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56OPTIMIZING PRIVATE LAND CONSERVATION AND PUBLIC LAND USE PLANNING⁄REQUISITION1 Comprehensive land useplans are further explored inSection 2: Working with LandUse Planners/Regulators toIdentify Priority Sites forConservation.2 See Scheerr v. Township ofEvesham, 184 N.J. Super. 11,445 A.2d 46 (Law Div. 1982);and Corrigan v. City ofScottsdale, 149 Ariz. 553, 720P.2d 528 (Ct. App. 1985).Comprehensive Land Use PlansMost states require local governments to create comprehensive land use plans. Planningand zoning regulations must conform to those comprehensive plans. Comprehensiveland use plans include long-term environmental goals, intermediate-term conservationobjectives tied to each goal, and shorter-term strategies designed to accomplish eachobjective. States have used a variety of approaches to ensure that the localities under theirjurisdiction develop comprehensive plans that take steps towards land conservation. 1ZoningToday, the variation in zoning ordinances is staggering, with many municipalitieshaving developed innovative ordinances to protect land within their jurisdictions.Zoning use districts and their development specifications can be used to providecommunities with a method of conserving natural resources and the environment.Successful strategies range from placing environmentally sensitive land into zoningdistricts that only allow very limited development, to incorporating propertydevelopment standards through a variety of conservation measures such as maximumunit density, lot coverage, building height, minimum lot size, setback requirements,building spacing, and requirements for open space. Local governments have alsoadopted explicit conservation policies in their zoning ordinances. Zoning techniquesare also used to protect open space and the natural resources and environmentalfunctions associated with those spaces. Zoning can achieve environmental objectivesby requiring compliance with performance objectives that limit adverseenvironmental effects such as erosion, ground water contamination, and wetlandremoval. Zoning standards can also specify that environmental functions in zoningdistricts be drawn to conform to watershed boundaries or include large parcels rich innatural resources be minimally impacted by land development (Nolon, 2003).Zoning ordinances that achieve locally appropriate uses of the land are not likelyto be invalidated by a court. This includes protecting land for conservation purposesas long as the local government can show that they have a rational basis for such adetermination. For example, an ordinance drafted for the preservation of open spacehas been found to be a legitimate land use objective; however, some state courts haveheld that the preservation of open space for purely aesthetic reasons is not a validexercise of a local government’s police powers. 2Approvals, Conditions, and ReviewsAnother traditional power granted to local governments is the review of land useprojects for the development of private property. Commonly, permits are issued, withor without conditions, or are denied for failure to comply with local regulations. Mostapplications will not be approved unless they are in compliance with local zoningregulations, the comprehensive plan and other local standards.Local governments are also authorized to promulgate and enforce subdivision andsite plan regulations. Here, local planning and zoning boards can impose conditionson approvals of site plans to mitigate adverse impacts on the environment.yale school of forestry & environmental studies
SECTION 457The subdivision of land involves the legal division of a parcel into a number of lotsfor the purpose of development and sale. Subdivision regulations can assure that newdevelopment is cost-effective, properly designed, and has a positive impact on thecommunity and the environment. Many states include substantial environmentalstandards in their subdivision regulations (Nolon, 2003).Examples of Incorporating Conservation Provisions into Zoning Laws●●●●Manhattan, Kansas, zoning ordinance includes a reference to theconservation of natural resources, including open spacepreservation, in its statement of purpose (City of Manhattan, Kansas,Zoning Ordinance § 2-101).The city of Knoxville, Tennessee, established an Open SpacePreservation District to provide areas in which the principal use ofthe land is devoted to open space and/or the preservation andprotection of park and recreation lands, wilderness areas, beach andshoreline areas, scenic routes, wild and scenic rivers, historical andarchaeological sites, watersheds and water supply areas, and wildlifeand their habitats (Knoxville, Tennessee, Zoning Regulations ArticleIV, § 1a).The Fiscal Court in the town of Marion, Kentucky, enacted anordinance that prevented farmers from keeping hogs anywherewithin the city limits at any time from April 1 through September 30 tomitigate noxious odors, ground water contamination, and otherenvironmental impacts (Marion, Kentucky, Zoning Ordinance § 90-24).Grandview, Missouri, has created a conservancy district within itszoning ordinance to preserve in perpetuity marshes, wetlands, openspace, slopes, and other areas of high aesthetic and ecological value(Grandview, Missouri, Zoning Code Chapter 31). See Nolan (2003).Emerging Techniques for Including Conservation in Land Use ControlsThe inflexibility of traditional Euclidean zoning 3led planners and regulators topursue more flexible avenues of land use regulation. While the basic structure ofEuclidean zoning remains, planners have instituted alternative ways of controlling theland uses in their communities that correspond to changing views on theenvironment, community growth, economics, and preservation. Considering the vastand varying amount of comprehensive plans, zoning ordinances, protocols forplanning, enforcement and approvals, and other methods of land regulation acrossthe country, local governments were bound to develop a myriad of techniquesthrough regulation to promote land conservation within their communities. The3 Euclidean zoning can becharacterized by the isolationof land uses into specifiedgeographic districts anddimensional standards.Euclidean zoning is oftencriticized for its inflexibilityand out-of-date theories andstrategies.yale school of forestry & environmental studies
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yale program on strategies for the
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Optimizing Private LandConservation
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INTRODUCTION1IntroductionThe tradit
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WORKSHOP SUMMARY3Optimizing Private
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Page 53 and 54: SECTION 347Source: Moore, Christoph
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Page 103 and 104: SECTION 697Morrow, D. (2010). Doing
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SECTION 1109Biosketches of AuthorsB
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Yale School of Forestry& Environmen
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