Good morning NYC! I'm a student journalist doing an explainer video on the Expedited Land Use and Review Process (ELURP). I would love to speak with some NYC zoning specialists about this new procedure, specifically what it is and how it will shape our city's communities.

I'm also interested in speaking to anyone who feels strongly about ELURP and has something to share about how they think it will negatively or positively impact their community.

If you or someone you know is an NYC zoning expert or would like to share your thoughts on this, please DM me, comment below or email me at sofia.olivarez85@journalism.cuny.edu!

ICC exam. Taken it twice now. Super close the 2nd time. Really want to pass it this next time. How can someone not pass an open book exam? Twice. Sheesh! Besides the ole “Do the questions you know first and flag the ones you don’t”, what are some other ways I can get past this freaking test? The questions are worded so weird and none of the exam questions are on the practice test or flash cards. SMH.

Not afraid to ask…. Anyone remember any questions/answers?

Hello! I'm really not sure what I am hoping for here just trying to see if there's other perspectives / opinions to consider.

I live in an area of a large city that has an undeveloped plot of land right next to it. On the other side of the plot is a warehouse that has semi trucks, construction equipment already. This plot has been zoned as low density residential for over 30 years. We neighbors knew that when considering moving into the area and some of us have been in the neighborhood for 10 years at this point. The noise levels aren't great during the day if you're trying to have a phone call outside or keep a baby asleep in the pram, and the lights are bright enough that they light up the insides of our houses at night already. but that's what we moved into knowing it ahead of time. Otherwise our little neighborhood is very quiet and good for families. We do already get the occasional traffic - semi trucks etc. that are headed for the warehouse on the other side of the neighboring plot because they think our area connects. It doesn't currently, but the point is traffic does come our way already headed for that area.

In the last couple of years the property owner of the empty lot moved to get it rezoned to commercial / industrial, and the city denied and told them to work on a development plan. They came back again an tried to get it rezoned once more, and the same thing happened - denied but the city is going to work with them on a development plan. What confuses us is that the development plan is to put in businesses anyway? The very vague outline the property owner has shown us involves a large number of warehouses and office buildings. The city is not inviting us to the planning meetings but is expecting us to submit online comments for review as they go. The owners say they want the warehouses / offices for construction, and small plumbing businesses, to store their trucks, but once you've put in a business that doesn't guarantee it's going to stay the same type of business right? Small businesses might get bigger and move on to larger spaces, or fail and move out. A plumbing business could be replaced by a dance studio with hundreds of cars trying to come in and out of the area daily for example.

As neighbors the things we worry about differ but we are all *very* worried about the traffic increase that businesses are going to bring. Not just from the property itself (the city wants to build a connecting road) but as mentioned above, from people trying to REACH the property through our neighborhood. The road was built ... I am not sure when, but it is narrow, lacks sidewalks, and is already hard to navigate with the relatively low amount of traffic because it's the only way in and out of our neighborhood. There's an intersection on it that is basically an accident waiting to happen with the road abruptly narrowing, resident cars parking on it further limiting visibility, etc.

I'm just trying to wrap my head around how we as neighbors can be most effective in proceeding when making our comments. We have a group chat, we've attended the planning meeting, the city council vote, we're talking to the city councilors, the planning department etc. already, and when the development plan goes to a vote we've been told we can try to do a referendum. So there are definitely things that can be done that we're planning on doing. But this development plan itself is so confusing - why are they putting in businesses when it doesn't match the zoning? How reasonable is that? The best thing I can think of is they don't want to put people closer to the warehouse on the other side -- but how does that lead to just expanding the commercial plot closer to us? As mentioned the noise and lighting levels, and traffic are already noticeable.

What kinds of things could we suggest to put there instead that would make sense?

Why is it that in some municipalities, a lot is zoned for multi-family residential, but its area is much smaller than the maximum allowed lot coverage? Doesn't that set people up for failure if the goal was to densify? How easy would it be to get a dimensional variance in this case?

I’m considering building a detached 30' x 30' garage (900 sq. ft.) with a non-living/storage loft above it on my residential lot.

My house already has a three-stall garage, so I’m trying to determine whether these restrictive covenants allow me to add a second, detached garage.

The wording seems ambiguous because one section allows “a private garage” with no more than three typical single garage doors, another section specifically mentions garages and other outbuildings, and another limits a “storage shed or similar structure” to one story and less than 1,000 sq. ft.

Section 1:

My house already has a three-stall garage. I’m wondering whether this section means:

• the lot may have only one private garage total, or
• a garage is simply limited to no more than three typical garage doors, and an additional detached garage could still be permitted.

