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Home My WebLink About1969-Fact Sheett What is.planning? FACT SHEET ON PLANNIM AND ZONING Planning is an attempt to direct community development in an *orderly manner for the benefit of all. Growth is inevitable. It can be chaotic, disruptive and ugly, -or it can be orderly, economically advantageous, and preserve natural resources. Examples of unplanned or poorly planned growth abound. Trees on top of a hill. are cut down when a large factory or housing development is built. What.happens? The hill no longer absorbs the rain,.and houses lower down have-flooded basements. . A.swamp is filled in for a highway. What happens? The farms nearby find that their wells, previously fed by water seeping in from the swamp are now dry. A shopping center is built on what was rural land. What happens? Traffic increases, roads have to be widened (at town expense), water and sewage disposal become problems,. more fire, and police protection become necessary. A planriing.board, equipped with the information that a planning board is required to'gather, could have avoided these problems altogether or at least could have foreseen them. What is a town planning board? A group of citizens, usually five or seven appointed by the town board. They are not professional planners but people of the town who are willing to_give their time for the betterment .of. their town. Professional planning advice is obtained from a. professional planner on a full or part time basis. Counties, cities, and villages can also have planning boards. What can a planning board do ?. Gather information about land, natural resources, existing buildings, traffic patterns, population, etc. Advise-the town board on specific problems and project the overall growth of the area so that the town board can see problems in advance. A planning board is advisory only. They have no power to enforce any plan. What is zoning? Zoning is the most important way to make planning work. A zoning law divides � a town into districts and says how the land in each district shall be used. Areas close to transportation are likely to be good for industry; good agricultural land should be for farms, not housing developments; gas stnt3.nxz4 need busy streets and houses quiet ones. t 1 The best town plan is just a piece of paper Zoning cannot repair mistakes of the past. It cannot abolish the junk yard next to the school on a cramped lot with a spacious new It can, however, provide the bridge between for the future, if the town .lacks a zoning ordinance. It cannot remove a misplaced ropLd. houses. It cannot replace the 'old= building in a park like setting. what we have now and what we want Although no existing land use can be changed, long range changes can be brought about._ If the junk yard in .a.residential area goes out of business it cannot be replaced by another one. Zoning cannot remodel a community but it can provide pr(-)+ek;M_on for existing developments and some control of future growth. LA Zoning regulations must be designed to "secure safety from fire and other `t dangers, provide adequate light and air, avoid undue concentration of population, conserve and improve property values and promote the most desirable use of the land". What is a zoning commission? Usually five people appointed by the T otgm'Board. The zoning commission draws up a zoning ordinance after careful study of the information.provided.by the planning board. Public hearings are then held. When the town board adopts the zoning ordinance it becomes part of the town law. When the* ordinance is adopted the zoning commission ceases to exist. The ordinance is enforced by the local building inspector or a zoning enforcement officer. What is the Zoning Board of Appeals? Bylaw the Town Board must appoint a Zoning Board of Appeals.. This Board of Appeals (of 5 or 7 people) hears requests'for exceptions to the zoning ordinance in cases where strict adherence to the law would result in unnecessary hardship. Drery decision of the Board of Appeals is subject to'review by the courts. The duties and powers of all boards and commissions involved in planning and zoning are carefully spelled out in New York State law. There are safeguards in these State laws and in the Constitution that prevent arbitrary and discriminatory restrictions. LEAGUE OF WOMEN VOTERS OF TOMPKINS COUNTY .1 (10/69)