A Few Words About Zoning

Proper zoning and approved plans must be in place prior to getting a building permit

The first step in the process of building the home or small commercial building of your dreams is the piece of property that you will build on.  Whether you already own the parcel or are shopping for the property several things must be considered.

Most cities and counties have zoning ordinances which control how certain pieces of property can be utilized.  The zoning categories may look something like this; single-family residential, multifamily residential, commercial, light industrial, heavy industrial and agricultural.  In addition, the property zoning ordinances may specify building heights, distance from property lines and roads, property access, landscaping, water run off, and more. 

Rural areas are generally less restrictive than urban areas.  However, many counties have instituted minimum size requirements for a property containing one single-family home.  For example a five-acre minimum is common where I live.  Driveway access to rural roads is typically controlled as well.  Township roads are usually the least controlled, next being County roads, and State highways are typically highly regulated.  Our driveway is on a Township Road which made me think that the permit would be easy.  To my surprise the road commissioner denied our first request for a driveway location.  We contested this through the County engineer and persistence finally paid off.  They finally gave up and let us put our driveway wherever we wanted.

In rural areas zoning also covers location of wells and septic systems in relation to each other and to the building.  Many times as property gets annexed into cities existing wells and septic systems fall under grandfather clauses.  Also, special use can fall under a grandfather clause.  Never take for granted that zoning can be changed or that you can obtain a variance for your intended purpose.  We were involved in the purchase of a small rural airport.  During the process of the sale, we found that the special use permit allowing the land to be used as an airport was automatically voided if the land transferred ownership!  Do your homework!  It is possible to purchase a piece of land and not be able to use it for your intended purpose even if that's the purpose it's currently being used for!!

Urban areas present their own set of challenges.  Typically, there are more layers of bureaucracy to deal with and zoning is much more restrictive.  On the upside, there are usually more services in a city then rural areas.  City water and sewer are taken for granted in cities but are nonexistent in rural areas.  Close proximity of fire and police departments helps to lower insurance rates.  If you are building in a city, things such as noise levels and traffic may be important to you.  We had a client who never bothered to notice how busy the road his house was on until he moved in!  Once again, do your homework!  Another word of caution; there are lots in most cities that are not buildable because of changing zoning restrictions and building codes.  Don’t be fooled by the low price of a lot to find that it is not possible (or practical) to build on it. 

Before you can hire an architect, draw up plans and present them to contractors for bidding you must first have a properly zoned parcel to build on.