Real estate developers and private residents have all come across the NIMBY, or ‘Not in My Back Yard’ disease in land use planning decisions. If such a disease were allowed to dictate all land decisions, there would never be any room for future development.
Local land use planning boards must balance the rights of real estate developers and private residents in arriving at such decisions. A governmental entity may rezone or annex property , or grant special use permits or variances. In order to understand the process that cities and counties use in making land use planning decisions, it is important you know the following:
Local Land Use Planning Act
The Local Land Use Planning Act, Idaho Code Sections 67-6501 to 67-6537 (LLUPA) sets forth the state law cities and counties must follow when making land use planning decisions.
Zoning Ordinances
Each city and county has adopted a zoning ordinance to use when making a land use decision. These ordinances provide the zoning designations, allowed uses in such designations, criteria to consider in granting a special use permit, criteria to consider in granting variance, platting requirements for subdivisions, and other items.
Comprehensive Plan
LLUPA not only authorizes but demands that every city and county engage in creating a vision for the future. A comprehensive plan guides cities and counties in future growth.
Hearing Procedure
You must understand the procedure used by the city or county in preparing for and conducting the land use plan hearing. Such procedure includes notice to adjacent property owners, deadlines for submitting materials, time limits for speaking at hearings and appeals from the decisions.
Record
Whether you are in favor of a request or against a request at a land use hearing, you need to provide legitimate evidence as part of the record. The record is typically formed by oral testimony (provided at the hearing) and written evidence (provided before the hearing). In some cases, the city or county may allow written evidence at the hearing. However, such a procedure may not be allowed. A record is important in land use decisions because that is typically what an appellate body (i.e. city council or county commissioners) will consider in deciding the appeal. If evidence is not placed into the record at the initial hearing, except in very limited circumstances, you may not be able to have it as part of the record.
