Before a home-rule city's council may adopt a general zoning scheme, the city must?

• A. Plan
• B. Referendum
• C. Enabling Act
• D. Voter Approval

Answer: (A)

Before a home-rule city's council may adopt a general zoning scheme, the city needs to have a guiding plan in place. A master plan or comprehensive plan lays out how land should be used across the city, where growth should occur, and where public facilities and infrastructure belong. Zoning regulations are the tool that implements this plan, turning long-range goals into rules that govern where residential, commercial, and industrial uses can go. Without that planning framework, zoning decisions could be ad hoc and out of balance with future development. Voter approval, an enabling act, or a referendum isn’t the basic prerequisite for adopting zoning in a home-rule city—the planning step is.