Land Use Planning Factsheet

Land Use Planning Fact Sheet: Watershed Based Zoning

Description

Watershed Based Zoning is the foundation of a land use planning process using subwatershed boundaries as the basis for future land use decisions. Watershed based zoning involves defining watershed conditions, measuring current and potential future impervious cover, classifying subwatersheds based on the amount of future imperviousness, and most importantly-- modifying master plans and zoning to shift the location and density of future development to the appropriate subwatershed management categories (for more information see Basic Concepts in Watershed Planning, Article 38 in The Practice of Watershed Protection).

Technique

Watershed based zoning can employ a mixture of land use and zoning options to achieve desired results. A watershed based zoning approach should include the following nine steps:

Conduct a comprehensive stream inventory.
Measure current levels of impervious cover.
Verify impervious cover/stream quality relationships.
Project future levels of impervious cover.
Classify subwatersheds based on stream management "templates" and current impervious cover.
Modify master plans/zoning to correspond to subwatershed impervious cover targets and other management strategies identified in Subwatershed Management Templates (see Templates).
Incorporate management priorities from larger watershed management units such as river basins or larger watersheds.
Adopt specific watershed protection strategies for each subwatershed.
Conduct long term monitoring over a prescribed cycle to assess watershed status.

By following these nine steps, this technique can be used to protect receiving water quality on the subwatershed scale by relocating development out of particular subwatersheds

Economics

While some of the costs of watershed based zoning can be integrated into a land use plan that is being revised anyway, both positive and negative economic consequences exist for stakeholders. For example, developers bear a large burden of the negative impacts through the potential rise in the cost of land and the constraints on where they can build. On the other hand, communities can benefit by attracting businesses and by protecting some areas from adverse uses. A summary of economic and environmental consequences of watershed planning and zoning is presented in Table 1.

Table 1. Economic & Environmental Consequences of Watershed Planning and Zoning for Different Stakeholders
Stakeholder	Positive Economic Consequence	Negative Economic or Environmental Impact
Developer/ Builder		Cost of land Location constraints
Adjacent Property Owner	Property value
Community	Business attraction Protection from adverse uses
Local Government	Reduced clean up	Staff and budget resources

Limitations/Challenges

Local officials face hard choices when deciding which land use techniques are the most appropriate to modify current zoning. Some of the challenges specific to watershed based zoning include:

Use of staff/ budget resources by local government to conduct and implement the plan
Potential loss of land for developers

Additional Resources

Rapid Watershed Planning Handbook, 1998. Center for Watershed Protection, Ellicott City, MD.

Center for Watershed Protection. 2000. "Economics of Watershed Protection," Article 30 in the Practice of Watershed Protection. Center for Watershed Protection. Ellicott City, MD.