Unit 2 Land Use Controls

Question 1

Attachment (lawsuit)

Answer 1

A court holding of the defendant’s property during a lawsuit to protect the plaintiff from the defendant selling the property before the case is complete. The plaintiff should be bonded in case he or she loses in court.

Question 2

Attractive nuisance doctrine

Answer 2

A doctrine of tort law which holds that property owners who maintain conditions which are both hazardous and attractive to children may be held liable for injuries.

Question 3

Avulsion

Answer 3

The loss of land when it is washed away by an act of nature.

Question 4

Buffer Zone

Answer 4

A strip of land separating two parcels that are zoned differently, such as undeveloped land separating a shopping center from a residential neighborhood.

Question 5

Building Code

Answer 5

Standard established by local or state government to protect the public by regulating building and construction methods, including plumbing, electrical and fire codes.

Question 6

Bulk Zoning

Answer 6

A method used to control density and overcrowding by restricting setbacks, building height, or ratio of open area.

Question 7

Certificate of Occupancy

Answer 7

A document issued by a local building authority to the owner of premises attesting that the premises have been built and maintained according to the provisions of building or zoning ordinances, such as those that govern the number of fire exits or the safety of electrical wiring. A certificate of occupancy is evidence that the building complies substantially with the plans and specifications that have been submitted to, and approved by, the local authority for legal occupancy.

Question 8

Cluster Zoning

Answer 8

An area where residential density is described overall but the developer is allowed flexibility in placing the residences in groups interspersed with open space.

Question 9

Condemnation

Answer 9

The process by which government exercises its right of eminent domain. In the context of real estate, a property that has been condemned has been deemed by the local municipality to be necessary to be taken from the owner and used for the public good. The owner is supposed to be compensated for the taking. Condemned can also mean that the local municipality has determined that the property is not safe for occupation and must be torn down. Condemnation can also refer to the declaration by state or local government that a property is unfit for human habitation.

Question 10

Conditional Use Permit

Answer 10

Special permission for a use to exist where the current zoning would not normally allow by right.

Question 11

Covenants, Conditions & Restrictions (CC&R’s)

Answer 11

Private, voluntary rules (intended to be beneficial) used in homeowner associations and PUD’s; deed restrictions that control property use, architectural changes, landscaping, and whether or not animals are permitted, etc.

Question 12

Cumulative Zoning

Answer 12

Zoning that permits a less restricted use as well as the designated use.

Question 13

Density zoning

Answer 13

Ordinances which restrict the minimum lot size for single family residential, maximum density for multi-family residential, or maximum floor area ratio per size of a site.

Question 14

Doctrine of Prior Appropriation

Answer 14

The theory governing water rights in many states which holds that the right to divert the un-appropriated waters of any natural stream (surface or underground) to beneficial use shall never be denied. Priority is determined by time of claim and follows the order of domestic, agricultural, manufacturing and recreational.

Question 15

Dominant Estate

Answer 15

The parcel that receives the right (permission) from the servient estate to use the adjacent lands. The parcel of land which benefits from an easement.

Question 16

Downzone

Answer 16

Changing the zoning to a more restrictive zoning.

Question 17

Easement

Answer 17

The right or privilege one party has to use land belonging to another for a special purpose not inconsistent with the owner’s use of the land.

Question 18

Easement by Necessity (Implication)

Answer 18

An easement presumed by implication of law to be granted to the purchaser of land which is landlocked by seller’s property.

Question 19

Easement by Prescription

Answer 19

One created by continuous, notorious, and hostile use of the property for a statutory, uninterrupted period of time.

Question 20

Easement in Gross

Answer 20

An easement which is given to a person to access the property of another. In this type of easement, there is no dominant estate, as the easement attaches to a person (or company) specifically, and not to an adjoining property.

Question 21

Environmental Impact Statement (EIS)

Answer 21

A statement required by The National Environmental Policy Act of 1969 prior to development of a site that may have an affect or impact on the environment. An EIS is a tool for decision making. It describes the positive and negative environmental effects of a proposed action, and it usually also lists one or more alternative actions that may be chosen instead of the action described in the EIS.

Question 22

Enabling Acts

Answer 22

State legislation establishing powers of a local county or municipality. Zoning powers are generally granted to local government pursuant to enabling acts.

Question 23

Encroachment

Answer 23

Protrusion of an improvement on one property over or onto the adjacent property, such as a fence that extends over a property line.

Question 24

Encumbrance

Answer 24

A burden, whether voluntary or involuntary, that reduces a property’s value or use.