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Network
Impacts: Research & Information
Gathering > Changes to the Decision
Making Process > Changes to Plans > Changes
to Regulations > On the Ground Changes > Beyond
Local Impacts
Changes
to Regulations
Regulations represent the implementation of the vision set forth in
plans, and lay out the rules by which new or expanded developments must
abide. From road design to impervious surface limits to special overlay
zones to parking requirements to stormwater management systems, these
types of changes can have the most direct impact on how communities will
grow and protect their natural resources. Some examples of changes to
regulations in response to NEMO efforts are provided below.
| Houston,
Texas |
| TX
NEMO worked with the City of Houston to correct landscaping ordinances
that make it difficult to use native plants in commercial landscapes.
A variance was obtained for a “watersmart” demonstration
landscape on a high-profile city-county project. The fact that
a variance was necessary drew attention to problems with the
ordinance. TX NEMO is continuing to work with the city on the
lengthy process to change the ordinance. |
| Mobile
Bay, Alabama |
| Mobile
Bay is the second fastest growing region of Alabama. AL NEMO has
helped the City of Fairhope lead a regional initiative to protect
the Bay as the region grows. Fairhope has developed a comprehensive
erosion and sediment control ordinance that has also been adopted
by two other cities along the Eastern shore of the bay. |
| Duluth
Township, Minnesota |
| Northland
NEMO worked with Duluth Township to establish a sensitive areas
overlay ordinance. The ordinance includes greater setback restrictions,
limits on impervious surfaces and runoff reduction requirements
within particular sensitive areas. Northland NEMO is also helping
both Wright and Winona Counties rewrite their stormwater and erosion
and sediment control ordinances. |
| Hancock
County, Mississippi |
| Working
with the MS NEMO Program, which is coordinated by the state Department
of Environmental Quality, Hancock County passed a stream buffer
ordinance that prohibits any construction or clearing 25 feet from
the top of the bank of any stream. Prior to the ordinance’s adoption,
new developments cleared the land all the way to the stream. |
| New
Jersey |
| The
Association of New Jersey Environmental Commissions (ANJEC), has
been providing education to the communities it works with based
on the NEMO model. As a result of their efforts several towns,
including Moorestown, West Hampton, Plumsted Township, Readington,
West Amwell, Mt. Olive and Harrison, have passed stream corridor
ordinances that use buffers and conservation easements of various
widths along stream banks to protect water quality, habitat and
the wildlife food chain. |
| Columbus,
Ohio |
| The
OH NEMO Program is closely involved with the efforts to protect
the Big Darby Creek watershed, a state and national scenic river.
Based in part on input from Ohio State University and the OH NEMO
Program, the City of Columbus adopted special zoning overlay ordinances
for lands along a major tributary of the Big Darby Creek, the Hellbranch.
The ordinances create buffer zones, reduction in impervious surface
and increased infiltration requirements. Much of the information
from the Darby overlay has been used in the development of a draft
citywide ordinance, with further input from OH NEMO. |
| Kandiyohi
County, Minnesota |
| Following
several Northland NEMO workshops, the County adopted a stormwater
and erosion and sediment control ordinance into their subdivision
ordinances. They previously had no provisions for stormwater and
erosion and sediment control. The County also made significant
revisions to their shoreland ordinance, establishing resource management
districts in tiers around recreational lakes and within 1000 feet
of natural environment lakes. Two cities in the county are following
suit, looking to make changes to zoning ordinances in shoreland
areas. |
| Porter
County, Indiana |
| The
Indiana NEMO effort, Planning with POWER, has helped Porter and
Lake Counties, which lie outside of Chicago along Lake Michigan,
launch a joint Smart Growth initiative. The initiative was spurred
by the region’s tremendous growth,
rapid loss of farmland and POWER’s participation in the
Open Space Planning Boot Camp (page 30). As part of this effort,
Porter County recently adopted conservation design subdivision
regulations requiring 10% open space minimum on all subdivision
development, and up to 40% open space requirement on subdivisions
in designated sensitive areas. |
| Trussville,
Alabama |
| The
AL NEMO Program has been working with the City of Trussville to
protect the picturesque Cahaba River, the last remaining free-running
river contained within Alabama. As a result, the city has passed
a Cahaba River Overlay District, which creates a 125 foot buffer
along the river. The district is divided into three sections,
with land use restrictions progressively increasing with proximity
to the river. |
| East
Haddam, Connecticut |
| East
Haddam worked with CT NEMO to address a comprehensive overhaul
of its subdivision and zoning regulations. The Planning and Zoning
Commission adopted new subdivision regulations using the “net
buildable area” concept that relates the intensity of allowed
development to the capacity of the land to sustain it. The commission
also revised road ordinances to reduce width requirements for
local roads from 32 to 18 feet, and discourage the use of curb
and gutter for stormwater drainage. |
| California |
| One
of the partners in the CA NEMO Partnership is the State Water Resources
Control Board. The Board, which is responsible for the regulation
of both water allocation and water quality protection, has begun
recommending in regulatory guidance and consultations with applicants
for new developments that communities use NEMO and low impact design
(LID) principles to reduce the impacts of the new development on
water quality. |
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