Conditional Zoning Districts

1. Conditional Zoning Districts Richard Ducker Institute of Government

2. Types of Zoning Districts • (1) General-use districts • (2) Conditional-use (special-use) districts • (3) Conditional districts

3. (1) General Use Districts • Site must be generally suitable for any of the permitted uses • Site-specific development conditions may not be added to a particular rezoning since regulations must be uniform for each type of use or project

4. (2) Conditional Use Districts • Districts must be provided for in the ordinance and are mapped in response to petition of owner • Zoning districts in which uses are permitted only upon issuance of a conditional use permit

5. (2) Conditional Use Districts • Governing board makes both zoning amendment (legislative) and conditional use permit decision (quasi-judicial) • Single consolidated public hearing often used to consider both zoning amendment and conditional–use permit • Site-specific development conditions added to permit and “run with the land.”

6. Conditional Zoning Upheld • Massey v. City of Charlotte (2001) • Conditional zoning authorized by general statutes • Conditional zoning need not involve a quasi-judicial process • Summers v. City of Charlotte (2001) • Neighbors not denied due process rights • Developers’ mixed-use development plan consistent with city’s local area plan

7. (3) Conditional Districts • Each conditional district differs from any other other zoning district • Conditional district may, but need not necessarily, parallel a general-use district • Governing board has no power to add conditions to the rezoning; it may only react to the concessions or restrictions proposed by the property owner

8. (3) Conditional Districts • Petitioner proposes site-specific development conditions through submission of site plan • Site-specific requirements and site plan features incorporated into the standards for the district itself • No conditional-use or special-use permit involved, and no quasi-judicial hearing required

9. Negotiated Zoning:the Drawbacks • Focuses on the site rather than on community-wide planning concerns • Undercuts the workup of development standards for particular uses of land • Significant risk of spot zoning • Local government must react to proposal made by property owner • Difficult to keep track of and enforce site-specific development conditions

10. Negotiated Zoning: the Benefits • Governing board gains flexibility to better balance interests of developer and neighbors • Site-specific development conditions may be used that mitigate undesirable impacts • Community more likely to know what it is getting • Gives regulatory status to a master development plan • Avoids problems associated with quasi-judicial procedures