§ 153.016 PURPOSE.
   (A)   The purpose of the zoning regulations shall be to regulate the height, number of stories and size of buildings and other structures; the size of yards and other spaces; the density of population; the location and use of buildings, structures and land for trade and residence, and other purposes, so as to lessen congestion in the streets; to secure safety from fire, panic and other dangers; to promote health and the general welfare; to provide adequate light and air; to prevent the overcrowding of land; to avoid undue concentration of population; to promote desirable living conditions and the sustained stability of neighborhoods; to discourage blight; to conserve the value of buildings and land; to facilitate the adequate and economic provision of transportation, water, sewerage, schools, parks and other public facilities and services; and to encourage the most appropriate use of land, buildings, and other structures within the planning jurisdiction of this chapter.
   (B)   The zoning districts as depicted on the city’s official zoning map have been made with due consideration of future growth, development, and change in land development according to objectives expressed in the general plan for the development of the community, as well as with due consideration of existing development and uses of land in the city and its planning jurisdiction and uses of land in adjacent areas.
   (C)   These regulations and districts represent reasonable consideration of the character of the districts and their peculiar suitability for particular uses of land and have been made with a view to preserving the existing environment and/or assuring the development of a future environment that realizes the greatest possible use and enjoyment of land on individual properties. This is balanced against the necessary protection of the values of buildings and land and the use and enjoyment of land on adjacent properties and with the objective of promoting and protecting the public welfare through the regulation of land use and the process of land development.
(Prior UDO, § 3.2)