Field Guide to Zoning Laws & Ordinances
(Updated May 2006)
Zoning laws are found in virtually every municipality in the United States, affecting land use, lot size, building heights, density, setbacks, and other aspects of property use. This page features links to articles, books, and websites that will provide you with information on the concept of zoning, zoning's impacts on property values, and related topics. (F. Heller, Manager, Virtual Library & Archives)
Contents:
Zoning Basics | Impacts of Zoning | Zoning Boards & Legal Issues | Zoning Reform | Useful Websites | Books & Other Resources
Zoning Basics 
What do zoning regulations do?, (www.rismedia.com, Dec. 10, 2007).
What about Zoning Restrictions? Current and future zoning designations should be a prime consideration for land buyers, regardless of whether the land will be developed immediately or held as an investment, (Realtor.com, 2006).
Zoning Law FAQs, (FreeAdvice.com).
Revise, recreate, rezone: A neighborhood guide to zoning - What is zoning?, (Chicago Metropolitan Planning Council, 2001).
Understanding zoning ordinances, (Public Management, Nov. 1999). Q
American zoning and the physical isolation of uses, (Planning Commissioners Journal, Summer 1994).
Impacts of Zoning
Hot Property: How Houston gets along without zoning, (BusinessWeek, Oct. 1, 2007).
Could relaxing zoning laws make housing more affordable?, (REALTOR® Magazine Daily Real Estate News, Sept. 25, 2007).
In a city that can't plan, neighborhoods bear the brunt, (Philadelphia Business Journal, June 29, 2007).
Off limits: Zoning is one of the most powerful tools that municipalities wield to control where homes get built..., (Builder, Jan. 2005). Q
Cost and benefit of land use regulations: A theoretical survey, (Journal of Real Estate Literature, Vol. 11, No. 2, 2003). Q
The impact of zoning on housing affordability, (Federal Reserve Bank of New York - Economic Policy Review, June 2003).
The economic theory of zoning: A critical review, (Land Economics, Aug. 1990). Q
Zoning policy changes and the urban fringe market, (Journal of the American Real Estate & Urban Economics Association, Fall 1994).
Zoning and industrial land values: the case of Philadelphia, (AREUEA Journal, Summer 1991).
Zoning Boards & Legal Issues
How to cope with zoning boards, (SmartMoney).
'Form-based' zoning appears to take shape, (Houston Business Journal, April 27, 2007).
The ABCs of zoning: Preparing for municipal planning and zoning commission hearings, (Commercial Investment Real Estate Journal, Summer 1995).
The price of zoning, (ORER Letter, Summer 1991).
Overcoming zoning opposition, (Commercial Investment Real Estate Journal, Jan./Feb. 2002).
The appraiser's role in zoning litigation, (Appraisal Journal, July 1998). Q
The real estate appraiser's role as an expert witness in zoning matters, (Appraisal Journal, Jan. 1991). Q
Throwing the book at zoning violators; Communities are catching on to more sophisticated enforcement techniques, (Planning, Dec. 1988). Q
Vote for zoning code reform, (Philadelphia Business Journal, May 4, 2007).
'Form-based' zoning appears to take shape, (Houston Business Journal, Apr. 27, 2007).
Beyond zoning: homebuilders seek relief, (Housing Giants, Feb. 1, 2007).
Smart codes, smart places: What do you do when your development codes won't let you build or maintain the kind of town you want? You make new rules, (On Common Ground, Summer 2004).
Zoning reform has begun: form-based codes, (National Association of REALTORS®, 2004).
Modernization of zoning: A means to reform, (Appraisal Journal, Apr. 2002). Q
Useful Websites
Sample zoning definitions, (American Planning Association). - A useful sampling of entries from the APA's Planning Advisory Service Report #421, "A Survey of Zoning Definitions."
Zoning and land use regulations, (Cyburbia, 2005). - Searchable directory of municipal zoning codes & ordinances from the United States and other countries, all available on the Web.
eBooks & Other Resources
eBooks.realtor.org
The following ebooks and digital audiobooks are available to NAR members:
The Complete Guide to Zoning: How Real Estate Owners and Developers Can Create and Preserve Property Value (Adobe eReader)
Books, Videos, Research Reports & More
The resources below are available for loan through Information Central. Up to three books, tapes, CDs and/or DVDs can be borrowed for 30 days from the Library for a nominal fee of $10. Call Information Central at 800.874.6500 for assistance.
The complete guide to zoning: how real estate owners and developers can create and preserve property value, (McGraw-Hill, 2005).
Zoning reform through form-based codes, (National Association of REALTORS®, 2003). VIDEO
The citizen's guide to zoning, (American Planning Association, 1983).
Do municipal zoning ordinances really influence property values? A literature review and suggested research design, (Southern Methodist University, Jan. 1987).
Winning at zoning, (McGraw-Hill, 1979).
A survey of zoning definitions, (American Planning Association, Dec. 1989).
The zoning game revisited, (Lincoln Institute of Land Policy, 1985).
Field Guides & More
These Field Guides and other resources in the Virtual Library may also be of interest:
Field Guide to Smart Growth & Growth Management
Field Guide to Inclusionary Zoning
Field Guide to Downzoning
>> Have an idea for a new Field Guide? Click here to send us your suggestions!
The inclusion of links on this Field Guide does not imply endorsement by the National Association of REALTORS®. NAR makes no representations about whether the content of any external sites which may be linked to this Field Guide complies with state or federal laws or regulations or with applicable NAR policies. These links are provided for your convenience only and you rely on them at your own risk.