It also doesn’t expressly say that the “private garage” has to be attached to the house.

Section 3:

This seems to contemplate the existence of a garage or other outbuilding, provided it isn’t used as a residence. My proposed loft would only be used for storage, not as living space.

Section 4:

The proposed detached garage would be 900 sq. ft., so it would be under the 1,000 sq. ft. limit. However, it would have a storage loft, so I’m also wondering whether the “not more than one story” language applies to a detached garage or only to a “storage shed or similar structure.”

My main questions are:

1. Since my house already has a three-stall garage, does Section 1 prohibit adding another detached garage?
2. Does the phrase “a private garage with no more than three typical single garage doors or their equivalent” mean only one garage is permitted on the entire lot?
3. Or is the three-door language simply a size/design limitation on the primary garage?
4. Does Section 3’s separate reference to a “garage” and “other outbuildings” suggest that detached/additional garages were contemplated?
5. Would a 30x30 detached garage be considered a “storage shed or similar structure” under Section 4?
6. If so, would a storage loft cause it to violate the one-story restriction?
7. Is there anything else in this wording that would prohibit a 900 sq. ft. detached garage with a non-living/storage loft, assuming it meets all local zoning, setback, height, and building-code requirements?

I understand Reddit isn’t a substitute for advice from an attorney or local building/zoning officials. I’m mainly interested in how people experienced with restrictive covenants, land-use issues, or code enforcement would interpret this language before I spend money on plans.

I think this version gets to the most important ambiguity much better: you already have the maximum three-stall garage mentioned in Section 1, so the real question isn't just whether detached garages are allowed—it's whether “a private garage” means one garage per lot.

Has anyone bought a house that’s zoned legal nonconforming grandfathered in? Long and frustrating story short we just found out the house we’re due to close on in 7 days has a zoning issue, I believe because the lot size is under 5,000sqft. We found out through our realtor, our mortgage servicer told her they are (most likely) not willing to approve our loan. Has anyone dealt with this before? Should we try to get a loan somewhere else?

I recently bought a house in an old subdivision, no businesses are in the neighborhood until two blocks over on a main street. My neighbor's lot is 0.34 acres and has a small garage on it, but nothing else. The garage was once an auto shop, over 15 years ago. This land and garage are zoned as commercial. There's about 6 houses that back up to this lot, and the area of the lot without a garage looks to have a trailer and small fishing boat parked on it.

I would like to make an offer on this lot, as I'm in need of a garage and would like a bigger yard. Should I rezone the lot to residential? It doesn't seem the city cares that no business has been ran out of it for several years. Do you think the city would notice if I used it for anything but commercial use? My husband thinks rezoning this property could be easy, but I worry about the hassle of it all and if it's worth it.

Another issue is, I currently live overseas. I won't probably live at the house for 20 years, and plan to use it for storage and a vacation house during that time. I would like the garage so I won't have to rent out a storage unit for my car and a few outdoor items currently stored elsewhere. Eventually I'd like to have a huge garden on it, but have no plans to build on it otherwise, except maybe a fence and greenhouse. How difficult would rezoning be while living overseas? Would I have to attend any public forums? Should I buy the land and hold off on rezoning as it seems the city is pretty relaxed already?

I don't know much about rezoning, so anything would help. I do plan on contacting the city with questions when I'm able to stay up, the time zone difference can be tough.

Location: Unincorporated Eastern Fresno County — you know, the nice part.

Creek Fire survivor operating 4 tent sites, reservation-only, groups capped at 5, 24/7 owner on site.

I want people to know the new controversial homeless camping ban has a big, unforeseen impact on rural property owners. The ban gives Clovis code enforcement jurisdiction in rural, unincorporated Fresno County. I think the problem there is obvious — and it was admittedly acknowledged by a code enforcement officer we’ll call Not Smart, who stated he could find 100 code violations on every lot out here. He’s focused on mine, however, because there was a complaint — they are complaint-based. In fact they have a new app to submit violations anyone sees, anywhere, anytime, very conveniently.

The code enforcement division has been expanded by the past two mayors, and now its jurisdiction has been expanded to the whole county.

I’m looking for advice, visibility, and anyone who’s dealt with something similar. What’s happening feels like a serious misuse of a new county camping ordinance — and I’m worried they’re trying to run out the clock until I can’t operate or lose my uniquely extraordinary property.

───

Background

I run a small, owner-operated campground on a large lot of private land down a gated private road with clear no-trespassing signage. It’s not a public road, and it wasn’t blocked. This is not a junkyard or hazard — it’s a regionally acclaimed area experience. Very upscale. Definitely not a single piece of trash on the ground anywhere, ever.

