Types and intensities of land use in karst terrain directly impact the frequency and extent of subsidence, flooding and other hazards. Land use regulation generally falls to local governments in the United States. Karst considerations frequently escape scrutiny in these regulations. However, many localities do regulate land use in karst areas to minimize the possible adverse impacts of development in karst terrain. The major tools for local land use regulation to minimize development impacts in karst include the comprehensive plan, the zoning ordinance, the overlay zone, and the subdivision ordinance. Education of government officials and the public, along with collection, storage and mapping of data, facilitate and enhance local regulation. Present land use regulation of karst impacts across the country commonly utilizes buffer areas, performance standards and study requirements within the main land use tools. The author recently conducted a survey of local governments in Virginia and West Virginia to ascertain the land use practices, if any, those local governments. The results show that these local governments generally fail to regulate land use to prevent karst hazards. Local governments should proactively regulate the land use impacts of development in karst terrain to reduce the costs and hazards of uncontrolled development.