PROS AND CONS OF ZONING WHAT IS ZONING

PROS AND CONS OF ZONING

WHAT IS ZONING? Zoning is considered to be the public regulation of land use. Zoning Uses can be roughly broken up into four categories; Agricultural, Residential, Commercial, and Industrial. Each can be broken up into several other categories, and those categories should be determined by the needs and future outlook of each community. In the State of Kansas, Cities and Counties are given the authority to adopt zoning regulations under Article 7, section 12 -741. Cities have more authority in regulating land use with in their boundaries because they have constitutional home rule. Today, I’ll focus on Zoning for unincorporated areas.

HOW MANY COUNTIES IN KANSAS ARE ZONED? As of Early 2019, 54 counties had zoning, and 51 did not.

LET’S DISCUSS A FEW NEGATIVES Cost - Staff, potential litigation, creating, and maintaining regulation can be costly. Potential Development Discouragement – Sometimes, Developers can see zoning as a road block to creating housing or commercial developments. Assumed Restriction of Property Rights – Citizens in your community might see zoning as a restriction of their property rights.

NOW, FOR A FEW PROS Protects Property Values - Property values can be protected by guiding developments in a manner that is consistent with neighboring properties. Guiding Development – By creating future land use mapping, zoning regulations allow for the guiding of residential and commercial developments in areas that would better suit those uses. Peace of Mind for Property Owners – Most citizens don’t want zoning, until they do. The “NIMBY, ” or Not in My Back Yard, mentality is pervasive, and understandable. Citizens want the ability to point to something, in writing, that helps protect their properties. The best arguments for this are sexually oriented businesses, industrial uses, and large utility facilities like Wind Farms. Any of these proposed uses can cause severe division in your citizenry, and having zoning regulations you can point to as a guide can be an enormous benefit.

MAKING THE MOST OF YOUR ZONING STAFF Training – Allow your zoning staff to attend training in order to stay up to date on current State statutes, zoning case law, and new techniques that can be applied in their day to day job. If you’re going to have zoning, then invest in making sure the job is done correctly. Networking – The American Planning Association, and the Kansas Association of County Planning and Zoning Officials have some fantastic opportunities for planning and zoning staff to network with other professionals in their field. Both have conferences yearly, and the KACPZO even offers free conferences to new members of the organization. www. planning. org www. KACPZO. com Follow through with regulatory requirements – Don’t approve regulation that you intend on ignoring. Make sure that your regulations are enforced as best as you are able.

SO YOU WANT TO ADOPT ZONING? Create a steering committee to determine if your community really needs zoning. Add it to a ballot Get Community Buy in Be Pro-Active and not Re-Active. Talk to other communities of similar size but with different needs Hire a consultant to help write and guide the process. Lean on your County Council.

CONTACT INFORMATION Dustin Parks, CFM Planning and Zoning Administrator Jefferson County, Kansas 785 -403 -0618 Dparks@jf. County. Ks. com Tim Branscom Planning and Zoning Administrator Pratt County, Kansas 1 -620 -672 -4132 Pcem@prattcounty. org