Title: Why is zoning important
Headings: Why is zoning important
Why is zoning important
Content: is zoning worth the effort? That's an interesting question indeed, because even where zoning is in place, zoning decisions aren't made in a vacuum. Politics can influence the decisions, in the sense that elected officials may be afraid to go against popular demand. In smaller towns especially, popularity of the person applying for the zoning change often influences whether it is granted. And sometimes the rezoning is inappropriate when it is influenced by these outside factors. Even if that doesn't occur, suppose the zoning ordinance (law) itself isn't very well crafted, or that conditions in society have changed and the ordinance didn't change with the times. Then zoning can have unintended consequences and actually prevent economic development, flexible provisions for affordable housing, and other things that are good for your community. So what are the alternatives to zoning? The new one arising from the architectural community is called form-based code, and as the name implies, it relies on regulating building placement and building characteristics rather than the activity that is going to happen inside the building. Another alternative is simply to rely on private deed restrictions.