"Zoning regulations differ in different districts according to the determined uses of the land for residence, business, or manufacturing, and according to the advisable heights and ground areas.
"But these differing regulations are the same for all districts of the same type. They treat all men alike."
But the benefits of zoning are not confined to safeguarding the home and its surroundings. It can reduce losses due to topsy-turvy growth of cities, and cut the cost of living. Every year millions of dollars are wasted in American cities from the scrapping of buildings in "blighted" districts. For instance, fine residential districts may be threatened by sporadic factories or junk yards, and owners may become panicky and sell at a sacrifice millions of dollars worth of valuable dwellings which will be left to stand practically idle. The public must pay for this loss in one way or another. Frequently money for street, sewers and other utilities need never be spent if it is known in advance that large factories are to occupy new developments. Industry and homes are both more efficient if kept generally separate, though separation need not mean great distances for workers to travel.
"How has zoning worked?" "What has it accomplished?" About 70 cities and towns have adopted zoning ordinances since 1916, and the idea has worked well. Reliable authorities declare that "the New York zoning regulations have prevented vast depreciation in many districts and effected savings in values amounting to millions of dollars in established sections." The highest class residential districts in New York, in which only 30 per cent of the lot area may be used for dwellings, have developed with much greater confidence, due to the knowledge that houses built would be safe from invasion by apartments or industry.
In St. Louis "it was found that residences tended to follow the residence districts, and did not even attempt to seek locations in industrial or unrestricted areas. Except commercial buildings which were built partly in commercial and partly in industrial districts, the development of St. Louis is said to be fitting itself very closely to the zoning plan.
"In New Jersey it has been found that the unzoned suburban town is at a distinct disadvantage as compared with the community protected by a zoning ordinance."
It is sometimes said that zoning is arbitrary and restricts the liberty of the individual to do as he wishes; but when zoning laws have been sensibly and comprehensively drawn, the courts have approved them as a reasonable exercise of the police power "for the public health, safety and general welfare."
Zoning should always be undertaken in close relation to a city plan. It is essentially a neighborly proposition, and there should be neighborhood meetings to explain it and gather suggestions.
The purpose of a zoning ordinance is to insure that growth, instead of taking place sporadically and wastefully, should go on in an orderly way in response to generally recognized needs, and with due notice to all concerned.
Zoning today is giving security and the sense of security to hundreds of thousands of families in America, in the enjoyment of happy homes amid the right kind of surroundings.