UNIT 2: Land-Use Controls Flashcards
When you've finished reading this unit, you will be able to identify the various types of public and private controls, describe how a comprehensive plan influences local real estate development, summarize key points of the Interstate Land Sales Full Disclosure Act, and explain the function and characteristics of building codes and zoning ordinances.
Buffer Zone
A strip of land, usually designated as a park or for a similar use, separating land dedicated to one use from land dedicated to another use (e.g., residential from commercial)
Building Codes
Ordinances that specify minimum standards of construction for buildings to protect public safety and health.
Certificate of Occupancy
Permission by the municipal inspector to occupy a completed building structure after it has been inspected and complies with building codes.
Comprehensive Plan
A plan to guide the long-term physical development of a particular area.
Conditional Use Permit
Written governmental permission allowing a use inconsistent with zoning but necessary for the common good, such as locating an emergency medical facility in a predominantly residential area.
Covenants, Conditions, & Restrictioins (CC&Rs)
declarations of conditions and restrictions that affect the use of all parcels of land within a specified development or subdivision plat. CC&Rs are typically found in a separate recorded instrument. The deed to each affected property references the plat or declaration of restrictions. CC&Rs typically govern the type, height, and size of buildings that individual owners can erect, as well as land use, architectural style, construction methods, setbacks, and square footage. CC&Rs are enforced by the homeowners’ association.
Dedication
The voluntary transfer of private property by its owner to the public for some public use, such as for streets or schools.
Deed Restriction
clause in a deed limiting the future use of the property. Deed restrictions may impose a vast variety of limitations and conditions—for example, they may limit the density of buildings, dictate the types of structures that can be erected, or prevent buildings from being used for specific purposes or even from being used at all.
Density Zoning
Zoning ordinances that restrict the average maximum number of houses per acre that may be built within a particular area, generally a subdivision.
Developer
One who attempts to put land to its most profitable use through the construction of improvements.
Enabling Acts
State legislation that confers zoning powers on municipal governments.
Impact Fees
Charges assessed developers by a municipality that relate to expenses incurred by the municipality for additional improvements necessitated by increased development.
Interstate Land Sales Full Disclosure Act
A federal law that regulates the sale of certain real estate in interstate commerce.
Inverse Condemnation
An action brought by a property owner seeking just compensation for land taken for public use when the taker of the property does not intend to bring eminent domain proceedings. Property is condemned because its use and value have been diminished due to an adjacent property’s public use.
Nonconforming Use
A use of property that is permitted to continue after a zoning ordinance prohibiting it has been established for the area.
