Development Regulations
			Our Firm Duncan Associates is an award-winning planning and growth management consulting firm that specializes in the revision of land development regulations. From our offices in Austin, Chicago, Muncie and Washington, DC, we serve a growing clientele that includes many of the nation's most progressive cities and counties. Since its initial establishment in Fort Lauderdale in 1977, Duncan Associates has successfully revised and updated land development codes for over 120 cities and counties in 30 states. Codes drafted by the firm have received awards from the Texas, North Carolina, Georgia, Nevada, Louisiana and Florida chapters of the American Planning Association. Unlike most consultants, Duncan Associates specializes in plan implementation work; drafting land development regulations is our primary business. Common Problems While land development regulations typically have many problems, most of them are by no means unique . . . or surprising. Since it has been several decades since most codes were completely overhauled, it is only natural that they have become out-of-date and out-of-sync with local planning efforts. In fact, today’s typical code has been amended so many times in so many places and by so many people, that it has become an incomprehensible “verbal jungle” and a serious deterrent in stimulating and promoting good planning and “smart growth.” At best, code problems frustrate all involved—administrators, land developers, homebuilders, business owners, public officials and the general citizenry. At worst, they result in a regulatory system that is inefficient, ineffective, costly and counter-productive. Without periodic preventive maintenance, land development regulations have a natural tendency to become confusing, redundant, inconsistent and difficult to use. In a sense, a land development code is like an automobile tire; it represents the “rubber hitting the road” part of growth management and it can take only so much patching before it needs to be retreaded or replaced.  Typical Code Problems      •  Awkward and confusing format       •  Requirements don't match practices       •   Redundant and conflicting provisions       •   Vague and irrelevant review criteria       •   Outmoded adn inappropriate uses       •   Archaic districts and nomenclature       •   Inadequate and insufficient definitions       •   Inefficient and costly procedures Unique Community Needs Duncan Associates is intimately familiar with the “cafeteria plan” of regulatory approaches and techniques that are available today. We also know that there is a wide spectrum of regulatory tolerance among communities. Some want a controlled regulatory environment, while others prefer minimal roadblocks to new growth and development. Based on our extensive experience, we can identify those approaches or techniques that best address each community’s unique local needs and desires. We know that every community is different and that every code should reflect those differences. What is “right” for one community may or may not be “right” for another.