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Full-Text Articles in Law
Zoning By A Thousand Cuts, Sara C. Bronin
Zoning By A Thousand Cuts, Sara C. Bronin
Pepperdine Law Review
Zoning is increasingly viewed as a constraint on the nation’s housing supply, and as zoning enters its second century, there is a strong drumbeat for reform. Across the country, reformers have targeted the elimination of single-family zoning, pointing to research showing that single-family zoning drives up development costs, degrades the environment, and homogenizes communities. While allowing more multi-family options could help address these issues, reformers should not exclusively focus on the elimination of single-family zoning. Process requirements including mandatory public hearings, and substantive requirements involving lot configuration, building size, and occupancy, among other things, play a significant role in determining …
Variances: A Canary In The Coal Mine For Zoning Reform?, John J. Infranca, Ronnie M. Farr
Variances: A Canary In The Coal Mine For Zoning Reform?, John J. Infranca, Ronnie M. Farr
Pepperdine Law Review
There is perhaps no area of land use law where practice departs more from legal doctrine than the realm of zoning variances. According to the legal doctrine, variances are to be granted sparingly, providing a “safety valve” that alleviates unique hardships encountered by a property owner. In practice, variances are granted at high rates—often around ninety percent of applications are approved—and, in some jurisdictions, in high volumes. In such cases, variances effectively serve as a rezoning, enabling jurisdictions to permit otherwise prohibited uses and allow growth and development to occur without addressing needed zoning reforms. By allowing neighbors the opportunity …