approved preliminary plat with all bearing, monuments, curves, and notations, together with all dedications, easement, and approvals.
What are the purposes of subdivision regulations?
- To regulate subdivision development and implement planning policies;
- To implement plans for orderly growth and development within the city’s boundaries and extraterritorial jurisdiction (ETJ);
- To ensure adequate provision for streets, alleys, parks, and other facilities indispensable to the community;
- To protect future purchasers from inadequate police and fire protection;
- To ensure sanitary conditions and other governmental services;
- To require compliance with certain standards;
- To officially register land.
What are steps to plat a property?
- The applicant submits a preliminary plat;
- A preliminary plat is reviewed by staff for compliance with subdivision regulations;
- Plat is then reviewed by the planning commission;
- Once the preliminary plat is approved by the planning commission, the property owner prepares the final plat;
- Final plat then repeats the process above until it is approved by the planning commission.
What is a performance bond?
A performance bond is an agreement between the property owner and the community to ensure that the final plat is built as shown on the drawings within a certain time period. If the developer fails to meet the requirements, the government may use the bond to cover the cost of constructing the improvements. The bond is released once the improvements are in place and have been inspected by the local government.
What are the purposes of Zoning?
- Protect and maintain property values;
- Promote public health and safety;
- Protect the environment;
- Promote the aesthetic of a community;
- Manage traffic;
- Manage density;
- Limit housing size and type, or encourage a variety of housing types;
- Attract businesses and industries.
Adequate public facilities ordinance (APFO)
Allows local governments to deny or delay new developments if the existing government services (water and sewer, roads, schools, fire, and police) cannot support it.
Concurrency
The practice of requiring that infrastructure be in place and available at a specified level of service prior to allowing new development to occur.
Daylighting
The practice of placing windows, or other transparent media, and reflective surfaces so that natural light provides effective internal illumination during the day. Daylighting is also used to describe the conversion of an enclosed drainage system to a more open and natural system.
Blue infrastructure
water-based infrastructure. This can include stormwater management, such waterway in texasas bioretention systems, swales, reservoirs, rain gardens, constructed wetlands, and other waterways
What are the four overlapping phases of response and recovery for disaster?
- The emergency period covers the initial hours or days following the disaster when the community is forced to cope with losses in lives and property.
- The restoration period covers the time following the emergency period until major urban service and transportation are restored, evacuees returned, and rubble is removed.
- During the replacement reconstruction period, the city rebuilds capital stock to pre-disaster levels and social and economic activities return to their previous levels.
- Finally, in the commemorative, betterment, and developmental reconstruction period, major reconstruction activities take place and future growth and development begin to take hold.
Stafford Act 4 primary components
- An evaluation of the natural hazard in the designated area
- A description and analysis of the state and local hazard management policies, programs, and capabilities to mitigate the hazards in the area
- Hazard mitigation goals and objectives and proposed strategies, programs, and actions to reduce or avoid long-term vulnerability to hazards
- A method of implementing monitoring, evaluating, and updating the mitigation plan; such evaluation is to occur at least on an annual basis to ensure that implementation occurs as planned, and ensure that the plan remains current.
Disaster Mitigation ACt of 2000
Focuses on prevention. A more proactive planning process.
When was the first Earth Day?
April 22, 1970
Why was the Metropolitan Water District of Southern CA created?
To create the Colorado River Aqueduct in 1927
Effluent Standards
Set restrictions on the discharge of pollutants into the environment. Effluent guidelines reduce the discharge of pollutants that have serious environmental impacts. The EPA has effluent guidelines for more than 50 categories.
Aquifer
One or more strata of rock or sediment that is saturated and sufficiently permeable to yield economically significant quantities of water to wells or springs.
Estuary
An area where freshwater meets saltwater.
Marsh
A type of freshwater, brackish water or saltwater wetland found along rivers, ponds, lakes, and coasts. It does not accumulate appreciable peat deposits and is dominated by herbaceous vegetation.
Reservoir
Pond, lake, tank, or basin that can be used for the storage and control of water, and can be either natural or man-made.
Surface Water
Rivers, lakes, oceans, ocean-like water bodies, and coastal tidal waters.
Swamp
Freshwater wetland that has spongy, muddy land and a lot of water.
Watershed
A region drained by, or contributing water to, a surface water body.
