Taking a Stand for the Land

Connie O'Connor, Director of Education

October 15, 2025

Tags:

Land Management

Land Use

Wildlife Habitat

Preserving Green Space

"We abuse land because we regard it as a commodity belonging to us. When we see land as a community to which we belong, we may begin to use it with love and respect." - Aldo Leopold

Despite the wishful thinking of conservationist Aldo Leopold, most of our country's land is privately owned, sold, and developed as a commodity. Land is capital, land is an investment, land is business. But for many of us, land is home. This article presents a brief overview of how land use planning works and recommends steps citizens can take to influence win-win solutions for conservation.

How Zoning Works

In Ohio, a municipality is defined as either a city (population 5,000 residents or more) or a village (fewer than 5,000 residents) which means that residents successfully petitioned to incorporate, establishing a government with powers to self-govern, legislate, and collect/spend taxes for the greater good of residents. For unincorporated areas, townships provide leadership and services such as road maintenance and zoning.

Many communities have zoning ordinances which are specific rules regarding things like lot size, building heights, setback requirements, and density limits for various zones of land use. Land use zoning governs how property can and cannot be used in specific areas, thereby promoting orderly development, ensuring compatibility between land uses, protecting property values, and preserving the overall quality of life in a community. Zoning categories include residential (further categorized by type), commercial, industrial, agricultural, and mixed-use.

Zoning departments often have a growth plan which maps out the future use of undeveloped land. These plans are updated periodically with the help of an advisory body (Planning and Zoning Commission) of professionals in real estate, architecture, law, business, or environmental science appointed by city/village council or township trustees to make formal recommendations on complex planning matters and to assist with rezonings and development proposals.

Many municipalities and townships employ a professional Planning and Zoning Director to draft plan and ordinance language, conduct long-range planning research, and review development applications. This person serves as the primary contact to help landowners interpret ordinances and navigate processes, while preparing reports for trustees and zoning commissions related to landowner applications.

Land use planning happens at both the county and municipal or township level. Elected members of the City/Village Council or Township Board of Trustees make decisions on development projects and zoning issues. The elected officials that serve on the County Board of Commissioners coordinate with all municipalities and townships within their borders and may have additional regulations or input as they coordinate regional issues like transportation, water supply, and economic development. Local planning and zoning responsibilities are granted by the state. Landowners can request exceptions to zoning ordinances (variances), permission for certain activities under specific conditions (conditional use permits), and changes of zoning classifications (zoning amendments) by appealing to their community’s Board of Zoning Appeals (anappointed board that uses court-like protocol on a case-by-case basis to interpret zoning policies).

Landowner Rights and Interests

It's very hard to take away a landowner's right to do what they want with their land. Zoning can lead to legal disputes over “regulatory takings,” when restrictions take away the value of someone’s land. This might happen if a landowner’s request to rezone a parcel from agricultural to residential is denied. Many owners of large land parcels, often retiring farmers, inheritors, or out-of-town investors, are hoping that a developer or land holding company will offer top dollar for their land when they need the money. They might enter into a contingency sale, meaning that the sale is contingent on rezoning and approval of the proposed use, typically subdivisions or sometimes industrial projects. The developer often acts as a landowner's representative in the zoning process, since the current landowner is not required to attend public hearings. Developers typically begin by meeting with the local planning and zoning director to review the proposal and understand the application requirements. In these early discussions, planning staff do not advocate for or against the project but instead remain neutral while guiding the applicant through the submittal and review process. Staff may explain how the proposal aligns, or fails to align, with the underlying zoning district standards, and in the case of a Planned Development (PD), they may discuss potential conditions or modifications that could bring the project into compliance. When the developer is ready, the design is presented to appointed and elected officials at a public meeting.

This is often when residents hear the details of a proposed development for the first time. Many in the audience willbe there to protest, often with attitudes like NIMBY (Not in My Backyard), QUIMBY (Quit Urbanizing In My Backyard) and CAVE (Citizens Against Virtually Everything). Trustees have been known to say that "every resident wants to be the last one in, then lock the door against new development." But if zoning amendments are denied, development companies may take a municipality to court on behalf of the landowner. Municipal money to defend against the lawsuit typically comes from taxpayers through the general fund, diverted from other community services. If a rezoning precedent has already been established in the community, it will be hard to deny the development. Ideally, negotiations can be agreed upon without heading to court.

It may seem that community members don't have much power to stop development, and that's pretty much true. But it’s possible for a reasonable compromise between private rights and public needs.

Ways to Impact Land Conservation

Considering private property rights, what positive role can we, as community members, play in conserving land in our communities or shaping the kind of development we hope to see?

