Permits are authorizations you get to do certain things. If you build a house, then you get many different types of permits, such as building and zoning permits. The many people who build your house get permits in the form of licenses to allow them to do what they do as professionals. Even the contractor …
To Permit Or Not To Permit, That Is The Question Read More »
Jeffrey A. Gordon, M.D. As a member of Woodstock’s Planning and Zoning Commission, I am often asked “why are there zoning regulations” and “what are they all about”. Let’s take a visit to some basics about your town’s planning and zoning. When you drive in your car or walk around, you see your town …
There is an American architectural concept called “form ever follows function”, first used by Louis Sullivan in 1896 to describe a design style for skyscrapers. A building’s functional use would dictate its shape and appearance. Support beams, columns, and infrastructure, usually hidden, were seen to various degrees in an outward manner. For planning and zoning …
Have you thought much about the words and phrases people use? What are their definitions? Planning and zoning commissions think about these things because words and phrases can have legal meanings, impacts and consequences. Your town’s Plan of Conservation and Development (POCD) envisions the goals of guiding your town’s growth, its zoning/subdivision regulations achieve those …
This is the third and concluding article of my series about cell towers (see the April 30th and May 14th Villager issues for the first two articles). As promised, I will talk about alternative options to cell towers. In order to get the benefits of wireless communications (who does not like their cell phone or …
A Towering Issue – How Do Towns Plan For it? Part 3 Read More »
In the first part of my Villager article series (April 30th, 2010), I outlined some of the benefits and challenges presented by cell towers. I cited the inevitability of more telecommunications facilities being built or updated in order to keep pace with the needs and wants of our technology-driven society. In this second part, let …
A Towering Issue – How Do Towns Plan For it? Part 2 Read More »
There are many benefits from wireless technology. We use our cell phones in our cars (hands free, of course) or walking around. When we call for police, fire or medical help, adequate telecommunications coverage is vital. Your town’s public works, schools and buses, farms, businesses, and tourism use such resources to stay in communication. Yet, …
A Towering Issue – How Do Towns Plan For it? Part 1 Read More »
In my last article, I talked about site plans being an important part of how your town’s planning and zoning commission reviews various types of proposed land use activities. Equally valuable are site walks. Although not always required for small, “simple” proposals, site walks complement and add to site plan reviews. A site walk is …
Towns use zoning regulations to provide order to land use and development, following a master municipal plan that is the town’s vision for how it wants to guide future growth. Planning and zoning commissions create these regulations and then make decisions based upon them. In the early 1900’s, however, these concepts were not comprehensive, cohesive …
My last article talked about “traditional” neighborhood design. This article will talk about “conservation” design. A “one size fits all” approach to residential design does not always work for each and every parcel of land. Different geographic areas in a region have variety and uniqueness to them. So too do different parts of our towns. …
How to Build a Neighborhood(?) Part 3: Conservation Subdivision Read More »