Glossary of Planning Terms

Glossary is usually defined as an alphabetical list of technical terms in some specialized field of knowledge. This knowledge base glossary provides a collection of knowledge base documents that define many technical terms. These terms are arranged alphabetically, but you can quickly jump to a specific term by selecting its first letter from the index of the knowledge base glossary below.

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Keyword

Term
Land Use (Or Use)
The types of buildings and activities existing in an area or on a specific site. Land use is to be distinguished from zoning, the latter being the regulation of existing and future land uses.
Landscape Manual
Part of the County Zoning Ordinance, its purpose is to enhance the appearance of the County by improving the quality of landscaping, buffering and screening. The manual establishes minimum mandatory standards and provides options that will allow approval of alternative methods of compliance.
Level Of Service (Los)
a. A set of operating conditions describing the ability of a road network to handle traffic. Level A specifies the best traffic conditions; Level F indicates gridlock. b. The adequacy of the road and street network in the county transportation system is generally measured and expressed in terms of its LOS. Each level of service is one in a hierarchy of indices that evaluate the level and severity of automotive traffic congestion on a specific road segment or at specific intersections. The General Plan recommends the minimum acceptable LOS by Tier.
Light Rail
A transit mode that typically is an electric railway with a light volume traffic capacity compared to heavy rail (HR). It is characterized by: • Passenger rail cars operating singly (or in short, usually two car, trains) on fixed rails in shared or exclusive right-of-way (ROW); • Low or high platform loading; and • Vehicle power drawn from an overhead electric line via a trolley or a pantograph. (U.S. Federal Transit Administration, National Transit Database Glossary, https://www.transit.dot.gov/ntd/national-transit-database-ntd-glossary.) The Purple Line is a LIGHT RAIL system.
Light Spill-Over
Light from nonnatural sources that covers areas beyond that needed for the lighting use or that trespasses onto another person’s property.
Local Transit Center
Smaller-scale, mixed-use centers that are well connected by transit. Many of these areas are integrated with an established street grid and offer local-serving retail and limited office uses. (See Plan 2035, p. 108.)