In most county and city governments, the land use process is one that will allow for some basic decisions to be made at staff levels, with higher levels of review in the form of public hearings required for larger scale projects, or proposals that deviate too far from the established standards for a given development. The public hearings require notice to clearly affected nearby property owners and an opportunity for evidence to be presented by the petitioner, the planning department and defined affected person or groups, so a panel or magistrate can weigh the evidence and make a decision.  Often times, the clearly affected nearby property owners and/or community associations are referred to as NIMBY’s (“not in my back yard”) in an effort to create a negative perception or connotation associated with those in opposition to growth or change.    Read the article……………………..