USA Development Control Legal foundation Origins of zoning

USA Development Control • Legal foundation • Origins of zoning ordinances • Zoning as a scientific solution to land use problems • Zoning and Constitutionality • Zoning and Implementation • Comparisons with UK and Europe?

USA Development Control Legal foundation • protection of private interest, property rights and values • rights of third parties (constitutional right of due process)

USA Development Control Origins of zoning ordinances • Local ‘police powers’ seen as constitutional where used for the health and welfare of the community; • City Beautiful Movement, the Chicago World Fair 1893 and the German model of land use zoning.

USA Development Control Zoning as a scientific solution to land use problems: • science rather than regulation • separation of land uses; control of densities • orderly development of the urban land market • promotion of speculative development of real estate

USA Development Control Zoning and Constitutionality • Test of constitutionality: Village of Euclid vs Ambler Realty 1926 • Argued that zoning “violates constitutional protection to the right of property. . . By attempted regulations under the guise of police power, which are unreasonable and confiscatory”. (quoted from Rose, in Booth 1996: 76)

USA Development Control Zoning and Constitutionality (continued, from Rose 1969) General principles: • zoning must be within the general scope of ‘police power’ • not so harsh as to violate due process of the law • should not be discriminatory

USA Development Control Zoning and Constitutionality (continued) • Decision from Euclid: – zoning need not be unconstitutional • Decision extended the use of the 1923 Standard State Zoning Enabling Act

USA Development Control Zoning and Implementation • Fragmented responsibilities for zoning (division between executive and legislative functions): – municipalities propose the zoning ordinances – independent zoning commission deals with variances – appeals go to a Board of Adjustment

USA Development Control Zoning and Implementation • Municipalities: – often small – limited expertise – narrow focus of public welfare

USA Development Control Comparisons with UK and Europe?

USA Development Control References: Babcock R F (1966) The Zoning Game Madison: University of Wisconsin Press Booth P (1996) Controlling Development: Certainty and discretion in Europe, the USA and Hong Kong London: UCL Press

USA Development Control References: Cullingworth JB (1993) The Political Culture of Planning: American Land Use Planning in Comparative Perspective New York: Routledge Hambledon R (1990) Urban Government in the 1990’s: Lessons from the USA Bristol: SAUS Wakeford R (1990) American Development Control: Parallels and Paradoxes from an English Perspective London: HMSO