Article II

PURPOSE OF REGULATIONS

201. Purpose

This Ordinance has been designed as a comprehensive set of regulations dealing with the development of land, providing a single course of regulations for land owners, land developers, citizens and elected and appointed officials of the City of Bedford.

The purposes of this Ordinance are (1) to provide for adequate light, air, convenience of access, and safety from flood and other dangers; (2) to reduce or prevent congestion in the public streets; (3) to facilitate the creation of a convenient, attractive, and harmonious community; (4) to expedite the provision of adequate police and fire protection, disaster, evacuation, civil defense, transportation, water, sewerage, schools, parks, forest, playgrounds, recreational facilities, airports, and other public requirements; (5) to protect against one or more of the following: overcrowding of land, undue density of population in relation to the community facilities existing or available, or loss of life, health, or property from fire, flood, panic, or other dangers; (6) to encourage economic development activities that provide desirable employment and enlarge the tax base; (7) to provide for the orderly development of the community, and for the coordination of streets as to width, location, and drainage; (8) to conserve the value of buildings and encourage the most appropriate use of land throughout the city; and (9) to allow for the provision within the city of a supply of safe, sanitary housing, in suitable residential environments, with a balance and variety of types adapted to the age groups, family structures, and income levels of present and future residents of the city, and in sufficient quantity to meet the needs of those now living or desiring to live within the city.

202. Non-Exclusionary Intent

It is not the intent of this Ordinance to exclude any economic, racial, religious or ethnic group from enjoyment of residence, land ownership, or tenancy within the city; nor is it the intent of this Ordinance to use public powers in any way to promote the separation within the city of economic, racial, religious, or ethnic groups, except as may be the incidental result of meeting the purposes outlined in Section 201 herein.