Off-Site Impact Standards

One method of regulating land uses that negatively impact nearby land owners is to adopt performance standards for the identified negative impacts, such as noise, odor, glare, and smoke. An example of a very simple performance standard a municipality could adopt is: "Emission of noxious odors in such quantities as to be detectable at any point along property lines is prohibited." To establish off-site impact standards, a community would need to identify a mechanism for measuring impacts and establish community standards that would need to be met.

The more specific an off-site impact standard is, the more effective it can be and the more easily it can be enforced. For example, a noise standard that reads, "Noise generated in such volumes or frequencies as to be a disturbance to the community is prohibited" is not as effective as a standard that reads, "No person who owns, leases, occupies or otherwise controls property shall produce or cause to be produced, any source of sound which causes the sound level when measured on any other residential property to exceed either: (1) 55 dBA between the hours of 7 AM and 10 PM, or (2) 45 dBA between the hours of 10 PM and 7 AM." The first standard is open to interpretation, the second can be measured directly.

The enforcement of off-site impact standards often places more demands on staff resources than the enforcement of other standards, such as setbacks and height limitations, intended to address off-site impacts indirectly.