Land Development Regulations
Publications

Guidebooks

APA's Growing Smart

Chicago, IL: American Planning Association, January 2001. The Growing Smart Guidebook and accompanying User Manual are the culmination of APA's seven-year Growing Smart project, an effort to draft the next generation of model planning and zoning legislation for the U.S. This resources offers states and their local governments new practical tools to help combat urban sprawl, protect farmland, promote affordable housing, and encourage redevelopment.

Commercial and Mixed Use Development Code Handbook

Salem, OR: Oregon Transportation and Growth Management Program, September 1999. This Handbook encourages smart commercial and mixed-use development. It includes best practices and a model ordinance. Local communities may use it to create and redevelop commercial centers and corridors that provide transportation choices, use land efficiently, connect to the surrounding neighborhood, and are designed for the safety and comfort of people.

From Policy to Reality: Model Ordinances for Sustainable Development

St. Paul, MN: Minnesota Planning Agency, September 2000. This guide represents a first step in creating a package of model ordinances that Minnesota communities can use in charting their futures. The guide offers tools to help make the best choices today for the health of the community tomorrow.

Models and Guidelines for Infill Development

Baltimore, MD: Maryland Department of Planning, October 2001. This publication addresses infill development, and includes model zoning codes, examples of existing zoning codes from jurisdictions throughout the country, and a list of minimum requirements that jurisdictions must meet in order to qualify for certain state incentives.

Nationally Applicable Recommended Rehabilitation Provisions (NARRP)

Washington, DC: U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, May 1997. NARRP represents an attempt to bring order and clarity to the process of regulating work in existing buildings. It set forth a recommended framework for addressing all types of work in every type of building. These provisions are intended to be suitable for use by State and local jurisdictions or model code organizations with a minimum of adaptation.

Neighborhood Street Design Guidelines: An Oregon Guide for Reducing Street Widths

Salem, OR: Oregon Transportation and Growth Management Program, November 2000. The Guidelines represent a consensus agreement between stakeholders: planners, emergency services providers, public works officials, developers, and others. It includes a community process for developing neighborhood street width standards, a checklist of factors that should be addressed in that process, a list of resources that provide additional information, and model standards.

Smart Growth Zoning Codes: A Resource Guide

Sacramento, CA: Local Government Commission, June 2003. Based on the Local Government Commission's research of more than 150 "smart growth" zoning codes from across the nation, this guidebook will help planners design a zoning code that encourages the construction of walkable, mixed use neighborhoods and the revitalization of existing places. Each chapter analyzes a critical issue - such as design, streets and parking - and highlights exemplary codes from across the country. The guidebook includes a CD-ROM that contains copies of some of the best zoning codes in the United States and other resources.

The Infill and Redevelopment Code Handbook

Salem, OR: Oregon Transportation and Growth Management Program, September 1999. The Handbook identifies major obstacles to infill and redevelopment, suggests overall strategies for incentives and obstacle removal, and offers specific tools to remove regulatory obstacles, including sample code provisions and code audit worksheets. A step-by-step process is provided for city planners, planning commissioners, and consultants involved in updating their communities' land use codes.

Traditional Neighborhood District

Austin, TX: August, 1997. This criteria manual contains the administrative rules for a Traditional Neighborhood District (TND) and includes supplemental information and illustrations on the standards for planning, architectural design, streets and streetscapes, open space, location of utilities, drainage, and landscaping.

Urban Design Guidelines

Raleigh, NC: April 2002. The Raleigh Urban Design Guidelines provide: a clear definition of urban design objectives that informs citizens, applicants of development proposals, and decision makers; a tool that designers can use to incorporate specific approaches and techniques in their plans that will achieve City design objectives; and a basis for uniform and consistent review of development proposals by the City Council and advisory commissions.

Reports

Accessory Dwelling Units: Model State Act and Local Ordinance

Washington, DC: AARP, April 2000. The purpose of this report is to present model legislation for both states and local jurisdictions to use to develop their own regulations on creating accessory dwelling units (ADUs). Drawing on the experience of communities that have incorporated ADUs into their zoning practices, the report reviews and evaluates potential options for changes in state laws and local zoning ordinances to increase the availability of ADUs.

HUD's Smart Codes in Your Community

Washington, DC: U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, August 2001. This report provides a broad overview of the general regulatory environment governing the use and reuse of existing buildings. The information contained in this report is intended to be a thorough, yet easy-to-follow guide for developing “smart codes” in America’s communities.

Recommended Model Development Principles for Frederick County, MD

Ellicott City, MD: Center for Watershed Protection. This document exemplifies how Frederick County, MD, adapted the 22 site design principles for application in their community through a Local Site Planning Roundtable process. The rapid pace of development in Frederick County made it an ideal candidate for reevaluation of existing development codes and ordinances. The principles recommended by the Roundtable are designed to guide future development towards the goals of measurably reducing impervious cover, conserving natural areas, and minimizing stormwater pollution.

Smart Neighborhoods

Baltimore, MD: Maryland Department of Planning. This report will help local governments transform smart growth from the realm of the theoretical to brick and mortar reality, providing sample code language that local governments can use to address some of the impediments to smart neighborhood development found in land use regulations.

State Policies and School Facilities: How States can Support or Undermine Neighborhood Schools and Community Preservation

This report from the National Trust for Historic Preservation, recognizes the importance of historic neighborhood schools to their communities. It serves as a guide to officials and local preservationists for creating state policies that help preserve and maintain historic community schools, and for building new schools that serve as centers of the community.

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