Zoning regulations and restrictions are used by municipalities to control and direct the development of property within their borders.
Definition provided by QandA.encyclopedia.com
The separation or division of a municipality into districts, the regulation of buildings and structures in such districts in accordance with their construction and the nature and extent of their use, and the dedication of such districts to particular uses designed to serve the general welfare.
Definition by James Kimmons, About.com guide
Zoning is a legal method for municipalities to control the use of real property in certain specified areas. A zone is created and only certain types of property, or certain uses of properties, are allowed in the zone.
There are over 40,000 local municipalities in the US with their own unique approach to controlling how land is used. Most all will have an updated zoning map outlining the specific zoning classification for each parcel of land within its boundary. Remember, review the zoning map for inaccurate representations of actual development patterns and focus on properties a zoning change would add value and be justified for local politicians to accept.
In the previous section, a land use plan may designate a specific area to be a Residential Use. Within the broad land use of residential, the zoning would be, as an example, single family detached homes on lots with a minimum of 10,000 square feet. In this example, the specific bulk requirements governing the development pattern of each lot would be defined in the zoning ordinance. Each municipality will have its own zoning classification or label for each specific zone and the bulk requirements may differ.
As an example to illustrate rezoning for value, answer these questions:
How much does residential zoned acreage sell for in your area? (before the recession & currently)
How much does commercial zoned property sell for per acre?
How much does it cost to rezone the property from residential to commercial?
What is the time frame to accomplish the rezoning?
Does it make sense from planning, marketing, and financial perspectives to change the zone?
Go to your local planning office or go online and study the zoning map for background knowledge and understanding of the local development patterns. In the future, zoning may become a much more important tool for local government in to controlling development patterns within their boundaries. Please go to my blog post dated September 8th about this topic.
No comments:
Post a Comment