The graph above, illustrating the increase in the number of zoning laws over the years, looks alarming until you recognize that it parallels the increase in population over the period.
Among the earliest zoning regulations were enacted in New York City in 1885:
There were early efforts to temper New York’s building streak. A landmark 1885 law restricted tenement buildings to one-and-a-half times the street width (the Supreme Court ruled that height restrictions were legal in 1909, when builders challenged Boston’s decision to restrict buildings around Copley Square to 90 feet).
That was rather obviously a response to the great increase in the number of immigrants in New York City. Remember that bump in the late 1980s in the graph above? A response to Mexican immigration.
That seems like a no brainer.
But you know, I enjoy driving around in the boonies and visiting unincorporated rural towns in Ne. People have free rein to add on to or change their properties. Some are junky, but some are very creative, and nobody cares what they do. It’s interesting. One family fenced their yard in with old bowling balls for instance. Chainsaw art on cottonwood trees is fairly common and some are incredible.