Zoning Codes

Auburn, Maine offers the latest an example of a small city deciding to increase its capacity for future development in response to housing pressure, even in the face of intense public opposition.

March 31, 2022 - Sun Journal

A writer for Strong Towns offers a case study of "the byzantine development process" of many municipalities in the United States.

March 17, 2022 - Strong Towns

The California Housing Department gave credit to Los Angeles for targeting so much growth before telling the city it needed to do more.

February 25, 2022 - Los Angeles Times

A deep dive into the history of zoning and development in Manchester, New Hampshire.

February 23, 2022 - New Hampshire Public Radio

Locals aren't happy about Amazon's numerous new distribution facilities in San Francisco, but all of the new facilities are all perfectly legal under the city's zoning code—much more legal than housing, for example.

February 21, 2022 - San Francisco Chronicle

The Rochester 2034 Zoning Alignment Project is implementing the award-winning Rochester 2034 Comprehensive Plan.

February 15, 2022 - WXXI News

Discretionary approval requires an appointed or elected body of officials to decide whether or not to proceed with a development. Discretionary approval is usually reserved for development proposals that don't conform to zoning or building codes, but other regulatory triggers can also create the need for a discretionary approval process.

February 8, 2022 - James Brasuell

The city of Boise is soliciting public input on its plan to revise its zoning code to permit a wider variety of housing options.

February 2, 2022 - City of Boise

The doomed effort was Mayor London Breed's third attempt to streamline development in the city.

January 31, 2022 - San Francisco Chronicle

A development approval process decides whether or not to allow a proposed development project to proceed with construction. There is plenty of room for interpretation, both legal and political, about what a development approval process can or should entail.

January 27, 2022 - James Brasuell

Experts caution that to encourage significant new housing production, other zoning reforms that reduce costs and streamline permitting should accompany increased density requirements.

January 27, 2022 - Governing

A city audit recommends shifting zoning enforcement from the planning department to the police department.

January 25, 2022 - Saporta Report

Local municipalities in New Jersey retain local control in response to a state law that legalizes marijuana businesses throughout the state.

December 23, 2021 - NorthJersey.com

Arlington County is allowing land use flexibility on ground floors in the hopes of transforming the Columbia Park as more of a pedestrian-oriented "Main Street."

November 17, 2021 - Arlington County Government

Zoning has been blamed for a lot of things in recent years, but a global supply crunch increasing prices and creating shortages of household goods—and potentially ruining the holidays—is a new one.

November 10, 2021 - James Brasuell

Strict separation of uses may be an inefficient way to zone dynamic modern cities.

October 13, 2021 - The Market Urbanism Report

In a victory for preservationists, the Texas Supreme Court upheld Houston's Historic Preservation Ordinance despite a lawsuit alleging that the ordinance constitutes illegal zoning rules.

September 30, 2021 - SLoG Law Blog

By opening more of downtown Chicago to pot shops, the city hopes that more minority businesses owners can get in on the lucrative business of marijuana.

September 9, 2021 - The Chicago Tribune

Historic preservation is a controversial, highly contested cause, with a long history of failures and successes in the United States.

September 2, 2021 - James Brasuell

Almost all the affordable housing development in L.A. in the past decade has occurred in majority-minority neighborhoods. The L.A. Department of City Planning is looking for ways to make sure high-income areas do more of their fair share.

June 9, 2021 - Urbanize LA