Water table
The underground boundary between the soil surface and the area where groundwater saturates spaces between sediments and cracks in rock. Water pressure and atmospheric pressure are equal at this boundary.
Wetlands
Include swamps, marshes, bogs, and other similar areas. They are areas that are
inundated or saturated by surface or groundwater at a frequency and duration sufficient to
support vegetation typically adapted for life in saturated soil conditions. Wetlands can be
natural or constructed.
The Clean Water Act
Passed in 1972 with major amendment in 1977. Requires anyone wanting to discharge pollutants into a body of water to obtain a permit.
Clean Air Act
Passed in 1970 with major revisions in 1977 and 1990. Monitors Ozone, Particulate Matter, Carbon Monoxide, nitrogen dioxide, sulfur dioxide, lead.
Prevention of Significant Deterioration
relates to air quality and requires that a project will not increase emissions above a specified PSD increment.
Ambient Air Quality Standards
Maximum air contaminant concentrations allowed in the ambient air.
The National Environmental Policy Act of 1969 (NEPA)
Resulted in the creation of the Council on Environmental Quality. Requires federal agencies to prepare an EIS for all actions that may significantly affect the quality of the human environment. EA (Environmental Assessment) is a smaller shorter document.
FONSI
Finding of no significant impact
The Rivers and Harbors Act of 1899
Prohibited the construction of any bridge, dam, dike, or causeway over any navigable waterway in the U.S. without Congressional approval. The Act also required Congressional approval for all wharves, piers, or jetties, and the excavation or fill of navigable waters.
The Water Pollution Control Act of 1948
Allowed the Surgeon General of the Public Health Service, in cooperation with other governmental entities, to prepare a comprehensive program for eliminating or reducing the pollution of interstate waters and tributaries and improving the sanitary condition of surface and underground waters.
The Water Quality Act of 1965
Established the Water Pollution Control Administration within the Department of the Interior. This was the first time water quality was treated as an environmental concern rather than a public health concern.
The Coastal Zone Management Act of 1972,
later amended in 1990, focused efforts to reduce polluted runoff in 29 coastal states.
The Federal Water Pollution Control Act of 1972
Amended the Water Pollutant Act of 1948. The amendments broadened the government’s authority over water pollution and restructured the authority for water pollution under the Environmental Protection Agency. The Act changed the enforcement from water quality standards to regulate the number of pollutants being discharged from particular point sources.
The Endangered Species Act of 1973
Provides protection of animal and plant species that the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service designates as threatened or endangered. This act was later amended in 1988.
The Public Utility Regulatory Policy Act (PURPA) of 1978
Promotes alternative energy sources, energy efficiency, and reduced dependence on foreign oil. It also created a market for non-utility power producers and requires competition in the utility industry.
The Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act (CERCLA) of 1980
Created a $1.6 billion Superfund to clean up abandoned hazardous waste sites and requires major industries to report annual releases of toxic wastes into the air, water, or ground. Superfund is the common name for CERCLA. There are more than 1,200 superfund sites across the U.S. A tax on the petroleum and chemical industries provide funding to help pay for the cleanup of superfund sites.
The Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA) of 1976
Provided EPA with the ability to control hazardous waste from the “cradle-to-grave.” This includes the generation, transportation, treatment, storage, and disposal of hazardous waste, as well as the management of non-hazardous solid wastes. The 1986 amendment covered environmental issues associated with underground storage tanks for fuel and other hazardous substances.
The Toxic Substances Control Act of 1976
Provided EPA with responsibility for reporting, record-keeping and testing requirements, and restrictions relating to chemical substances and/or mixtures. Certain substances are generally excluded, including food, drugs, cosmetics, and pesticides.
Federal Insecticide, Fungicide, and Rodenticide Act (FIFRA)
were originally passed in 1947 and established procedures for registering pesticides with the U.S. Department of Agriculture. FIFRA currently mandates that EPA regulate the use and sale of pesticides to protect human health and the environment.
Safe Drinking Water Act
Was passed in 1974 and has been amended several times since. This law protects both the sources of drinking water and the end product.
Brownfields
“real property, the expansion, redevelopment, or reuse of which may be complicated by the presence or potential presence of a hazardous substance, pollutant, or contaminant. Cleaning up and reinvesting in these properties takes development pressures off of undeveloped, open land, and both improves and protects the environment.”
