In 1931 Charleston enacted an ordinance which designated an "Old and Historic District" administered by a Board of Architectural Review.
Lawrence Rosenthal, the city's deputy corporation counsel, said that the new ordinance -- besides requiring arrests in designated "hot spots" -- requires a police officer to have "a reasonable belief that gang or drug activity is taking place".
In contrast to conditions relating to a federally designated historic district, municipal ordinances governing local historic districts often restrict certain kinds of changes to properties.
Concerned that surfers and other beachgoers might be injured by errant fishing hooks -- two people were hooked this summer -- Councilman Robert Solari drafted an ordinance to prohibit fishing "from any beach designated as a surfing, kayak beach, bathing beach or sailing/catamaran beach".
But residents on Sanford Road -- the only designated scenic road in town since its ordinance was enacted in 1997 -- sued the developer last year because he had planned to widen the dirt lane from 10 feet to 30 feet and put five driveways onto the road.
Charleston city government designated an "Old and Historic District" by local ordinance and created a board of architectural review to oversee it.
Nonetheless, the ordinance states that anyone who possesses a gun within the designated zones "without the written permission of the Borough Police Department" will be subject to the penalties "irrespective of whether such person possesses a valid permit to carry the firearm".
Nearby Evanston passed an ordinance in October that requires some public bathrooms to be designated as gender-neutral.
The court, in striking down the convictions of six people charged under the ordinance, called it "one of the most restrictive municipal laws regulating public spaces in the United States" and cited the example of other cities, like Portland, Ore . Tucson; and Las Vegas, that have enacted similar ordinances but limited enforcement to certain times of day or designated places.
With a balance of growth and preservation in mind, town leaders have enacted ordinances to restrict building above ridge lines while encouraging development in designated areas.
Vancouver, British Columbia, was a pioneer in the late 1980s with ordinances protecting "view corridors" of the city's surrounding mountains from designated intersections and parks.
