Analysis of the Effects of Large Lot Zoning

Abstract: This study extends a test for the presence of binding zoning, originally developed to be applied across many adjacent jurisdictions, so that it can be applied within a single jurisdiction. This study also demonstrates how to carry out this test in the presence of spatially correlated OLS residuals by using a mixed effects model whose coefficients are estimated using the maximum likelihood technique. The study examines twenty years of land sales data from a Midwestern county containing two adjacent cities surrounded by rural areas. A thirty-five-acre acre, minimum lot size in the rural area is found to be binding; while a 9,000 square foot minimum lot size in the cities is found to be not binding.