• We Can Talk to People in the Know

Planning and zoning staff can provide information and clarity about local land use plans and regulations. Soil and Water Conservation District staff and local environmental non-profit leaders also can lend insight. If we approach others with curiosity, rather than with an agenda, we may discover new perspectives that inform our opinions.‍

• We Can Be Prepared to Compromise... Collectively

Because of the diverse perspectives and interests involved, land use issues are seldom solved in ways that make everyone happy. Compromise is necessary. If we citizens organize and agree on what we'd like to see, we can collectively ask for it, first from their planning and zoning staff and then at a public meeting. But what to ask for? Knowing that development will almost always happen, requests could include better subdivision plans that include wildlife corridors connecting to other green space and conservation-focused HomeownersAssociation (HOA) rules. We may ask to preserve a view shed, such as a forest we can see from our backyards, in exchange for clustering all homes more tightly at the far end of the land parcel under development.‍

• We Can Ask About Opportunities for Input

Zoning ordinances and growth plans are periodically revised, and this is a great time to offer input. If elected and appointed officials don't know that citizens care about connected bike trails, connected HOA-protected green space, dark sky sites, walkable communities with sidewalks, wider stream setbacks to protect water quality, stronger environmental safeguards, nature playscapes, or native plant ordinances, they won't advocate for them with developers. We have an opportunity to share conservation knowledge with those who honestly don't know what we know, and they may be glad to learn. This is especially true if we can frame the conversation around health and safety. For instance, research shows that a view of nature can promote healing, reduce stress, boost our moods and even make us kinder.

• We Can Choose Our Battles

We can’t save it all, so those of us who care about green space must decide which parcels have the best chance of being preserved. For instance, it's easier to influences the use of public land rather than private land. We can strategize with our fellow citizens to ask our elected and appointed officials to purchase more public green space or to use existing public land differently.In cases of private land, adjoining landowners have the strongest say, but NIMBYism usually isn't a strong argument. Instead, these neighbors might consider what best serves the greater good and seek compromise. Another consideration is that land adjoining green space is more likely to be protected than an "in-fill"(vacant land between two developed parcels). These factors might influence which land we fight for, and which we let go.

• We Can Use Petitions Carefully

When we fight for land, we may want to petition for a referendum to block a decision or propose an initiative to put a new decision on the ballot. Words matter when it comes to legislation. Poorly planned or written citizen initiatives can mislead voters or simply not accomplish what we hoped they would do. The best kinds are those that promote compromise and flexibility while promoting the kind of development that benefits the community and the environment as a whole. The less we encourage zero sum thinking or yes and no decisions, the more we can engage in civil discourse and compromise for better results.‍

• We Can Research Positive Examples

Whether speaking one-on-one or presenting as an organized group, examples of other places that have done it right can lead to a convincing conversation.For instance, Oakwood Ohio has revised weed ordinances to allow for more native plants, and Greene County Ohio formed a Farmland Preservation Task Force to"preserve prime farmland and open space while still respecting the owner's property rights and directing industrial, residential, and commercial growth to the right areas." We can consider what codes could be added, changed, or incentivized to support the environment using this resource.‍

• We Can Talk to our Neighbors

Neighboring landowners might not be aware of other ways to get income from their land without developing it. If we can talk to the original owner before the developer does, we might appeal to their values such as love of home, nostalgia, respect for rural community life, or enjoyment of wildlife as we brainstorm alternatives to development, such as conservation or agricultural easements or sale to a local land conservancy. In some cases, other neighbors might have the resources to collectively purchase the land if the owner can sell it for an affordable price. It's hard to outcompete the offer of a developer, so the owner’s values are at the heart of these alternatives. It’s important to start the conversation before developers are knocking at the door!‍

• We Can Support Candidates that Support Nature - Or We Can Run for Office Ourselves

Elected officials must balance the needs of all constituents, and each has their own understanding of what’s best for our communities. If the “same old same old” isn't working, maybe it's time to vote for someone with a more innovative approach to community development. Or maybe that "someone"is one of us! Local elections are non-partisan and, with enough support in the form of citizen signatures, anyone can run.‍

• We Can Prioritize and Protect Relationships

In almost all cases, our influence lies largely in positive relationships. If we trust that everyone has the greater good of the community in mind, and that everyone values private property rights, we are in a good place to engage in respectful conversations for a shared vision of a better community. Goodwill, trust, and curiosity are likely to improve the quality of our conversations and our communities, while political polarization, negative assumptions and cynicism will do the opposite.

‍Cincinnati Nature Center promotes Conservation Civics, a relationship-based approach to protecting our environment and improving local communities. While zoning systems favor development, each of use can choose to work collaboratively in our communities to preserve native habitat while protecting the rights and needs of our fellow citizens.

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