Examining State Planning Enabling Laws Regarding Water Planning Requirements

This report summarizes the methodology, findings, and implications of examining and evaluating the legal requirements for water provisions within comprehensive plans in each of the 50 states. Focus was given to planning requirements in statutory law, how these laws are implemented by local governments, and whether the statutes are compulsory or voluntary.

The American Planning Association (APA) reviewed the relevant planning enabling laws to answer the same series of questions for all states to determine the water requirements within comprehensive plans. Six states were chosen for further analysis. The data collected from the six states was verified by conducting key-informant interviews with practicing planners working at the intersection of land use and water in those states. These interviews provided additional insights on land use-water integration, the challenges and drivers of land use-water integration and provided examples of communities that have successfully integrated land use and water. These states were chosen for their land use planning requirements, geographic diversity, whether the aggregate population lived within an urban or rural environment, and what the requirements were for water within comprehensive planning.