SITE CODE: Computer‐Based Regulatory Information for Site Development

Abstract

In cities across the country, as local land development regulations have become increasingly complicated and confusing, the costs to the development community and to city government have escalated. Substantial labor is often required to determine which permit requirements and design criteria apply to a particular development project. An expert system called SITE CODE is proposed as a tool for early assistance to automate the retrieval and provision of regulatory information. Study of land development regulations in Austin, Tx., San Diego, Calif., and Fairfax County, Va., reveals that for a regulation to be applicable to a development project, it must have administrative, spatial, and temporal jurisdiction over that development. SITE CODE makes use of the concept of jurisdiction to identify the set of regulations applicable to particular development projects. The permit requirements and design criteria contained in those regulations can be displayed or printed to create a customized land development code tailored to the interests of the user.