Clay County, Missouri

Land Development Regulations 
   

Duncan Associates drafted new land development regulations for Clay County, a rapidly-urbanizing county immediately north of Kansas City. One of the primary objectives of the assignment was to implement the adopted policies of the County's recently-adopted award-winning comprehensive plan. One of the key policies of the new plan that needed to be addressed in the new code was the "tier development policy" (also referred to as "development zone concept"). The new tier development policy recognizes and reinforces the different character of rural, low-density (suburban)

and urban areas. Since the last comprehensive revision of Clay County's zoning and subdivision ordinances, there had been numerous changes in federal laws. In addition, there had been several federal and state court decisions further interpreting the constitutions and laws at both levels. The requirements of these laws and decisions needed to be reflected in the new land development regulations. The current zoning ordinance's land use classification system had been based on a 1965 model and was extremely outdated and overly detailed. Moreover, it did not provide a good fit with the type of development activity likely to occur within the county in the foreseeable future. The revised land development regulations include a new land use classification system which consists of a smaller number of explicitly defined land use categories. The new code includes a comprehensive and up-to-date set of definitions. Existing ordinances included vague, subjective or undefined standards. Such provisions made it difficult for landowners to tell what was required of them. The new code contains objective review criteria.

Period:    May 1998 - March 2000               Contact:    Carol Bloom
Team:      Duncan Associates                                       Planning Director
                                                                               816.792.7609