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Current Issues

February 2012

Consolidating Zoning Districts

Like rabbits, zoning districts tend to proliferate over time. As cities grow and counties mature, they need to accommodate new kinds of development, and that often leads to the creation of new zoning districts. The problem is that, as zoning districts multiply, potential developers and zoning administrators must learn additional rules, and eventually the code becomes too complicated for its own good. This issue presents a common sense approach to consolidating zoning districts with an eye toward more effective development regulation and user-friendly administration.

Author Donald L. Elliott, FAICP, is a senior consultant with the Denver office of Clarion Associates, a former chapter president of APA Colorado, and a former chair of the APA Planning and Law Division. As a planner and lawyer he has assisted more than 40 North American cities and counties to reform and update their zoning, subdivision, housing, and land-use regulations. He has also consulted in Russia, India, Lebanon, and Indonesia, and served as USAID Democracy and Governance Advisor in Uganda for two years.

January 2012

Zoning Across Boundaries: Annexation, Joint Planning Boards, and the Challenges of Cooperative Planning

Jurisdictional boundaries, whether they separate cities and townships, villages and towns, or cities and counties, can present seemingly intractable problems for planners and planning officials. Creating plans and ordinances that serve the interests of both the urban and rural sides of the boundary can be a daunting task when their goals seem to be at cross purposes. This issue shares lessons learned from a range of cooperative planning and zoning initiatives in Minnesota, Iowa, and Washington.

Author Suzanne Sutro Rhees, AICP, is a parks and trails planner for the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources and a frequent contributor to APA publications. Through her previous work as a consultant, she has extensive experience with zoning and boundary issues in Minnesota, Iowa, and Wisconsin. As an active member of the APA-Minnesota chapter’s Legislative Committee, she is involved in a long-term effort to streamline and update the state’s planning enabling laws.

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