Reconsidering the Role of Consistency in Plan Implementation
Zoning Practice — February 2021
By John Zeanah, FAICP
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Consistency ensures that zoning and day-to-day land- use decisions are made in harmony with a community's comprehensive (or general) plan. While consistency arose from aims of cities to manage mostly outward growth, the trend of development away from cities has changed in recent years. Given trends of growth back into cities, consistency is still as relevant as during the growth management era. But for this tool to be effective, planners must consider how consistency can be defined and positioned flexibly to meet the dynamic environment of the developed city. How should the comprehensive plan address consistency? Is this tool still relevant for planners today?
This issue of Zoning Practice considers how consistency is used in plan implementation to align zoning regulations and land use decisions with local plans. It makes recommendations based on case examples from across the United States for how planners and municipalities can build consistency by building stronger links between local codes, regulatory mechanisms, and existing local planning processes.
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About the Author
John Zeanah, FAICP
John Zeanah is an urban planner and policy strategist whose career spans leadership roles in planning, housing, and community development. He is principal and owner of Interval, LLC, a planning and policy advisory firm, and previously served as the director of Planning and Development in Memphis for over seven years. John has been an early champion of building code reform to support housing supply and small-scale development, authoring two local building code amendments and Tennessee state legislation reforming building code. He also serves as a member of the Board of Directors for the Center for Building in North America.