It is the purpose of this, the City of Wooster's Planning and Zoning Code, to promote and protect the public health, safety, comfort, convenience, and general welfare of the people of Wooster through the establishment of minimum regulations governing the development and use of land, buildings, and structures. Furthermore, the intent of this planning and zoning code is:
(a) To implement the City of Wooster Comprehensive Plan and other policies or plans adopted by the City as it relates to the development and use of land, buildings, and structures;
(b) To promote the orderly and beneficial development of the City of Wooster in accordance with the City's land use policies;
(c) To preserve the character and quality of residential neighborhoods and business activity areas;
(d) To encourage compatibility between different land uses and to protect the scale and character of existing development from the encroachment of incompatible uses without limiting the potential for the mixture of compatible uses;
(e) To regulate the location, bulk, height, design, and land coverage of buildings to protect the character and value of the City's residential, business, industrial, institutional, and recreational areas;
(f) To regulate the area and dimension of lots, yards, setbacks, and other open spaces to provide adequate open spaces for light and air;
(g) To regulate the density of population, as identified in the comprehensive plan, to prevent overcrowding of the land and excessive concentration of the population;
(h) To protect private investment into properties and the resulting property values;
(i) To provide for adequate access to all areas of the City by people of all abilities and by varied modes of transportation;
(j) To ensure efficient and safe traffic and pedestrian circulation, manage congestion on the streets, and improve public safety by locating buildings and uses adjacent to streets in such a manner that they will cause the least interference with, and be damaged least by, traffic movements;
(k) To facilitate adequate provisions for public utilities and facilities such as schools, recreation facilities, sewer, water, transportation, and other public necessities;
(l) To guide the future development of the City so as to bring about the gradual conformity of land and building uses in accordance with the objectives of the Comprehensive Plan of the City;
(m) To preserve and strengthen the reasonable balance of commercial and industrial activities within the City, so long as they are consistent with the City's comprehensive plan, in order to serve the convenience of the inhabitants of the City and provide a strong economic and tax base to assure the City's ability to provide essential services to its inhabitants;
(n) To accomplish the specific intents and purposes set forth in the introduction of the respective chapters; and
(o) To provide regulations, standards and procedures for the administration, amendment and enforcement of the City of Wooster Planning and Zoning Code.
(Ord. 2018-009. Passed 5-7-18.)