Unit 20: Land Use Controls and Property Development Flashcards
Buffer Zone
Typically a strip of land separating land dedicated to one use from land dedicated to another use
For example, landscaped parks and playgrounds and hiking trails are used to screen residential areas from nonresidential zones
Building Code
Most municipalities have enacted ordinances called building codes to specify construction standards that must be met when repairing or erecting buildings. Building codes set the requirements for kinds of materials and standards of workmanship, sanitary equipment, electrical wiring, fire prevention, and similar issues
Comprehensive Plan
Also called the “master plan” is not a regulatory document but rather it is a guide to planning for change rather than reacting to proposals. The comprehensive plan is usually long term–20 years of longer–and often includes (1) a general plan that can be revised and updated more frequently, (2) plans for specific areas, and (3) strategic plans
Conditional-Use Permit
Usually granted to a property owner to allow a special use of property, defined as an allowable conditional use, within that zone, such as a day care center in a residential district
Covenants, Conditions, and Restrictions (CC&Rs)
Private rules set up by the developer that set standards for all the parcels within the defined subdivision
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
Density Zoning
Zoning ordinances typically establish special density zoning (also called “bulk zoning”) ordinances for certain subdivisions, which restrict the average maximum number of houses per acre that may be built within a particular subdivision
To control density and avoid overcrowding by imposing restrictions such as setbacks and maximum building heights, and requiring specified percentage of open area or by restricting new construction projects
Developer
A developer (who may also be a subdivider) improves the land, constructs homes or other buildings on the lots, and sells them. In a new residential subdivision, developers usually pay the costs to provide new water, sewer, streets, curbs, and sidewalks. Developing is generally a much more extensive activity than subdiving
Enabling Acts
Through enabling acts, states delegate to counties and local municipalities the authority to enact ordinances in keeping with general laws. The increasing demands placed on finite natural resources have made it necessary for cities, towns, and villages to increase their limitations on the private use of real estate
Interstate Land Sales Full Disclosure Act of 1968
The U.S. Congress created the federal Interstate Land Sales Full Disclosure Act of 1968 to facilitate regulation of interstate land sales and to protect consumers from fraud and abuse in the sale or lease of land. The act required land developers to register subdivisions of 100 or more nonexempt lots with HUD and to provide each purchasers with a disclosure document called property report
The property report contains relevant information about the subdivision and must be delivered to each purchasers before the signing of the contract or agreement
Laches
If adjoining lot owners stand idly by while a violation is committed, they can lose the right to an injunction by their inaction. The court might claim their right was lost through laches, the legal principle that a right may be lost through undue delay or failure to assert it
Nonconforming Use
Frequently, a lot or an improvement does not conform to the zoning law because it existed before the enactment or amendment of the zoning ordinance. Such a nonconforming use may be allowed to continue legally as long as it complies with the regulations governing nonconformities in the local ordinance or until the improvement is destroyed or torn down or the current use is abandoned
If the nonconforming use is allowed to continue indefinitely, it is grandfathered into the new zoning
Plat Map
From the land development and subdivision plans, the subdivider draws plats. A plat map is a detailed map that illustrates the geographic boundaries of individual lots. It shows the blocks, sections, streets, public easements, and monuments in the prospective subdivision
The plats must be approved by the municipality before they can be recorded. Once a plat is properly recorded, it may be used as an adequate legal description of real property
Restrictive Covenants
Are limitations to the use of property imposed by a past owner or the current owner and are binding on future grantees
Restrictive covenants cannot be used for illegal purposes, such as for the exclusion of members of certain races, nationalities, or religions
Subdivider
A person who buys undeveloped acreage and divides it into smaller lots for sale to individuals or developers or for the subdivider’s own use
Subdivision
Most communities have adopted subdivision and land development ordinances as part of their comprehensive plans. An ordinance includes provisions for submitting and processing subdivision plats. A major advantage of subdivision ordinances is that they encourage flexibility, economy, and ingenuity in the use of land
