Also known as: zoning ordinance · zoning law · zoning regulation · zoning code
Written by attorneys · grounded in primary & secondary sources — see below
A municipal regulation that divides land into districts and restricts permissible uses within each district. The regulation is valid when the classification bears a substantial relation to public health, safety, morals, or general welfare. Application of the regulation to a specific parcel or group may be invalid if it lacks any legitimate governmental interest or arbitrarily deprives an owner of beneficial use.
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Zola Zanders applied for a special use permit to open a group home for adults with intellectual disabilities in a residential district. City officials denied the permit solely because neighbors objected to the residents' mental condition. The denial lacked any legitimate governmental interest and violated equal protection.
Zelda Ziegler petitioned the city council to rezone her single parcel from residential to commercial use. The council granted the change without notice or hearing and without showing any public health or welfare benefit. The amendment constituted invalid spot zoning favoring one owner.
Zuri Zuberi owned land classified residential under a new zoning map even though identical neighboring parcels were zoned commercial. The classification bore no relation to health or safety and prevented any beneficial use of her property. The ordinance as applied was invalid.
Zack Zuniga purchased property in an area newly divided into residential, commercial, and industrial districts. The ordinance prohibited industrial uses on his residential parcel. The classification was reasonable and substantially related to public welfare, so the restrictions were upheld.
Zoe Zanders lived with her grandchildren in a single-family zone that limited occupancy to nuclear families. The ordinance prevented the extended family arrangement without advancing any legitimate interest. The restriction violated substantive due process.
Zephyr Zola rented a house to three unrelated adults in a district restricted to traditional family units. The ordinance promoted a quiet residential character and survived rational basis review. The restriction on group living was upheld.
A zoning ordinance violates equal protection when it denies a permit solely because of residents' intellectual disabilities and rests on mere prejudice rather than any legitimate governmental interest. Rational basis review applies, yet the government may not act from bias alone.
Rezoning requires compliance with notice and hearing rules and must bear a substantial relation to public health, safety, morals, or general welfare. Spot zoning that singles out one parcel without public purpose is invalid.
…assumption of power is not capable of precise delimitation. It varies with circumstances and conditions. A regulatory zoning ordinance, which would be clearly valid as applied to the great cities, might be clearly invalid as applied to rural communities. In solving doubts, the maxim sic utere tuo ut alienum non laedas ,…
…districts, place restrictions on the development of individual historic landmarks—in addition to those imposed by applicable zoning ordinances
…in 1928 and the 1974 decision in Village of Belle Terre v. Boraas , 416 U. S. 1, this Court did not review the substance of any zoning ordinances
…a State extends often to the destruction of property." [^maj-9]: That same year, an appeal came to the Court asking "[w]hether zoning ordinances
…judgment must be allowed to control.” Id. , at 388. The Court listed as considerations bearing on the constitutionality of zoning ordinances the danger of fire or collapse of buildings, the evils of overcrowding people, and the possibility that “offensive trades, industries, and structures” might “create nuisance” to residential…
A classification is invalid when it has no substantial relation to public health, safety, or welfare and arbitrarily deprives the owner of beneficial use. Courts examine whether the boundary or restriction is reasonable for that specific land.
Comprehensive zoning ordinances that divide a municipality into districts and restrict uses are valid exercises of the police power when the classification is reasonable and substantially related to public health, safety, morals, or general welfare.
Zoning ordinances that prevent extended family members such as grandparents and grandchildren from living together intrude on family autonomy and violate substantive due process.
A municipality may limit occupancy to traditional family units and exclude groups of three or more unrelated persons when the ordinance promotes a preferred residential environment and survives rational basis review.