II. What Is Zoning?

• Jurisdiction: New York

II. What Is Zoning?

Zoning is a legislative means of ensuring a healthy and safe community. In summary, zoning consists of a set of development standards for a municipality and a description, by zone or otherwise, of where and how certain uses may be carried out. Historically, common law remedies of nuisance and trespass were the only means by which individuals could protect their quality of life and property rights. These remedies, however, provided little in the way of clear, discernible guidelines for land use. For example, whether an activity or property use was a "nuisance" could often be determined only after judicial intervention. Thus, the common law remedies largely benefited those landowners who had more resources to avail themselves of the judicial process, which did little to promote the orderly development of communities.

The advent of zoning legislation provided a more efficient, systematic and reliable approach toward regulating land use. It leveled the playing field and enabled a person seeking to use his or her property in a particular way simply to refer to local legislation to determine whether such use was permitted and, if so, under which conditions...