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OVERLAY DISTRICT ORDINANCES <br /> <br />Purpose of Tool: <br /> <br />Overlay Districts provide a means to incorporate various development regulations <br />across a specified area. These districts are special zones that lie on top of existing zoning <br />categories to supplement or supersede existing regulations. They usually provide a <br />higher level of regulation than that required by the existing zoning classification, but <br />they can also permit exceptions or require a less-restrictive guideline. In cases where <br />conflicting standards are given by an overlay district and the underlying zoning <br />category, those of the overlay district take priority. The boundaries of an overlay district <br />may or may not coincide with the boundaries of the underlying zone, and an overlay <br />district may contain parts of more than one existing zone. <br /> <br />Overlay districts are used to accomplish a variety of development, transportation, and <br />land use goals such as access management, protection of historic or natural resources, <br />safety, standardization of a historic district, implementation of development guidelines, <br />protection of the quality of surface water, and even special taxing or financing for an <br />area. Overlay districts often complement a jurisdiction’s Comprehensive Plan. <br /> <br />Benefits of Using Tool: <br /> <br />Overlay districts are particularly useful to communities and municipalities because they <br />allow existing zoning requirements to be superseded, when needed. Overlay districts can <br />be implemented by passing a law that appends existing land use regulations, without <br />having to go through the process of rewriting the underlying zoning <br />requirements/regulations. Communities can also modify overlay districts without <br />difficulty, should they decide to modify the requirements or coverage area. <br /> <br />Overlay Districts can accomplish the following elements: <br /> <br />• Provide design guidelines that create a particular look and feel of an area <br />• Protect valuable resources <br />• Help meet goals and objectives of the community <br />• Maintain certain current codes while addressing a special need of a particular area <br />within a zone(s) <br /> <br />Steps Involved to Use Tool: <br /> <br />To be implemented, an overlay district typically follows this process: <br /> <br />• A study or report is compiled that details the purpose and goals of the overlay district, <br />and ensures that it is tied to the objectives of the Comprehensive Plan or the stated goals <br />of the community.