AICP Plan Implementation 2 â Questions and Answers
Question 1: Which zoning technique allows a developer to build at higher density in exchange for providing public amenities such as plazas or affordable housing?
- Inclusionary zoning
- Incentive zoning (Correct answer)
- Cluster zoning
- Form-based zoning
Correct answer: Incentive zoning
Incentive zoning grants density bonuses or other concessions to developers who voluntarily provide specified public benefits.
Question 2: A Transfer of Development Rights (TDR) program moves unused development potential from a 'sending' area to a 'receiving' area primarily to achieve what planning goal?
- Increase tax revenue in rural areas
- Preserve sensitive lands while allowing growth in designated areas (Correct answer)
- Reduce infrastructure costs in urban centers
- Simplify the subdivision approval process
Correct answer: Preserve sensitive lands while allowing growth in designated areas
TDR programs protect farmland, open space, or historic areas by redirecting growth to more suitable receiving zones.
Question 3: Which capital improvement programming (CIP) principle ensures that infrastructure investments are coordinated with land use plans?
- Pay-as-you-go financing
- Concurrency management (Correct answer)
- Revenue bonding
- Tax increment financing
Correct answer: Concurrency management
Concurrency management requires that adequate public facilities exist or are committed before development approvals are granted.
Question 4: An overlay district is best described as a zoning tool that:
- Replaces underlying base zoning with entirely new regulations
- Superimposes additional standards on top of existing base zoning (Correct answer)
- Eliminates all height limits within a designated corridor
- Creates a separate tax assessment district
Correct answer: Superimposes additional standards on top of existing base zoning
Overlay districts add supplemental standardsâsuch as floodplain, historic, or airport approach regulationsâwithout eliminating the underlying base zone.
Question 5: Which implementation tool requires developers to dedicate land or pay fees in lieu of dedication for parks and schools as a condition of subdivision approval?
- Tax increment financing
- Eminent domain
- Exactions and impact fees (Correct answer)
- Special assessment districts
Correct answer: Exactions and impact fees
Exactions and impact fees shift the cost of growth-related infrastructure to developers rather than the general public.
Question 6: A 'regulating plan' is a key component of which implementation framework?
- Traditional zoning codes
- Form-based codes (Correct answer)
- Performance-based zoning
- Euclidean zoning
Correct answer: Form-based codes
Form-based codes rely on a regulating plan that maps the physical form standardsâfrontage types, building placement, and street standardsâfor each area.
Question 7: A developer proposes a Planned Unit Development (PUD). What is the primary advantage of a PUD approval process over standard zoning?
- It permanently exempts the site from all future rezoning
- It allows negotiated flexibility in exchange for superior site planning and public benefits (Correct answer)
- It eliminates the need for environmental review
- It reduces property tax assessments for the life of the project
Correct answer: It allows negotiated flexibility in exchange for superior site planning and public benefits
PUDs grant regulatory flexibilityâsuch as mixed uses or varied setbacksâin return for design quality and amenities negotiated through the approval process.
AICP Plan Implementation 2
Which zoning technique allows a developer to build at higher density in exchange for providing public amenities such as plazas or affordable housing?