ABSTRACT
A local government’s land use decisions physically, functionally, and aesthetically impact the community – often for the long term. Pre-zoning land use controls are included as part of this discussion not simply because they remain in use by private parties and local governments, but also because they are the foundation from which modern regulations developed. An appreciation of these historical tools will allow a more complete understanding of the regulations that local officials are called upon to enact and administer today. Nuisance law waits for a particular dispute to arise. The nuisance system allows the court to consider all of the particular facts and circumstances relevant to the property dispute, and then fashions a customized solution. Life in the United States began to change dramatically during the industrial revolution. Development caused the formation and expansion of urban, and later metropolitan, areas. Land use controls imposed by covenant take a wide variety of forms.
