PUBLIC INFORMATION SERIES

REPRESENTATIONAL PLANNING, ENGINEERING, ENVIRONMENTAL & TECHNOLOGY EXHIBITS

PRESENTATION 2012

ZONING & LAND USE STUDIES
OFFSHORE INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT PLATFORM PROGRAM USA

 

 

 

 

Theoretically, the primary purpose of zoning is to segregate uses that are thought to be incompatible. In practice, zoning is used to prevent new development from interfering with existing residents or businesses and to preserve the "character" of a community.

OPLAT OFFSHORE AIRPORT PLATFORM USA Zoning is commonly controlled by local governments such as counties or municipalities, though the nature of the zoning regime may be determined or limited by state or national planning authorities or through enabling legislation. In Australia, land under the control of the Commonwealth [federal] government is not subject to state planning controls. The United States and other federal countries are similar. Zoning and urban planning in France and Germany are regulated by national or federal codes. In the case of Germany this code includes contents of zoning plans as well as the legal procedure. Zoning may include regulation of the kinds of activities which will be acceptable on particular lots [such as open space, residential, agricultural, commercial or industrial], the densities at which those activities can be performed [from low-density housing such as single family homes to high-density such as high-rise apartment buildings], the height of buildings, the amount of space structures may occupy, the location of a building on the lot [setbacks], the proportions of the types of space on a lot, such as how much landscaped space, impervious surface, traffic lanes, and parking must be provided. In Germany, zoning usually includes building design, very specific greenspace and compensation regulations. The details of how individual planning systems incorporate zoning into their regulatory regimes varies though the intention is always similar. For example, in the state of Victoria, Australia, land use zones are combined with a system of planning scheme overlays to account for the multiplicity of factors that impact on desirable urban outcomes in any location.

 

Most zoning systems have a procedure for granting variances (exceptions to the zoning rules), usually because of some perceived hardship caused by the particular nature of the property in question.

Basically, urban zones fall into one of five major categories: residential, mixed residential-commercial, commercial, industrial and special [e. g. power plants, sports complexes, airports, shopping malls etc.].

Each category can have a number of sub-categories, for example, within the commercial category there may be separate zones for small-retail, large retail, office use, lodging and others, while industrial may be subdivided into heavy manufacturing, light assembly and warehouse uses. In Germany, e. g., each category has a designated limit for noise emissions [not part of the building code, but federal emissions code].

In the United States or Canada, for example, residential zones can have the following sub-categories:

• Residential occupancies containing sleeping units where the occupants are primarily transient in nature, including: boarding houses, hotels, motels

• Residential occupancies containing sleeping units or more than two dwelling units where the occupants are primarily permanent in nature, including: apartment houses, boarding houses, convents, dormitories.

• Residential occupancies where the occupants are primarily permanent in nature and not classified as Group R-1, R-2, R-4 or I, including: buildings that do not contain more than two dwelling units, adult care facilities for five or fewer persons for less than 24 hours.

• Residential occupancies shall include buildings arranged for occupancy as residential care/assisted living facilities including more than five but not more than 16 occupants.

• Conditional zoning allows for increased flexibility and permits municipalities to respond to the unique features of a particular land use application. Uses which might be disallowed under current zoning, such as a school or a community center can be permitted via conditional use zoning.

 

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Image Credits 2011 Source : NOAA  / Aaron Atencio San Diego Union -Tribune Publishing Company 

 

NATIONAL OCEAN POLICY

President Obama recognizes that America’s stewardship of the ocean, our coasts, and the Great Lakes is intimately linked to national prosperity, environmental sustainability, human health and well-being, adaptation to climate and other environmental change, social justice, foreign policy, and national and homeland security.  The Executive Order adopts a National Policy that includes a set of overarching guiding principles for management decisions and actions toward achieving the vision of “an America whose stewardship ensures that the ocean, our coasts, and the Great Lakes are healthy and resilient, safe and productive, and understood and treasured so as to promote the well-being, prosperity, and security of present and future generations.” 

