Fences: A Community Divided: Case Study

1205 Words5 Pages
Fences: A Community Divided PUB 670 GS Public Planning and Change Management By: Terry K. Suggs March 20, 2013 Zoning is a restriction on the way that land can be used. It allows governments to control the development of communities and ensure they are functional and safe places. Without zoning, a gun store could open up next to a school, an adult club next to a playground, and a busy store on your residential street. Zoning prevents these things from happening and by doing so; it protects property values and ensures communities work in an orderly fashion. Elected officials serve as the local governing body and perform multiple roles in the planning process. The governing body controls local planning and zoning programs.…show more content…
The policy dimension of planning and zoning is substantial and the elected bodies are the key drivers of land use policy. The political and/or social issues that surround the problem was simply that fact that those property owners caught up in the fray where looking to the elected officials for some sense of relief. Remember this is a small community where everyone knows each other and often shares a pew at church, a table at a restaurant or an aisle at the grocery store. The approach to dealing with the issue was to seek administrative variances through the Planning and Zoning Board. On the recommendation of staff, City Council made a motion to allow each of affected property owners to make application for a hearing and waived the $250 fee for each. Each of the administrative applications was prepared by City staff and a copy of the applicable application was mailed to the property owner. The application included a photograph of the fence that is the subject of the violation and describes the limits of the violation in detail. Each landowner was requested to sign the application and return an original to the City. The signature of the landowner acknowledges the violation and provides notice of the hearing scheduled before the Planning & Zoning Board to consider the variance requested. The City posted signs on each property as required for legal notice of the variance hearing and placed an advertisement in the local

More about Fences: A Community Divided: Case Study

Open Document