Chapter 2 Definition of Zoning

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

Chapter 2 Definition of Zoning

Zoning has been defined in many ways.¹ One such definition defined zoning as consisting of "a general plan to control and direct the use and development of property in a municipality by dividing it into districts according to present and potential use of property."² The Supreme Court of California defined zoning as follows:

In its original and primary sense zoning is simply the division of a city into districts and the prescription and application of different regulations in each district. Roughly stated, these regulations, which may be called "zoning regulations," are divided into two classes: (1) Those which regulate the height or bulk of buildings within certain designated districts, in other words, those regulations which have to do with structural and architectural designs of the buildings; and (2) those which prescribe the use to

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