CME CME Land Use Planning & Zoning 2

Question 1

What is 'inclusionary zoning' designed to accomplish?

Accepted Answer

Require or incentivize developers to include affordable housing units within market-rate developments

Answer

Inclusionary zoning policies require or encourage a percentage of units in new residential developments to be affordable to lower-income households.

Question 2

What is the 'taking' doctrine in US land use law and its relevance to municipal engineers?

Accepted Answer

When government regulation goes too far in restricting property use, it may constitute a constitutional taking requiring compensation

Answer

The Fifth Amendment's Takings Clause requires just compensation when government regulation deprives a property owner of all or substantially all economically beneficial use.

Question 3

What is Transfer of Development Rights (TDR) as a land use planning tool?

Accepted Answer

A market-based program allowing development rights to be transferred from protected sending areas to designated receiving areas

Answer

TDR programs preserve open space, farmland, or historic sites by allowing owners to sell their development potential to developers who can build at higher densities in designated receiving zones.

Question 4

What is the purpose of a subdivision ordinance in municipal planning?

Accepted Answer

Govern the division of land into parcels, setting standards for streets, utilities, and plat recording

Answer

Subdivision ordinances regulate the process of dividing land, establishing standards for street design, utility installation, lot configuration, and the required review and plat recording process.

Question 5

What is 'form-based code' as an alternative to conventional use-based zoning?

Accepted Answer

A land use regulation that primarily controls building form, massing, and street relationship rather than separating uses

Answer

Form-based codes regulate physical form (setbacks, façades, building height, street walls) to create predictable built environments, often allowing mixed uses that conventional Euclidean zoning separates.

(CME) Certified Municipal Engineer Practice Test

(CME) Certified Municipal Engineer Practice Test

CME CME Land Use Planning & Zoning 2