Need Help! Any book good for me to understand zoning ordinance better?

[miser]

I am an international student. I am reading about zoning ordinances and I have trouble understanding some of them. I don't know how to improve my English. For example, it is very hard for me to understand the following:

"If a definitive plan, or a preliminary plan followed within seven months by a definitive plan, is submitted to a planning board for approval under the subdivision control law, and written notice of such submission has been given to the city clerk before the effective date of ordinance, the land shown on such plan shall be governed by the applicable provisions of the zoning ordinance, if any, in effect a the time of the first such submission while such plan or plans are being processed under the subdivision control law, and, if such definitive plan or an amendment thereof is a finally approved, for eight years from the date of the endorsement of such approval, except in the case where such plan was submitted or submitted and approved before January first 1976, for seven years from the date of the first endorsement of such approval."

Does anyone have suggestions for me? I need to learn how to understand such things. Is there any book good for me to start with?

Thank you....

[JNA]

Here is a classic -

Citizen's Guide to Zoning by Herbert H. Smith

[miser]

Here is a classic -

Citizen's Guide to Zoning by Herbert H. Smith

Thank you! I will look for it in the library. In the mean time, I just want to say that I understand most of the jargons in the example I gave. What I can't understand is the way it talks. It confuses me... But I will start from the classic.

[Maister]

One thing I sometimes do when trying to understand some of the very long complex sentences with multiple clauses commonly found in zoning ordinances is to see how the sentence reads when all the various clauses (you know, the parts of the sentence between commas and/or conjunctions) are removed from the sentence and then re-read it again introducing one clause at a time and see how the addition of each clause changes the meaning of the sentence.

"If a definitive plan, or a preliminary plan followed within seven months by a definitive plan, is submitted to a planning board for approval under the subdivision control law, and written notice of such submission has been given to the city clerk before the effective date of ordinance, the land shown on such plan shall be governed by the applicable provisions of the zoning ordinance, if any, in effect at the time of the first such submission while such plan or plans are being processed under the subdivision control law, and, if such definitive plan or an amendment thereof is finally approved, for eight years from the date of the endorsement of such approval, except in the case where such plan was submitted or submitted and approved before January first 1976, for seven years from the date of the first endorsement of such approval."

These types of sentences can be very difficult for even native english speakers to understand. Good luck!

[miser]

One thing I sometimes do when trying to understand some of the very long complex sentences with multiple clauses commonly found in zoning ordinances is to see how the sentence reads when all the various clauses (you know, the parts of the sentence between commas and/or conjunctions) are removed from the sentence and then re-read it again introducing one clause at a time and see how the addition of each clause changes the meaning of the sentence.




These types of sentences can be very difficult for even native english speakers to understand. Good luck!

Wow, this helps a lot! Thank you so much Maister!