Opinion ID: 1309720
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: does the term neighborhood as used in the zoning ordinance encompass an area including two differently zoned districts, with an interstate highway dividing them?

Text: The term neighborhood, as defined by Black's Law Dictionary, 5th Ed., is a a place near; an adjoining or surrounding district; a more immediate vicinity. This signifies nearness as opposed to remoteness, connoting a congeries of local interests arising from a problem confined to a limited area. Cloverleaf Kennel Club v. Bd. of County Com'rs., 136 Colo. 441, 319 P.2d 487, 489 (1957). Hence, the boundaries of a given neighborhood are not determined solely by linear footage. Rather, many factors must be considered, such as geography, terrain, and barriers, both God-made and man-made. See, Hicks v. Capra, 160 Colo. 248, 416 P.2d 362 (1966). In the present case, the proposed site is immediately north of downtown Tulsa, within the inner dispersal loop, between the Burlington Northern right-of-way and I-244 on the north and west. It is surrounded on three sides by commercial high intensity zoning and on one side by the interstate. The district court, however, based its decision on the possible effects of the Center on an area north of the expressway, zoned primarily Residential. This area north of I-244 does not fall within the definition of neighborhood. Limited to the situation in this case, the expressway serves as a man-made barrier or buffer zone between the site and the residential area north of the expressway. Therefore, the only neighborhood to be considered is the CH-zoned area south of I-244, in the immediate vicinity of the proposed site.