25 Ways to Get Your Site Eliminated - #24: Present Rigid Local Zoning Conditions
October 13, 2011 | by: Tim Davey, PE
Local Zoning Ordinances, Districts, Conditions, etc. are in transition all over America as communities work to attract new jobs and investments. Years of great thought, hard work, contentious debate, drafting, and re-drafting of these laws have provided communities with a strong foundation on which to plan for and manage growth. Very often, this approach has led to a complete separation of land use categories that preserve the current nature of the community. Some of these ordinances are very rigid and require significant time and effort to either work within, ask for an exception, or advocate for changes in the current guidance. Presenting rigid, stoic, outdated, and reactive zoning ordinances can quickly get your community eliminated from a site search.
Progressive communities have started to re-visit these ordinances with an eye towards more dense, vertical, mixed-use, mixed-income opportunities that is more aligned with the changing demographics of our Country. They are also showing a willingness to pro-actively zone properties to facilitate development and attract economic development. When site selection consultants read about new, dynamic, progressive zoning conditions that encourage development, they are more likely to rate your community as “open for business”. They report back to their clients that the community has moved away from a “local” perspective on managing land to a more “global” perspective that is attractive to international investment.
Remember, some of the companies that are looking at your community come from part of the world where cities and buildings are 1,000 years old. You don’t want to give the impression that your zoning is stuck in the year 1950!
Please feel free to contact me anytime with your thoughts.