Local governments are increasingly seeking tools that can enhance their ability to plan and manage growth effectively. One such tool that is gaining significant traction is the interactive zoning map. Unlike traditional, static maps, interactive zoning maps offer dynamic, up-to-date data that is easily accessible and highly functional. These maps provide a powerful platform for municipalities to visualize, plan, and implement zoning policies that align with their economic development goals.
Zoning’s Role in Economic Development
For local governments, zoning is a critical tool for managing land use in a way that promotes economic development. By strategically designating areas and properties for diverse types of development, municipalities can attract businesses, ensure adequate housing, protect the environment, and maintain a balanced and sustainable growth trajectory. Proper zoning is essential for creating vibrant, economically viable communities that meet the needs of residents and businesses alike.
Striving to Thrive
There are several core economic development goals that zoning policies are designed to support. These include:
Attracting and retaining businesses: Zoning plays a key role in designating commercial and industrial zones and properties, ensuring that businesses have access to the resources and infrastructure they need to thrive.
Supporting housing development: Ensuring that there is a diverse range of housing options available is essential for attracting a skilled workforce and fostering a vibrant community. Zoning regulations help to balance the need for residential development with other land uses.
Heightening property values: Higher property values contribute to increased tax revenues, which in turn fund essential public services and infrastructure. Strategic zoning can enhance property values by promoting desirable land uses and preventing incompatible developments.
Promoting sustainable development: In today’s climate-conscious world, sustainability is a key consideration in economic development. Zoning can be used to protect natural resources, encourage green building practices, and reduce the environmental impact of new developments.
Improving infrastructure and transportation networks: Zoning is critical in coordinating land use with infrastructure development, ensuring that roads, utilities, and public transportation systems support and enhance economic growth.
Enhancing Accessibility and Transparency
One of the most significant benefits of interactive zoning maps is their ability to enhance accessibility and transparency in the zoning process. Traditional zoning maps, which are often static and available only in print or as PDF documents, can be difficult to interpret and cumbersome to access. This lack of accessibility can be a barrier for residents, developers, and businesses looking to understand zoning regulations and their implications.
Interactive zoning maps, on the other hand, are typically available online and can be accessed from any device with an internet connection. They provide users with an intuitive, user-friendly interface that allows them to explore zoning information easily.
These powerful digital tools take zoning code information straight out of the municipal code and programmatically connect it to GIS data. This allows users to search for specific properties, view zoning designations, and access location-based detailed information about permitted uses, building heights, setbacks, and other zoning requirements.
This increased accessibility fosters greater transparency in the zoning process, making it easier for all stakeholders to understand how land can be used and what regulations apply. For businesses and developers, this transparency reduces uncertainty and helps them make informed decisions about where to locate their projects. For residents, it provides clarity about how their neighborhoods might change and how they can participate in the planning process.
Providing Prompt Updates and Data Integration
Offering the advantage of swiftly incorporated updates, interactive zoning maps can ensure that users always have access to the most current zoning code details. This is particularly important in fast-growing communities where zoning changes may occur frequently in response to new development proposals, infrastructure projects, or shifts in community priorities.
Traditional zoning maps can quickly become outdated, leading to confusion and potential conflicts. Interactive zoning maps, however, can be updated regularly to reflect changes in zoning regulations, land use designations, and other critical information. This ability to provide timely data helps municipalities maintain an accurate and up-to-date representation of their zoning landscape.
Improving Interdepartmental Collaboration
Successful economic development initiatives involve collaboration between multiple municipal departments, including planning, transportation, housing, and public works. Effective coordination between these departments is essential for ensuring that land use decisions align with broader economic goals and that infrastructure and services are developed in a way that supports growth.
Interactive zoning maps can serve as a central platform for coordinating efforts across departments. By providing a shared, up-to-date source of zoning information, these maps facilitate communication and collaboration between different municipal agencies. Planners, engineers, and other officials can use the same map to access information, share data, and coordinate their activities.
This enhanced collaboration helps to ensure that all aspects of economic development are considered in the planning process, leading to more integrated and effective policies. It also reduces the risk of conflicts or redundancies, ensuring that resources are used efficiently and that development projects proceed smoothly.
Engaging the Community
A vital component of successful economic development is finding ways to attract community participation. Ensuring that residents and other stakeholders have opportunities to join in the planning process and provide input on zoning decisions that affect their neighborhoods helps build trust and support.
Interactive zoning maps can play a key role in growing community engagement by making zoning information more accessible and understandable to the public. Residents can use these maps to explore how proposed developments might affect their neighborhoods, learn about upcoming zoning changes, and provide feedback to municipal officials.
By fostering greater community involvement in the zoning process, municipal governments can ensure that zoning decisions reflect the needs and preferences of the community, leading to more successful and widely accepted development projects.
Streamlining the Permitting Process
Navigating the permitting process can be a complex and time-consuming task for developers and businesses. Delays in obtaining permits can lead to increased costs and uncertainty, which can deter investment and hinder economic development.
Interactive zoning maps can help streamline the permitting process by providing clear and easily accessible information about zoning regulations and land use requirements. Developers can use these maps to quickly determine whether a proposed project complies with zoning regulations and to identify any potential issues that might need to be addressed.
Adapting to Future Growth and Change
Communities are dynamic, and their needs and priorities evolve over time. As new trends emerge, such as changes in population demographics, shifts in economic conditions, or advancements in technology, local governments must be able to adapt their zoning policies to reflect these changes.
For example, if a municipality experiences rapid population growth, it may need to rezone areas to accommodate new housing developments or expand commercial zones to support new businesses. Interactive zoning maps allow local governments to quickly assess the impact of these changes and make informed decisions about how to adjust their zoning policies.
This adaptability is essential for maintaining a competitive edge in attracting businesses and residents. By staying ahead of emerging trends and being responsive to changing needs, municipalities can ensure that their economic development strategies remain relevant and effective, leading to sustained growth and prosperity.
An Interactive Zoning Map IRL
Setting out to make its zoning code more accessible to developers and property owners, Holland, NY installed MapLink™, an interactive zoning map solution developed through a collaboration between ZoningHub™ and General Code. Users of this online tool are finding that one of its biggest advantages is that it helps them answer key zoning questions without having to dig through a complicated zoning code document or calling their local municipality for clarity.
The Town Clerk of Holland echoes this, saying “(MapLink) cuts down on some of my phone calls with realtors, developers and contractors and other people who want answers to zoning questions. Now they can just access that information themselves.”
Complex zoning codes often contain multiple overlays with special requirements on top of a base zoning district, which can make it difficult to discern which regulations apply to a particular parcel. Using GIS to confirm location and all applicable overlays makes it easy for a tool like MapLink to report dimensional requirements, allowable uses, and development procedures quickly and accurately for a specific location.
Zoning for a Sustainable Future
As municipalities continue to face the challenges of urbanization, population growth, and changing economic conditions, interactive zoning maps (like MapLink) will play an increasingly significant role in helping them navigate these complexities and achieve their long-term development objectives. By leveraging the power of these maps, local governments can create resilient, sustainable communities that meet the needs of residents and businesses alike, ensuring a thriving future for all.
