CMM Community Planning & Development 4 — Questions and Answers
Question 1: Which principle of smart growth encourages placing a mix of housing types—single-family, townhomes, and apartments—within the same neighborhood?
- Greenfield development
- Mixed housing diversity (Correct answer)
- Leapfrog development
- Fiscal zoning
Correct answer: Mixed housing diversity
Smart growth principle of mixed housing diversity promotes a range of housing types and costs within neighborhoods to serve people of various ages and incomes.
Question 2: A planning commission denies a rezoning application. Under what legal standard can a court overturn that denial?
- The applicant demonstrates the decision was not unanimous
- The applicant shows the decision was arbitrary, capricious, or unsupported by substantial evidence (Correct answer)
- The applicant proves the project generates more tax revenue than the current use
- The applicant shows neighboring municipalities approved similar projects
Correct answer: The applicant shows the decision was arbitrary, capricious, or unsupported by substantial evidence
Courts review quasi-judicial land use decisions under the arbitrary and capricious standard, overturning decisions not supported by substantial evidence.
Question 3: The Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) Transition Plan requires municipalities to:
- Retrofit all private buildings within five years
- Identify and schedule remediation of barriers in the public right-of-way (Correct answer)
- Hire a minimum percentage of disabled employees
- Provide accessible housing units in all new residential developments
Correct answer: Identify and schedule remediation of barriers in the public right-of-way
ADA Transition Plans identify physical barriers in public facilities and rights-of-way and establish a schedule for their removal.
Question 4: Which concept describes the economic principle that public investment in infrastructure raises surrounding private property values, which can then be captured to finance the investment?
- Tax increment financing (TIF)
- Value capture (Correct answer)
- Special assessment district
- Community benefit agreement
Correct answer: Value capture
Value capture is the broad concept of recovering increased land values created by public investment; TIF and special assessments are specific value-capture mechanisms.
Question 5: A 'planned unit development' (PUD) allows developers to:
- Build without any environmental review
- Cluster development and mix uses in exchange for open space preservation and design flexibility (Correct answer)
- Bypass all public hearing requirements
- Subdivide land without utility extensions
Correct answer: Cluster development and mix uses in exchange for open space preservation and design flexibility
A PUD allows flexible site planning and use mixing in exchange for design quality, open space, and community amenities negotiated with the municipality.
Question 6: In preparing a redevelopment plan for a blighted area, which step typically comes FIRST?
- Issuing revenue bonds for infrastructure
- Conducting a blight study and making a blight finding (Correct answer)
- Selecting a master developer through RFP
- Adopting form-based zoning for the area
Correct answer: Conducting a blight study and making a blight finding
A formal blight study and official blight finding are legally required prerequisites before a municipality can invoke redevelopment authority and tools.
Question 7: Which metric is most commonly used to measure pedestrian accessibility to daily destinations in urban planning?
- Vehicle miles traveled (VMT)
- Walk Score or walkshed analysis (Correct answer)
- Floor area ratio (FAR)
- Level of service (LOS)
Correct answer: Walk Score or walkshed analysis
Walk Score and walkshed analysis measure how easily residents can reach daily destinations on foot, quantifying pedestrian accessibility.
CMM Community Planning & Development 4
Which principle of smart growth encourages placing a mix of housing types—single-family, townhomes, and apartments—within the same neighborhood?