 

www.signonsandiego.com

Agencies prepare to carve up coastal waters

Unprecedented zoning process will be based on ecosystem approach
Wednesday September 21, 2011

The coastal and marine spatial planning process, launched by executive order in 2010, seeks to account for the full range of ocean uses, from wave energy and oil extraction to shipping and recreation. It’s supposed to span broad ecosystems instead of relying on the traditional sector-by-sector approach to regulating ocean activities.

The blueprint will extend the debate about marine uses from the three-mile limit of state waters to 200 miles from shore as part of an unprecedented national effort to balance a growing list of competing interests. It’s never been done on the national level in the United States, though a few states and other countries have created similar plans.

Think of them like ocean zoning maps covering nine regions of the country that say what activities are best suited for specific areas. If they work, they could give industries more confidence about investing in certain spots and conservationists clarity about which regions are designated for boosting marine life.

“It’s important to get ahead of the curve as demands for space in the ocean increase, but also to move deliberately to make sure all the relevant information is assembled and everyone is included,” said Karen Garrison, at the Natural Resources Defense Council in San Francisco. “This is about keeping the ocean healthy and making sure it continues producing the benefits we depend on into the future.”

Momentum for ocean-use maps has grown along with concern about the ability of the world’s seas to handle pressures for ocean-based food, energy and other necessities. The California Current Ecosystem, which runs along the West Coast of the continental U.S., is among the most highly productive saltwater areas on Earth. It’s also one of the most difficult to manage because tens of millions of residents live within 50 miles of the shore and use the ocean in countless ways.

“At its foundation, coastal and marine spatial planning is very simple, practical and sensible,” said Charles Wahle, acting senior scientist for the marine spatial planning program at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. “The idea is to empower communities to think through determining the future of the ocean.”

The planning effort is expected to include all levels of government and a wide swath of people with a stake in the sea. It will take between two and five years to develop the regional plans, according to NOAA, which is taking a lead role in the project.

The multiagency National Ocean Council is preparing to release a how-to guide for spatial planning as soon as this fall that will jump-start the process. In the interim, the concept is being greeted with skepticism and support in the West Coast planning region of California, Oregon and Washington.

Planners don’t have authority to create new marine protected areas, just to highlight important conservation zones — a point that should ease tensions between those who want more protection for marine life and those who want to preserve access for industry and recreation.

The idea has backing from various politicians, interest groups and scientists, even though some of them aren’t confident it will work as hoped. For instance, it’s not clear the federal government will spend the money necessary to create ocean-use blueprints nationwide.

“The intent of it is appropriate — we need to make sure that we set the ocean aside for sustaining itself and for the uses we already have that are sustainable,” said Don Kent, president of Hubbs-SeaWorld Research Institute, a nonprofit science group on Mission Bay. “But at the same time, it’s a tremendous effort. In the real world, does it have real use?”

He’s afraid the multiyear process will delay projects such as an aquaculture operation he proposed for the waters off San Diego County. When the zoning is done, he said new fish farms or other kinds of developments still would face project-specific reviews.

Kent also is concerned that the final maps will be outdated on arrival. “How do you plan for the technology ... when it hasn’t even been invented yet?” he said.

Others suspect the planning project will turn into a bureaucratic black hole with few tangible benefits. “To expect streamlining at the federal and state levels is probably a pipe dream,” said Damien Schiff, an attorney who deals with fishing issues for the conservative Pacific Legal Foundation in Sacramento.

As for how the planning process compares with the state’s mapping of no-take reserves, Schiff said that will take months or years to determine. “It’s a little unclear at this point whether what NOAA is planning will approach the sort of anti-productive-use attitude that we have seen at the state level with the marine protected areas,” he said.

Planning zones don’t include a predetermined amount of conservation area and the nation’s offshore waters are large enough to accommodate a wide variety of uses, said Wahle, the NOAA scientist.

“There is no implied outcome of this other than sustainable ocean management,” he said. “I am not concerned that there will be whole sectors with no place to sit when the music stops.”

Mike Lee: mike.lee@uniontrib.com; (619)293-2034; Follow on Twitter @sdutlee

www.signonsandiego.com

 

 

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