Politics, Institutions and Local Land-use Regulation Richard C.FeiockAskew School of Public Administration and Policy and the Devoe Moore Center for the Study of Economic Policy and GovernmentFlorida State UniversityTallahasseeFL 32306USA850 644 7617rfeio

Summary. This article investigates the factors that account for second-generation land-use restrictions that result from comprehensive planning processes. After a review of the evolution of growth management policy in the US variation among Florida counties in the adoption of development impact fees and regulatory complexity is examined. Political system institutions were found to be related to growth management policies as predicted by distributive theories of urban politics. In particular, elected mayor–commission government was linked to growth management. These results indicate that second-generation land-use regulation may be driven as much by the political incentives of local actors as the preferences of the median voter. Comprehensive planning has been an in-creasingly used instrument for land-use regu-lation and growth control. Hanushek and Quigley (1990, p. 176) describe land-use rules as “the most significant market inter-vention taken by state and local govern-ment”. The consequences of growt