Zoning Maps: The Good, The Bad & The Blurry

Zoning is one of the most important functions of a municipal government, and zoning maps are crucial to long-range planning, economic development and quality of life.

However, the quality of municipal maps varies a lot. Here's a look at some of the different levels of maps you'll find in our region:

Phantom maps

Some municipalities make it very difficult to find their zoning maps. For example, you'll have difficulty finding a zoning map on the Richland Township website. If you're interested in West Rockhill Township’s zoning map, you'll need to find a link in its Frequently Asked Questions page that leads to a third-party ordinance website. East Lansdowne’s zoning map, while easy to find, is very bare-bones.

Blurry maps

Too many municipalities still offer only grainy, hard-to-read maps that originated as paper maps and were scanned years ago. Valley Township's map, for example, is grainy and sideways. Warwick Township's map is relatively clear, but the imprint of a three-hole punch shows it was scanned from a hardcopy. Green Lane Borough's map is small and grainy enough that some writing is not legible. 

Good, basic maps

Most municipalities — like Collegeville Borough, for example — have crisp maps with clear, color-coded areas and a legend, plus the name of an engineering firm that created it. They’ll include essential elements like a compass, the names of bordering municipalities, a distance scale and the date it was drawn.

Some towns add small flourishes to the basic model. Montgomery Township and Warrington Township include the dates of each map revision with a brief note of explanation for each. East Vincent Township provides the total acreage for each zoning district.

Next-level maps

The two Merions offer visions of how zoning maps can go to the next level.

Upper Merion Township’s zoning map provides the most sought-after information right on the page. In what would otherwise be white space, a grid lists all the zoning districts and their respective minimum lot sizes, front and rear setbacks, maximum building heights, and impervious coverage areas.

Lower Merion Township’s zoning map utilizes GIS data to provide an interactive experience, allowing users to click on individual parcels and view the property address, parcel number, lot size, frontage, zoning designation and land use description. The underlying map (beneath the border lines and color-coded zoning) can be switched between satellite, topographic, navigation, night-mode, terrain and other options.

West Goshen Township's map, using the Zoning Hub platform, allows the user to adjust settings and filters.

Have you seen an excellent, terrible or otherwise interesting municipal zoning map?  Send it our way at sra@suburbanrealtorsalliance.com.

*This blog was updated to reflect that Douglass Township's zoning map has been updated and improved.