Chapter 12 Spot Zoning

• Library: The Zoning and Land Use Handbook (ABA) (2016 Ed.)

Chapter 12 Spot Zoning

When a small area is zoned differently from the surrounding area, the courts may characterize the zoning as "spot zoning" and hold it invalid. In Concerned Citizens for McHenry, Inc. v. City of McHenry,¹ the Appellate Court of Illinois held invalid the rezoning of a six-acre parcel from single family to commercial, as spot zoning. The court also pointed out that a highway serves as a proper boundary line between residential and business uses. This point has been reiterated by other courts and represents a traditional view.² The courts have held that zoning has to begin and end somewhere and that a street is a rational dividing line. Spot zoning is one of those creatures of the law often used as an epithet to deride a myriad of zoning wrongs. It involves singling out a small parcel of land for a use classification totally different from that of the surrounding area, for the benefit of the owner of the property and to the detriment of surrounding landowners. And, it is not in conformity with the plan of development of the community. In Lancaster Development, Limited v. Village of River Forest,³ the Appellate Court of Illinois defined spot zoning, stating that "[f]or an ordinance to constitute spot zoning, two requisites must coexist: First, a change of zone applicable only to a small area and, second, a change which is out of harmony with comprehensive planning for the good of the community."⁴

It is clear from a review of the case law that the important factors to be considered are the surrounding uses and the relationship of the zoning change to the municipality's...