Factors influencing zoning ordinance adoption in rural and exurban townships
2015
Locke, Christina M. | Rissman, Adena R.
Though 70% of land in the contiguous U.S. is privately owned, land conservation discourses have focused more on public protected areas than on private land policy. U.S. private land policy is generally implemented by local governments through comprehensive plans and zoning ordinances. While most cities have adopted these policies many non-metropolitan jurisdictions remain unzoned. In this study we investigated factors predicting zoning adoption in rural and exurban Michigan townships. Results from a logit model showed that likelihood of zoning adoption between 1998 and 2003 was higher for townships with more developed land, fewer conservative voters, higher household income, more zoned neighbors, and township-level planning rather than county-level planning. We quantified thresholds at which development levels correlated with zoning adoption. Overall, townships had greater than a 50% probability of adopting zoning when 9% or more of their land base had been developed, but this threshold was higher in townships with no planning (12%) and highest where planning was implemented at the county level (19%). In high-growth townships forestland was negatively correlated with zoning adoption. However, model results showed socioeconomic variables to be better predictors of zoning adoption than natural resource variables. These results highlight the importance that planning and zoning occur at the same level of government, and the importance of multiple policy options in jurisdictions unlikely to adopt zoning. Gaining insight into reasons for land-use policy adoption, or lack thereof, is important for achieving common planning goals, including preserving rural livelihoods, conserving forests and farmlands, and maintaining rural landscape characteristics.
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