List every place dossier (per-jurisdiction reading) the observatory publishes. Optionally filter by state. Returns city, state, slug, signal strength, signal direction, and the dossier URL. Use to discover the available place-level coverage before calling describe_place. Phase 12 — renamed from l...
Risk signalsBulk/mass operation — affects multiple targets
Part of the Zoning Signal server.
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AI agents call list_places to retrieve information from Zoning Signal without modifying any data. This is common in research, monitoring, and reporting workflows where the agent needs context before taking action. Because read operations don't change state, they are generally safe to allow without restrictions -- but you may still want rate limits to control API costs.
Even though list_places only reads data, uncontrolled read access can leak sensitive information or rack up API costs. An agent caught in a retry loop could make thousands of calls per minute. A rate limit gives you a safety net without blocking legitimate use.
Read-only tools are safe to allow by default. No rate limit needed unless you want to control costs.
{
"version": "1",
"default": "deny",
"tools": {
"list_places": {}
}
}See the full Zoning Signal policy for all 17 tools.
These attack patterns abuse exactly the kind of access list_places gives an agent. Each links to the full case and the policy that stops it:
Other read tools across the catalogue. The same approach applies to each: allow, with a rate cap to control cost.
List every place dossier (per-jurisdiction reading) the observatory publishes. Optionally filter by state. Returns city, state, slug, signal strength, signal direction, and the dossier URL. Use to discover the available place-level coverage before calling describe_place. Phase 12 — renamed from list_cities to align with the canonical content-type vocabulary (the loader function is getAllContent("place"); URLs are /places/{slug}; the describe tool is describe_place).. It is categorised as a Read tool in the Zoning Signal MCP Server, which means it retrieves data without modifying state.
Register the Zoning Signal MCP server in PolicyLayer and add a rule for list_places: allow, deny, rate-limit, or require approval. Point your MCP client at the PolicyLayer proxy URL and the rule is enforced on every call, before it reaches Zoning Signal. Nothing to install.
list_places is a Read tool with low risk. Read-only tools are generally safe to allow by default.
Yes. Add a rate_limit block to the list_places rule in your PolicyLayer policy. For example, setting max: 10 and window: 60 limits the tool to 10 calls per minute. Rate limits are tracked per agent session and reset automatically.
Set action: deny in the PolicyLayer policy for list_places. The AI agent will receive a policy violation error and cannot call the tool. You can also include a reason field to explain why the tool is blocked.
list_places is provided by the Zoning Signal MCP server (https://zoningsignal.com/mcp). PolicyLayer sits as a proxy in front of this server to enforce policies before tool calls reach the server.
Deterministic rules across all 17 Zoning Signal tools. Per-identity grants. Full audit log. Live in minutes. Nothing to install.
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