Zoning

Rule-Bending Keeps Fresno Sprawling

Despite a 2002 General Plan update aimed at curbing sprawl in the Central California city of Fresno, repeated zoning amendments have allowed hundreds of developments to push the city's edge farther out into the fringe.

September 29, 2008 - Fresno Bee

Should the Internet Replace Newspapers for Public Notices?

In thousands of planning and zoning laws across the nation, official announcements are required to be published in the local newspaper of "general circulation." In an era of newspaper decline and expanding diversity of media, are these laws becoming obsolete? Furthermore, should we be concerned with newspapers at all if a newer, more universally accessible medium is available: the Internet? A variety of announcements are legally required to be published in a local periodical of "general circulation," sometimes in addition to being published in an official government gazette. The practice entered the planning world through the U.S. Department of Commerce's highly influential standard zoning and planning enabling acts.

September 28, 2008 - Robert Goodspeed

Should we use zoning to preserve manufacturing?

Deindustrialization has wreaked havoc across many American cities and towns. One only need visit the landscape of the rust belt, places like Buffalo, Detroit or Flint, Michigan to get a sense how damaging this transformation can be. Behind the ugly ruins of abandoned factories and shuttered stores are the lives of real people who have suffered. Manufacturing provided jobs, good paying ones at that, that helped create a blue collar middle class.  

September 10, 2008 - Lance Freeman

The Anti-Zoning Attitude of Palin's Hometown

VP hopeful Sarah Palin's hometown of Wasilla, Alaska is proud of its anti-government attitude and anything goes climate for building and planning.

September 6, 2008 - The Christian Science Monitor

Friday Funny: SeXXXercise Thwarted

The ACLU is helping a woman in Pittsburgh sue the city for violating her right of free expression. The city denied her occupancy permit to open a pole-dancing studio, teaching classes in "power lap dance" and "seXXXercise".

August 29, 2008 - York Daily Record

Condo Towers Force Out Remaining Industries in NYC

A new round of zoning changes in NYC could mean the loss of over 20% of industrial-zoned land in the city.

August 28, 2008 - NY Daily News

Mayor Shuts Down Little Girls' Produce Stand

Katie and Sabrina Lewis of Clayton, CA have inadvertently gotten tied up in a political mess of zoning and commercial uses by selling produce from their family garden at a stand in front of their house.

August 22, 2008 - ABC7

Forget Coffeehouses- Businesses Want Freeways, Labor, Energy

Manufacturing still matters, and what manufacturers want hasn't changed much. The question is whether a "new economy" state like California can compete in the old economy.

August 14, 2008 - California Planning and Development Report

Hard to Change Houston's Rep as Nation's Worst Recycler

As the worst recycler amongst the 30 largest American cities, Houston has a lot of trash on its hands. But many obstacles stand in the way of the city closing the loop.

July 29, 2008 - The New York Times

New Crematory Evades City Planners

City officials in Snellville, near Atlanta, claim they cannot stop the pending arrival of a new crematorium along a busy street and near homes.

July 16, 2008 - The Atlanta Journal-Constitution

Should Public Meetings Offer Translation?

Rezoning in New York's Lower East Side brings the issue of language to the fore, as members of the Spanish and Chinese communities find themselves unable to participate in important decisions about their neighborhoods.

July 1, 2008 - The New York Times

Learning from exam schools

Yesterday’s Washington Post contained a list of elite public schools- schools where the average student SAT is over 1300. Since suburban schools generally have better reputations than urban schools, one might expect that all the schools on the list would be in prestigious suburban school districts. But in fact, this is not the case. Three New York City schools (Stuyvestant, Hunter College, Bronx High) and one school near downtown Richmond (Maggie Walker) are on the high-SAT list- despite the fact that the New York City and Richmond school districts, like nearly all urban school districts, have mediocre reputations.

June 24, 2008 - Michael Lewyn

Zoning Squashes Wedding Plans

Heather Stewart's vision of a country wedding in a resorted country barn are thwarted by code enforcement officers at the last minute. 'We have zoning rules and building codes that always get in the way of dreams,' Reinsborough said.

June 23, 2008 - Portland Press Herald

Disobedient Architect to Be Banned from Brooklyn

Brooklyn architect Robert M. Scarano Jr. has crossed Brooklyn's zoning laws too many times, and the city is making the case to ban him from submitting any plans. In the worst case, he put two apartment buildings in a location greenlighted for one.

June 16, 2008 - The New York Times

'EcoDensity' Comes Through in Vancouver

A major rezoning plan has been approved in Vancouver, including the toughest environmental standards in North America.

June 13, 2008 - The Vancouver Sun

Did Houston's Lack Of Zoning Shield It From The Housing Meltdown?

A recent report by a Federal Reserve Bank senior economist argues that Houston's resiliency during the ongoing housing crisis is due in part to its lack of zoning regulations.

May 29, 2008 - The Houston Chronicle

Cities Should Be Like Pizza

Keeping land uses separate is like keeping the ingredients of pizza separate, according to Congress for New Urbanism President John Norquist. The result is an urban pie that doesn't taste as good as it could.

May 16, 2008 - Columbus Ledger-Enquirer

Neighborhood Zoning Offices Give Residents Help And Answers

Following the lead of law enforcement, San Diego's code enforcement department is opening storefront offices where residents can come in with questions and complaints.

May 12, 2008 - The San Diego Union-Tribune

It's Not 'Zoning', But It's Zoning

This commentary argues that, though it may not be called "zoning", Houston has plenty of land use restrictions and guidelines.

May 6, 2008 - The Houston Chronicle

More Fast Food Makes Fatter Neighborhoods

High rates of obesity and diabetes are being correlated to high concentrations of fast food restaurants in neighborhoods. Some look to zoning as a solution.

May 5, 2008 - The Los Angeles Times

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