AICP Plan Implementation 4 — Questions and Answers
Question 1: In a Special Assessment District (SAD), the cost of a public improvement is allocated to property owners based on:
- Their assessed market value relative to the whole city
- The proportionate benefit each property receives from the improvement (Correct answer)
- An equal per-parcel charge regardless of lot size
- The distance each parcel is from the city's central business district
Correct answer: The proportionate benefit each property receives from the improvement
Special assessments are justified legally only when levied in proportion to the special benefit conferred on each assessed property.
Question 2: A planner is reviewing a site plan that proposes clearing a riparian buffer. Which federal law most directly governs the discharge of fill material into waters of the United States, including wetlands?
- National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA)
- Section 404 of the Clean Water Act (Correct answer)
- The Endangered Species Act
- The Coastal Zone Management Act
Correct answer: Section 404 of the Clean Water Act
Section 404 of the Clean Water Act requires a permit from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers before discharging dredged or fill material into jurisdictional waters.
Question 3: Which implementation strategy directly ties the timing and phasing of development to the availability of public facilities?
- Transfer of Development Rights
- Growth management and adequate public facilities ordinances (Correct answer)
- Spot zoning
- Urban renewal designation
Correct answer: Growth management and adequate public facilities ordinances
Adequate public facilities ordinances (APFOs) condition development approval on demonstrated capacity in roads, water, sewer, schools, and parks.
Question 4: A Redevelopment Agency uses eminent domain to assemble parcels for a mixed-use project. The Fifth Amendment requires that taken property be used for:
- Federal government facilities exclusively
- A public use with just compensation paid to property owners (Correct answer)
- Affordable housing at minimum 30% of units
- Infrastructure only, not private commercial development
Correct answer: A public use with just compensation paid to property owners
The Fifth Amendment's Takings Clause permits government acquisition of private property only for public use and upon payment of just compensation.
Question 5: Which approach to subdivision regulation requires new subdivisions to be consistent with an official map designating future streets and public spaces?
- Planned Unit Development approval
- Official Map Act (Correct answer)
- Urban renewal designation
- Transit-oriented development overlay
Correct answer: Official Map Act
Official map acts authorize municipalities to record a map of planned street rights-of-way and public spaces, preventing conflicting development in those corridors.
Question 6: A municipality enacts a 'linkage program' requiring large commercial developers to contribute to an affordable housing fund. The legal basis for this requirement rests on:
- Strict Euclidean zoning precedent
- The nexus between large employment developments and increased demand for affordable workforce housing (Correct answer)
- Federal HOME program requirements
- Mandatory inclusionary zoning under state law
Correct answer: The nexus between large employment developments and increased demand for affordable workforce housing
Linkage programs survive legal challenge when a reasonable nexus exists between the development's impacts—such as job creation—and the exaction demanded.
Question 7: An environmental impact report identifies a significant traffic impact. What is the planner's next required step under typical CEQA or NEPA procedures?
- Issue a mitigated negative declaration without further analysis
- Identify feasible mitigation measures or alternatives and analyze their effectiveness (Correct answer)
- Deny the project application immediately
- Transfer the review to the state transportation agency
Correct answer: Identify feasible mitigation measures or alternatives and analyze their effectiveness
Environmental review mandates identification and analysis of feasible mitigation measures or project alternatives that reduce or avoid significant impacts.
AICP Plan Implementation 4
In a Special Assessment District (SAD), the cost of a public improvement is allocated to property owners based on: