MUNICIPAL ROLE IN THE DETERMINATION OF LAND USE

The thesis inquires into some rationales, historical and theoretical, for a municipal role in the determination of land use. It is particularly concerned with developing an understanding of municipal action as part of a larger decision process. While the topic is nominally land use, the thesis is as much concerned with the structuring of decision processes as it is with the particular area of decision discussed. The first part of the thesis deals with zoning as a modification of a previously more privitized land use decision process. The first chapter touches on the significance of zoning and questions the limits of land use control. Is desirable land use the only permissible end of municipal land use control powers, or are these powers available for implimenting distinct policy objectives? Subsequent chapters discuss the historical origins of the municipal role; a general conceptualization of the role of the state in supervising and providing a backdrop for a privitized decision process; and the theoretical arguments for the consitutionality of zoning