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City Zoning Ordinances Can Be Improved With Images
City Zoning Ordinances Can Be Improved With Images
When drafting the LMC Zoning Guide a few years ago, I included a section called
“suggestions for drafting a readable zoning ordinance.” My number one tip was “use
graphics, tables, maps and illustrations wherever possible.”
Describing sight triangles in legal language can be arduous. Explaining in text where to
begin measuring a fence can be complex. Often painstakingly detailed and accurate text
can leave even the most earnest readers still scratching their heads saying “now wait a
minute, I think I got it – but let me read it again.” Images and graphics can improve
readability for citizens and officials by a hundred fold.
Here are some great examples of where a well placed diagram is worth a thousand
words:
Building height” - the vertical distance above a reference datum measured to the
highest point of the coping of a flat roof or to the deck line of a mansard roof or to the
average height of the highest gable of a pitched or hipped roof. The reference datum
shall be selected by either of the following, whichever yields a greater building height:
a) the elevation of the highest adjoining sidewalk or ground surface within a five foot
horizontal distance of the exterior wall of the building when such sidewalk or ground
surface is not more than 10 feet above lowest grade. (No. 1)
b) an elevation 10 feet higher than the lowest grade when the sidewalk or ground
surface described in item 1 above is more than 10 feet above lowest grade. (No. 2)
(Figure 3)
Two main concerns arise when dealing with images in ordinance text. First, it is
important to note that images and graphics shouldn’t replace or conflict with carefully
drafted text.
Secondly, cities who are eager to use images may encounter resistance from a surprising
source – their codifiers. This past April, when I attended the Government Training
Services Land Use lecture “So You Want to ReWrite Your Zoning Ordinance,” this was a
concern voiced by both the presenters and audience members. Some codifiers may be
using software that doesn’t have the capacity to incorporate images. This can be an
unfortunate surprise for a city, if this ocurs after it has drafted an ordinance or hired a
codifier.
As a result, when hiring a codifier, cities should directly ask their vendor if they have the
ability to incorporate images into codebooks. Even if the city isn’t interested in doing
this now, it may wish to at some point in the future. In addition, it may be helpful to ask
the codifier to provide samples of codebooks it has recently finished that incorporate
images. Not all codifiers approach this task in the same way. Cities may find that they
have pointed preferences for how images should be include. For example - should an
image be directly in the text? only available in an appendix? linked electronically?
Conclusion
Rachel Carlson is an attorney with the League of Minnesota Cities. The League of
Minnesota Cities is a membership organization serving Minnesota cities since 1913.
LMC Codification is a specialized service to help our cities maintain complete, up to
date and affordable code books in a frequently changing legal landscape. The LMC
Codification blog can be found at: http://lmccodification.blogspot.com.