Intention and Action: Evaluating the Policy Antecedents of Development

Development management ordinances are central components of the development process, and yet there is not an established set of principles to guide their evaluation. We build upon the established plan quality literature to develop a protocol to assess ordinances based on their content and their administration. Using substantive and procedural principles enables the examination of how ordinances incorporate both scientific information and administrative practices to support policy implementation. Our cross-sectional study of 22 jurisdictions in two different states compared riparian buffer policies, single-purpose mandates, and sociodemographic variables. We found (1) overall low ordinance quality scores, (2) statistically significant differences between the watersheds at the sub-principle level, and (3) multiple, moderate correlations among ordinance quality scores, population density, and planning capacity. The findings suggest opportunities to increase the usage of best available science and promising administrative practices within ordinances aimed at protecting water quality.