ABSTRACT
American zoning proceeds largely on the basis of decisions regarding individual lots. What is typically ignored is the cumulative effect of an enormous number of ‘lot decisions’. This is partly because the zoning machine usually operates without the advantage of a guiding plan; partly because zoning has traditionally been unconcerned with the timing of development (or its relationship to the provision of infrastructure); and partly because the normal presumption of municipalities is in favor of development – the more, the better. The last point goes deep: instead of asking ‘is the proposed development desirable in the public interest at this place at this point in time?’, the typical municipality starts from the presumption that any development is good and, in any case, it is unfair to penalize a particular owner with a refusal: if one farmer’s land has been approved for development, why shouldn’t his neighbor get equal treatment?
