Some techniques appear to be amenable to the 

 criteria we have mentioned, and are briefly de- 

 scribed below. 



1 . Flood Plain Zoning 



Flood plain zoning restricts use of land subject 

 to flooding, which arbitrarily may be determined 

 as a given distance on each side of the center line 

 of a stream, or by mapping actual areas that have 

 been flooded, or by mapping alluvial soils from a 

 soil survey. Some restrictions place limitations on 

 buildings that would constrict stream flow in time 

 of flood, or limit structures to those that would 

 not be damaged by flooding. 



2. Administrative Pennits 



Under this technique, approval or denial of a 

 mandatory permit could be made by members of 

 whatever regulatory agency is empowered to make 

 regulatory decisions, or by staff administrators, 

 subject to appeal to the members or other higher 

 authority of the regulatory agency, and also 

 subject to judicial review. 



Administration of this technique can be rigid or 

 flexible depending on powers granted by the 

 legislature. Where the technique has been used on 

 a case-by-case basis for large-scale developments, 

 Professor Heyman reports that its benefits are (1) 

 maximum flexibility, (2) it minimizes differential 

 value impacts which are caused by regulations such 

 as zoning, (3) it can be administered by a 

 professional staff, and (4) it permits finer, more 

 detailed regulation than can be achieved with 

 traditional zoning.' °* Some current examples of 

 administrative permit devices are variances, condi- 

 tional use permits, special exceptions, and sub- 

 division authorizations. 



3. Legislative Permits 



This form is similar to the administrative 

 permit, except that the approach reserves power to 

 rule on applications for development permission in 

 the first instance, in the legislative or regulatory 

 body, rather than on appeal of rulings from a 

 regulatory agency administrative or professional 

 staff. Two methods presently used for this purpose 

 are "floating zoning" and "contract zoning." 



Figure 6. Oil well construction off Long Beach 

 is now closely regulated. (Long Beach Port Au- 

 thority photo) 



—A "floating zone" is an unmapped district with 

 stated regulations. The ordinance states that appli- 

 cations to remap a zone will be granted if 

 standards contained in the regulations are met. 

 The ordinance also outhnes in general when a 

 rezoning application will be granted or not, and 

 the requirements imposed. 



-"Contract zoning" is the creation and mapping 

 by amendment of a zone with highly detailed 

 regulations different from those of other zones. 

 The amendment is fashioned after negotiations 

 with a prospective developer and reflects the 

 agreement reached between him and the govern- 

 ment. Action of the legislature is necessary 

 because the agreement then becomes part of the 

 zoning regulation. 



4. Techniques Combining Regulation and Purchase 



Compensable regulation is relatively new and 

 untried, combining acquisition and regulation 

 techniques under which land to be retained in 

 undeveloped condition would be mapped and uses 

 established. Under this technique, property owners 

 would be guaranteed that, whenever they choose 

 to sell their land in the open market, they would 

 receive a price at least equal to the value of the 

 land before regulation. If the sale price were less 

 than the guaranteed compensation, the regional 

 agency would pay the difference. The amount of 

 the owners' guarantee for each property reduced 

 by each payment of compensation would remain 

 attached to the property as a guarantee for later 

 purchasers."" 



106 



Heyman, op. cit. supra note 



100. 



For discussion and proposed legislation, see Kras- 

 nowiecki and Paul, "The Preservation of Open Space in 

 MetropoUtan Areas," 110 U. Pa. L. Rev. 179. 



111-126 



