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Zoning typically allows residential uses in commercial zones, but not vice versa. That's the case in DC, for example. A commercially zoned property can have a ground floor storefront and apartments above, or offices above, etc. But in a residential zone, there cannot be commercial uses. DC law allows the homeowner to engage in certain home office commercial activity on their own, but not to rent out the ground floor for a store.

There are plenty of other examples of ways the law makes traditional urban forms illegal. Parking requirements are one: every building must have a substantial amount of parking around it on the same lot as the building, which forces buildings to be widely separated to contain the often high required parking.

Most suburban areas also have large minimum lot sizes of a quarter acre or more, which makes townhouses illegal, as do side yard requirements which force detached buildings. Many suburbs also force single family homes with zoning laws that prohibit multiple families from sharing a house and prohibit "accessory dwellings" like garage apartments from being rented out.

by David Alpert on Dec 30, 2009 11:17 pm • link • report