Planning Board at www.japanese-home-gardens.com

Somewhat akin to zoning is subdivision control, which is a device for controlling the layout of undivided land. The alignment of streets, the provision of utilities (such as water, sanitary sewers, and storm drainage), the size of lots, provision for parking, and similar matters are controlled by the requirement that each subdivision must have the approval of the planning board before the plan can be filed for record. Both zoning and subdivision control come under the jurisdiction of the planning board. Zoning variations, however, are usually handled by a board of appeals, or adjustment, whose powers are confined to "variation" or "adjustment" within the framework of the zoning law. Actual changes in the law are, of course, a matter of local legislative action, usually upon the recommendation of the planning board.

In a few cities, notably New York City, the planning board reviews the budget of capital expenditures. In New York City the planning commission (the title in that city) actually prepares a five-year capital budget and sends the current year's budget to the board of estimate, which can delete but not add. Such procedure is rare; in general planning boards are limited to review and to making their recommendation or to silence.

The real task of the planning board therefore should be—and is, in those communities where planning is taken seriously—to serve as a research arm to the executive. "Pure" planning, planning according to theory, is a practical impossibility, for every executive decision is weighted by many factors of politics, expediency, finance, and local pressure. A conscientious executive and legislative body, nevertheless, can be assisted greatly in making decisions, if presented with the full implications, city-wide, of the alternatives.