Like building codes, zoning codes are established under the police powers of the state, to protect the health, welfare, and safety of the public. Zoning, however, primarily regulates land use by controlling types of occupancy of buildings, building height, and density and activity of population in specific parts of a jurisdiction.
Zoning codes are usually developed by a planning commission and administered by the commission or a building department. Land-use controls adopted by the local planning commission for current application are indicated on a zoning map.
It divides the jurisdiction into districts, shows the type of occupancy, such as commercial, industrial, or residential, permitted in each district, and notes limitations on building height and bulk and on population density in each district.
The planning commission usually also prepares a master plan as a guide to the growth of the jurisdiction. A future land-use plan is an important part of the master plan. The commission’s objective is to steer changes in the zoning map in the direction of the future land-use plan.
The commission, however, is not required to adhere rigidly to the plans for the future. As conditions warrant, the commission may grant variances from any of the regulations.
In addition, the planning commission may establish land subdivision regulations, to control development of large parcels of land. While the local zoning map specifies minimum lot area for a building and minimum frontage a lot may have along a street, subdivision regulations, in contrast, specify the level of improvements to be installed in new land-development projects.
These regulations contain criteria for location, grade, width, and type of pavement of streets, length of blocks, open spaces to be provided, and right of way for utilities.
A jurisdiction may also be divided into fire zones in accordance with population density and probable degree of danger from fire. The fire-zone map indicates the limitations on types of construction that the zoning map would otherwise permit.
In the vicinity of airports, zoning may be applied to maintain obstruction-free approach zones for aircraft and to provide noise-attenuating distances around the airports. Airport zoning limits building heights in accordance with distance from the airport.
