Zoning

Zoning describes the specific purposes a parcel of land is allowed to be used for. The zoning designation of a particular piece of property is what allows a chemical factory to be there but not a housing development, or allows there to be a pizza shop, but not a supermarket. One of the single most important places Tony and I look when doing a search for possible health risks is a thorough review of the zoning for the community. This tells us many of the obvious places where to look for potential uses that may affect locals’ health at the present time. While it is only an overlay of the community, the zoning in a town or city may have much more to do with its residents than they realize. The basic designations of zoning and how zoning is used in a community will impact the residents much more than most other laws and rules will. 

 

When looking at the zoning of a community, it is also important to look at the surrounding communities’ zoning. Pollution and toxic emissions do not stop at the edge of town because someone drew a border on a paper map; they contaminate the areas nearby. Looking next door at adjacent communities will also give information that is as valuable as the zoning of the town in question. 

 

An excellent way to get an overall idea of how things are laid out for the community is to start with a review of the town’s master plan. The master plan also shows the town’s vision for the future and the type of a community they want to be. Many towns and cities are already fully developed with very few open spaces for new construction to occur. Others may still have hundreds or thousands of acres open and waiting for the office buildings, strip malls, and houses. Depending on how much of the existing available land is already developed, that vision may vary drastically from one place to another. In new communities that are still growing, the zoning is viewed as a crucial part of the master plan for what the community will look like when developed.

 

The planning board in a community government reviews new construction and new uses in existing construction to ensure the zoning laws are followed. This gives the local government control over how a town or city will grow and where residential, commercial, industrial, and agricultural operations are allowed to be. The zoning laws usually apply to both the present and future and allow control over what limits are placed on the differently zoned areas. Non-conforming uses that already exist usually will be grandfathered, meaning they will be allowed to stay because they were built and operating prior to the zoning changes. However, if they are sold or closed, that use sometimes is no longer allowed without the new owner receiving a special variance from the town.

 

In almost all discussions of zoning, there are four main land uses that are zoned for: residential, commercial, industrial, and agricultural. Usually, the town will have a general description for each of those four categories. Then, there is usually a further breakdown within the main category for similar or subsection uses. To understand how zoning works requires an understanding of each of these categories. 

 

1. Residential

 

Any place in the town that is designated as residential would be allowed to have some type of housing built there. However, within that category, there are many variables that the town most likely will have specified for the specific area and parcel of property. There are all types of different residential housing from single-family structures to multi-family and condominium complexes. Add in apartment buildings, the density of housing units allowed per acre, and other factors, you have over a dozen different possible projects all considered to be residential uses.

 

A typical example of how residential zoning could be laid out would be to have an area designated for high-density residential use like condos or townhouses. Another section would be dedicated to only single- or multi-family housing. Residentially zoned lands may also have restrictions on how much land is needed to build a single-family house. Some residentially zoned areas may require building lots to be a minimum of one acre or higher. The town could restrict multi-family houses, or it could choose to allow rental apartment complexes. These regulations run the entire range. For example, a community might have a minimum residential lot size of five acres for any single family house. Others may allow high-density housing of 20-25 units per acre. Towns that require high acreage many times only have a very small and specific area zoned for business to serve the local population. 

 

2. Commercial

 

A commercial zone is the area in the community where various types of businesses are allowed. The potential range of different businesses is wide, so similar to the way residential zoning has categories and sub-zones within it, commercial does as well. For example, a sub-zone could be an area designated for retail only or small office building development only. There may be variations in what one community considers a commercial operation another may call light industrial. There are many similarities, but different interpretations do exist between towns, which need to be examined closely. A commercial zone in many communities is for the places where much of the support services the community uses are located. Examples of the usual types of business operations allowed in commercial zones include such places as restaurants, bars, office buildings, retail operations, car dealerships, hotels, daycare centers, and similar, non-polluting, low-impact uses to the community. There may be large amounts of commercial property for lots of different businesses, or it may only be large enough to accommodate a few stores and that is all. 

 

When I lived in Clarksburg, Millstone Township, New Jersey, the town had a couple of acres set aside in a town center for businesses like a general store, a pizza shop, and a video store. If we wanted to go grocery shopping or needed a hardware store, we drove 20 minutes to the nearest town that had one. There was no shopping center with big box stores, no Wal-Mart, and no movie theater. That is a decision the town and people living there made to be able to preserve the rural character and charm of the area. It is a choice to have a non-business environment. We chose this specific community because of the type of zoning it had.

 

3. Industrial

 

Industrial zones are sections of land where companies who manufacture products, warehouse and distribute products,or do research and development can set up their operations. It often includes office buildings, operations doing repair work, trucking companies, and other types of uses. This category presents the most potential hazards because of the large number of different types of potential businesses that may be allowed to operate. These industrial zones are usually sectioned into two categories: light industrial or heavy industrial. Examples of light industrial uses could be moving and storage companies, window and door manufacturing, vehicle repair businesses, office buildings, warehousing and distribution centers, and other types of clean, low-impact operations. A heavy industrial zone may be needed for operations such as a cement plant, paper mill, metal manufacturing, chemical company, and others that would potentially impact the environment and health of the community. Each community establishes its own interpretation of what they feel is light or heavy industrial uses. and many have a very specific list stating the uses allowable in each. If a use not specifically allowed is proposed, the board may review the request and decide if it is a conforming use and allowable, a non-conforming use and issue an exemption, or deny the use all together.

