re:place magazine, July 17, 2008
Review: A Better Way to Zone

Luckily, there are kind souls like Donald L. Elliot around who take the time to write books like A Better Way to Zone: Ten Principles to Create More Livable Cities. Eilliot is an attorney and city planner, and this book critically analyzes the process of zoning and shares lessons he has learned through his extensive international experience in land-use planning and environmental law.

Very accessible to any reader, the book offers a comprehensive analysis and critique of zoning. It starts with a wonderful, concise description of “Euclidean” zoning’s humble beginnings - how and why it started - and its transformation in response to the new pressures and dilemmas created by the increasing complexity of our cities, including the introduction of Form-based zoning, Planned Unit Developments (PUDs), and Performance zoning. The ultimate result of which is what he calls “Euclidean hybrid zoning”.

Read more here.

The Denver Business Journal, April 17, 2008
Spotlight: Author Advocates Looser Zoning

“Urban zoning has become too strict with too many rules–and something has to change, according to Donald Elliott.

He’s been a rezoning and land-use consultant for 24 years, and works for Clarion Associates in Denver as an attorney and consultant.

In Elliott’s recently published book, ‘A Better Way to Zone: Ten Principles to Create More Livable Cities,’ he outlines how he things the rules should change.” … Read more here.

The Goodspeed Update Blog, Reviewed May 20, 2008

“Organized around the goal of making zoning “better, more efficient, and more understandable,” the book contains a brief history of zoning, a critique of the current system as used by most big cities, a discussion the legal framework and values of good governance, and finally a discussion of “ten principles” to improve zoning. Filled with lists of reasons, lessons, principles, and cross-references, this book is obviously the work of an order-oriented legal mind.

Elliott’s concise accounts of the origins and logic of most cities’ “Euclidean Hybrid Zoning” would serve as a good primer on the subject for students or citizens new to the field. Convinced that “almost no one outside of city government, zoning lawyers, and very committed citizen activists can explain how the system works” Elliott passionately argues “zoning ordinances should not be understandable only to lawyers or zoning staff; they should be understandable to average homeowners.” I think the mantra about simplicity is the most important part of the book, and completely agree with Elliott that “the more the public knows, the better they can participate at the policy- and rule-making level.” Let’s hope his call for simplicity and transparency is heeded.”

Law of the Land Blog, reviewed May 24, 2008

Planner Donald Elliott has written a new book - A Better Way to Zone: Ten Principles to Create More Livable Communities, full of proposed solutions to building livable American cities. Elliott explains how antiquated zoning laws have partly led to the woes of the housing market and the top-down approach to municipal growth. He states, “The changing structure of the American economy is making it more difficult for many citizens to afford housing, and zoning often compounds the problem of providing attainable housing through regulatory barriers or rigid definitions of permissible lots and housing types.” Elliott also asserts that in general, zoning laws are more complex than they need to be; zoning laws actually prevent many types of development that municipalities might like to approve; zoning does not often adjust to changed circumstances; and that the current zoning system reflects and encourages poor systems of municipal governance.

Phil Hardwick’s blog, Reviewed May 2, 2008