Vocabulary: Chapter 6- Land Use Controls and Property Development

Question 1

Buffer Zone

Answer 1

A strip of land, usually used as a park or designated for a similar use, separating land dedicated to one use from land dedicated to another use. (EG residential from commercial)

Question 2

Building Code

Answer 2

An ordinance that specifies minimum standards of construction for buildings to protect public safety and health

Question 3

Certificate of Occupancy

Answer 3

Permission by the municipal inspector to occupy a completed building structure after being inspected and having complied with building codes

Question 4

Comprehensive Plan

Answer 4

a master plan to guide the long term physical development of a particular area

Question 5

Conditional-use permit

Answer 5

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

Question 6

Covenants, Conditions, and Restrictions (CCR’s)

Answer 6

Private agreements that affect the land use. They may be enforced by an owner of real estate and included in the seller’s deed to the buyer

Question 7

Density Zoning

Answer 7

Zoning ordinances that restrict the maximum average number of houses per acre that may be built within a particular area, generally a subdivision

Question 8

Developer

Answer 8

One who attempts to put land to its most profitable use through the construction of improvements

Question 9

Enabling Acts

Answer 9

State legislation that confers zoning powers on municipal governments

Question 10

Interstate Land Sales Full Disclosure Act

Answer 10

A federal law that regulates the sale of certain real estate in interstate commerce

Question 11

Inverse Condemnation

Answer 11

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

Question 12

Non-conforming Use

Answer 12

A use of property that is permitted to continue after a zoning ordinance prohibiting it has been established for the area

Question 13

Planned Unit Development (PUD)

Answer 13

A planned combination of diverse land uses, such as housing, recreation, and shopping, in one contained development or subdivision

Question 14

Plat

Answer 14

A detailed map that illustrates the geographic boundaries of individual lots

Question 15

Restrictive covenant

Answer 15

A clause in a deed that limits the way the real estate ownership may be used

Question 16

Subdivider

Answer 16

One who buys undeveloped land, divides it into smaller, usable lots and sells the lots to potential users

Question 17

Subdivision

Answer 17

A tract of land divided by the owner, known as the subdivider, into blocks, building lots, and streets according to a recorded subdivision plat, which must comply with local ordinances and regulations

Question 18

Variance

Answer 18

Permission obtained from zoning authorities to build a structure or conduct a use that is expressly prohibited by the current zoning laws; an exception from the zoning ordinances

Question 19

Zoning

Answer 19

A regulatory tool that helps communities regulate and control how land is used

Question 20

Zoning Ordinance

Answer 20

An exercise of police power by a municipality to regulate and control the character and use of property