 

This is the category that requires the highest level of caution. As residents of a community, or prospective residents if looking for a place, it falls on us to very carefully go through the specific uses to see what potentially could be opened in addition to what already exists. A use that is allowed under the zoning regulations is very difficult to shut down even when it turns out to be the largest polluter in the town. 

 

4. Agricultural

 

Agricultural zoning is for areas with farms or open spaces the community wishes to keep that way. This way, these properties would have protections limiting complaints from neighbors and prevent encroachment from commercial developments and residential properties. People who move to these areas because they like being near the farms and open lands sometimes suddenly realize that animals smell. The agricultural zoning protects these farms from any actions being taken against them as a result of these complaints. Sometimes, as communities grow, the agricultural zones may be changed to allow some development on some of the previously restricted lands. As this occurs, and as farms sell off due to increasing pressure from developers and rising property values, the grandfather law is especially needed to preserve remaining farms from being forced to close due to changes around them in previously agriculturally zoned lands. 

 

The same zoning that allows for a beautiful horse farm with green rolling hills as a neighbor may also make it equally possible to have a 3,000 head pig farm that daily spreads tons of fresh, pungent manure on the same property. There are not usually distinctions unless the zoning laws have very specific limitations and guidelines incorporated into them. Unless there are size restrictions on the types and numbers of animals, then anything is possible. I will add, however, when an animal operation is over a certain size, there are usually state regulations regarding air and water emissions that require permits. This has kept factory farms out of certain areas where they otherwise would have set up. 

 

In part because of all of these complications, most zoning maps of a town resemble a jigsaw puzzle. They are laid out with various sized pieces placed all over. There may be a dozen different areas for different types of residential zoning sections around the town. For example, industrial operations may have only two or three areas near the main highways. That land may be eyed for warehouses and industrial zoning due to access to roads. Commercially zoned property may be two very small areas at the main intersections or crossroads but not elsewhere in town. 

 

While there are rarely two towns that have any similarities in zoning other than the categories, some reasonable conclusions can be drawn. Chief among them, if an area is zoned to allow for a specific use, many more of the same type will eventually follow. Intersections near major roads and highways usually develop with commercial zoning to allow space for stores, gas stations, and such. Large acreage zoned for industry will turn into sprawling industrial parks, hosting whatever type of manufacturing facilities want to do business there. Some towns choose to have few or no areas in which industry or commercial operations are allowed to locate and operate. Other towns may have entire areas zoned for industry that is “shovel ready” for a company to propose a project and move in. The range of zoning rules and regulations allowing some projects but not others spans across every possible project. 

 

While the general categories of zoning may be the same for most towns, how they choose to enforce the laws varies. Individual towns also have different criteria for offering variances and granting special permits. These permits can allow development in a zone intended for other purposes. Because of the mix of business, money, and politics, it gets especially complicated. 

 

The variation in permitted projects and where they are zoned to be tells the story of a town. Those zones show how the town developed and gives us an idea of areas we may want to live in and others we may want to stay away from. Even without access to formal zoning maps, simply driving around a town and doing a visual check will give a strong indication of the present situation. It is extremely important to keep in mind the present situation is subject to future change. Future politicians, political connections, and industry lobbyists are always on the lookout for a new place to exploit. To avoid your community becoming one of these exploited places, public pressure that continues to prod and make sure officials know where the majority will vote helps. 

 

Unfortunately, some town boards may not always have the best interest of the citizens at the forefront of their decisions. They may even attempt to change zoning in ways that do not benefit the residents. The promise of additional tax revenues and jobs have swayed many town boards into allowing zoning changes for incompatible uses. Once a new business is in place or a change in the zoning laws happens, a precedent is set, and soon the community may find an industrial park or a sea of houses where farmland had been just a few years ago.

 

Hopefully, the city planning commission in Bowling Green, Kentucky, will have the residents’ best interest. A trucking company is trying to get the town to change the zoning on a property currently used as a farm to a light industrial classification that can be used to operate its business. The residents in the area are fighting the change as the new business would change the character of the area. The town board is reviewing the request from the trucking company and states they will listen to both sides before making a decision.

 

However, some members of town boards do act in the best interests of their citizens, such as in Martinsburg, West Virginia. A request to change zoning was denied by the town. A developer wanted to build more than 300 apartments on a property next to a heavy industrial zone that includes a cement plant. The board expressed strong concern because the cement plant had a track record of air emissions violations and had even been fined for non-compliance. The board also heard from current residents about how the cement plant negatively impacted their lives, arguing that more people should not be subjected to the pollution and health risks they are. The vote was close though at 4-3 with three members thinking putting apartments directly next to a cement plant was an acceptable risk to take for people who would live there. 

 

A community’s zoning gives you some indication of the general type of community it is. You are able to carefully review the areas in the community that could currently have operations with potential to harm the health of you and your family. The current regulations also give you an indication where future detrimental operations could locate.