Current Issues

May 2008
The Five Steps to a Hybrid Code
Hybrid zoning codes combine traditional zoning controls with form-based regulations. Integrating form-based controls into traditional zoning ordinances allows a community to better realize desired building forms without having to write a whole new code. This issue of Zoning Practice takes a step-by-step approach to hybrid zoning and cites a number of communities currently using hybrid codes.

Author Arista Strungys, AICP, is a senior associate at Camiros, Ltd., where she has worked with communities across the country to create hybrid ordinances.

April 2008
Looking Ahead: Regulating Digital Signs and Billboards
Digital video displays represent the latest, and perhaps most compelling, challenge to communities trying to keep pace with signage technology. This issue of Zoning Practice recaps the latest research on the effects of digital signage on traffic safety and includes a list of ordinance provisions for effective regulation.

Author Marya Morris, AICP, is a senior associate at Duncan Associates, a planning consulting firm specializing in land development regulations and infrastructure finance.

March 2008
Using Zoning to Reduce Flood Damages
Only recently have communities begun to look beyond FEMA maps to determine potential flood risks. This issue of Zoning Practice outlines an integrated strategy that connects hazard mitigation planning with zoning regulations to minimize risky floodplain development.

Author Richard Roths, AICP, is a principal planner for URS Corporation and a nationally recognized expert in floodplain management, mitigation planning, and hazard mitigation action assistance.

February 2008
A National Survey of Development Standards and the Impact on Housing Affordability
Despite a lack of comprehensive national studies, few would debate that regulations can have measurable impacts on housing costs. This issue of Zoning Practice reports on the results of a national survey of development standards and discusses which regulations are most likely to impact the cost of new housing.

Authors Terry Moore, FAICP, Robert Parker, AICP, and Beth Goodman are planning consultants at ECONorthwest and author Gerrit-Jan Knaap is executive director of the National Center for Smart Growth Research and Education at the University of Maryland.

January 2008
Monitoring Local Land Markets
Analyzing current and projected land-use patterns is a major tool for protecting open space and encouraging efficient redevelopment. This issue examines how communities have used local land market monitoring to make their land-use regulations more comprehensive and effective in their quest for smart growth.

Authors Gerrit J. Knaap and Elisabeth Holler, AICP, are, respectively, professor of urban planning and director of the National Center for Smart Growth at the University of Maryland and planning director for the Comprehensive Design Studio for the City of Orlando, Florida.

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