When a new building pops up on a neighborhood corner, it’s not a spontaneous choice if a Unified Developers’ Ordinance gave the “go-ahead.”

Russ Farnum, DeKalb’s community development director said a UDO enables the city to further clarify its land usage plans.

“The UDO basically puts all your development codes in one code book,” he said.

“It makes it easier for developers, builders and people who deal with land development to get one book that has all the city’s regulations in it,” Farnum said. “We only have one book to look at instead of millions of different volumes of code books in regard to different development regulations.”

DeKalb has a UDO. Farnum said having the ordinance allows better clarification for what DeKalb will allow in terms of future development.

“Having a land-use plan tells you where you’re going to grow and what types of land uses there are going to be in different areas of town,” Farnum said.

Similar to DeKalb, Carbondale City Manager Jeffrey W. Doherty said having a UDO helps the city’s different areas to grow in a unified fashion.

“It gives an understanding and expectation to the [residents] and developers in the community and provides protection for current or existing areas from other types of developments that may conflict with their uses,” he said. “It also provides for the orderly growth of the city. It sets the standards for development in the community. I think every community should have standards for how it wants its growth to occur and how it wants to develop. Ordinances provide those standards.”

A primary downfall in implementing a UDO is lack of flexibility. Because the city lies out its intentions so clearly, a UDO can restrict a city from accepting offers not complementary to what is already agreed upon.

Sycamore implemented a UDO May 1, 2005, deleting the need for its stack of zoning ordinances previously used. Assistant City Manager Brian Gregory sees the move as responsible rather than cumbersome.

“I think it coincides with our planning initiatives, yet still allows us enough flexibility in our planning,” he said. “I think it’s just a responsible government that does good planning.”

Todd Cagnoni, Rockford’s manager of current planning, disagreed. Cagnoni said the city has simply chosen it’s not something they need.

“We feel it’s advantageous for us to have our regulations separated from one another,” he said. “We have a combination of land-usage regulations, zoning ordinances and subdivision ordinances. We don’t want to subject non-zoning issues to zoning issues and vice-versa. We’ve never had one.”