This is a free online course from 10–11:15 am.

As a local elected official, you are called on to make a lot of hard decisions. Some of those decisions are about land use planning and zoning, either of which can greatly affect your community’s quality of life. This part of your role in governing can engender a great deal of public input and advice: “If you run water and sewer lines to that area, developers will be knocking on our doors!” OR “I could build 500 houses in that field—just think of all the property taxes that would generate!” AND “Put the jail next to the landfill—that land is cheaper, and DOT will widen the road!”

These decisions are fraught with competing public values. Elected officials must be able to think strategically—about Every. Single. Decision. And in the midst of all these decisions comes new legislation!

In this short interactive class you will learn the ten most important things to know about your role as an elected official in land use planning and zoning. Questions we will consider include:

1. What’s the point of zoning? (Purposes of development regulations)
2. Whose rules apply where? (Jurisdiction and ETJ)
3. Why do we have to plan? (160D and plan requirement)
4. My neighbor is doing what?! (Zoning and development regulation) 
5. What’s gonna happen to that pretty farmland? (Land subdivision regulation) 
6. Can’t we just say no? (Types of decisions)
7. How do we stay out of court? (Considerations for rezoning) 
8. Can we get better development? (Design and form based codes)
9. How do we slow this down? (Growth management tools)
10. My neighbor is still doing that! (Enforcement of development regulations)