Land Use Lesson 7 : Solving Land Use Conflicts
Provide the students with the following one paragraph summary of a local planning board decision in which members of the board take positions on the issue. Instructions are provided on a student assessment, Making a Land Use Decision: Hidden Forest Estates. The two-page student activity sheet should be copied as two separate pages. An Assessment Scoring Guide is also provided.
Making a Land Use Decision
Hidden Forest Estates is a residential area near a lake. Some residents have all-terrain vehicles (ATVs), snowmobiles, jeeps, boats, and trucks. They want to build big barns to store their things. The land for each house is big enough for a barn. Other people are worried the barns will become places that collect junk. If the barns are not maintained, they will appear messy. They may lower the value of the houses in the neighborhood. Children may climb on the barns and get hurt. The Zoning Board for the Township has seven members. Three of the members agree that the landholders should be permitted to use the land as they wish and build barns. Three members believe the community is not served by permitting barns in the residential neighborhood. One is undecided. You are the undecided member of the Zoning Board. Use this information and what you already know, to complete the assignment outlined on the student assessment.
1. State your position (either for or against).
2. Use information from the information passage to support your position.
3. State how your position will affect land use in the community.
4. List one core democratic value and how it is used in your decision about how to vote.
Remember to:
• Use complete sentences.
• Explain your reasons.
• Write or print neatly on the lines provided on the next page.
5. Optional : Writing a letter.
The information on Page 2 of Making a Land Use Decision student assessment may be used as the material for writing a persuasive letter to a public official, stating student’s position on the Hidden Forest Estates Land Use Issue.