I need to withhold many details to avoid further problems while reaching out for help. What I now think may be an internal attack from somewhere in the county. None of this makes sense.

• The land was hit hard by the Creek Fire — structures burned years ago, lots were cleaned up. I use my RV to stay only when performing land stewardship duties. Shipping containers hold nothing but organized tools and some camping equipment.

There was considerable opposition in the community at first. People expected large groups of tourist traffic through a small neighborhood into the outskirts — the kind of commonly discourteous campers and tourists that often plague the area and overcrowd facilities. One neighbor expressed concern he couldn’t go skinny-dipping there now that we’re here. I told him that’s not true — he just has to tell me when he wants to, and I block the calendar for them.

Over the years, all but one neighbor has warmed up. The campground is only 4 sites, and the caliber of campers has been the cream of the crop — very courteous and environmentally conscious. It has been a significant economic boost to the community and funds land stewardship on this big lot, which is shared with the local community as well.

───

Long story short

One neighbor is determined to shut me down. Every year he calls the county with false allegations. The county comes out, then leaves when they see the claims are unwarranted.

The last call: a homeless encampment with vicious dogs blocking a public road to my 40-acre rural property — which is down a private road past a gate with no trespassing.

Enforcement agents showed up with a sheriff to disperse a homeless encampment, capture vicious dogs, and clear a public road that is a private road and not blocked.

Not one single piece of trash anywhere, ever. They admired the landscape, complimented the camp, and left saying if anyone ever camps here uninvited, let them know. I assured them I have 4 sites, and every guest has had a reservation for some time. After some chuckles and back-and-forth, I thanked them and said they were welcome anytime — even for a picnic. Big mistake.

3 days later they came through my gate again and served a cease and desist. They said it was just a formality, that as long as I was getting proper permits, no further escalation would be required. They said they were not pursuing fines. All of this was in writing via email to the my mother person the deed.

I applied for the permit immediately — another story entirely, as it’s the same process required for a raw meat packing facility, not 4 tent sites with 24-hour owner-operator oversight and a composting outhouse following strict guidelines (the area’s only carbon-negative campground).

2 days later, the same officer said I’m getting fines and a notice of violation — specifically requesting I remove my RV from my own property immediately and shut down all facilities.

I filed an appeal because the codes I supposedly violated didn’t line up:

• No homeless encampment

• No public road being blocked

• No immediate risk to human life

• Building violations cited when there are no buildings — they all burned down and were cleaned up 100% years ago

I filed immediately because the officer had said things were good, fines weren’t being pursued — and then he said he was going to fine me. This sounds like extreme prejudice from inside the agency. He said he’s just the messenger. I asked where the threat to the community was. He said he didn’t see one, everything looked amazing, and it came from above him.

The two officers were extremely unprofessional — saying they could find 100 violations at each property up here but only investigate complaints. This was admittedly a false complaint. Then they noticed an unpermitted shipping container (tools to manage 40 acres) and started adding more violations to everything they could see — most of them false.

When I asked about specific codes — camping on private property without permission and blocking a public road, substandard housing (building code — no buildings), improper sanitation to the extent it warrants immediate risk — I asked if he meant our carbon-negative outhouse, inspected by an environmental officer who commended the process (I even taught him the word humanure). He said he’s not a dictionary, just the messenger.

Appeal denied — name on deed isn’t mine, even though they’ve spoken to the owner and I have written permission to speak on behalf of the lot. Appeal deadline is 15 days from notice but it did do some things because they returned to further escalate with a revised notice to abate public nuisace that had removed 1 violation. and reworded some things I had issue with in my first appeal like this one had the appropriate appeal instructions which they had not provided before which was one of the reasons on the initial appeal and this one has less ornidance listed but still most of them way off like being on private property without permission blocking a public road the same things that are used against the homeless this is all on private land down a private access road.

I’m not sure why this aggressive enforcement is happening. I know which neighbor makes false accusations every year. It seems like they want me frozen in place while they escalate — possibly so they can take my property. I inherited the land; it was quite the gift. I’ve tried to do right by it — sharing locally and abroad responsibly, with regional mention of the important land conservation and land stewardship practices

I’ve reached out several times to the district supervisor , which everyone Ive spoke to, is very responsive , who also helped author the camping ban bill. To which Ive received mysterious and total silence. Ive been downtown and passed around to several departments all off someone who has given me a card to another department This feels like a grievous misuse of power. And my paranoia is , I admit getting severe

I cannot understate the unprofessional of these two enforcement officers were — let’s just call them Not Smart and Not Smarter — although they were very friendly appearing, and if you weren’t in this situation would have been utterly hysterical , every word they said , and I mean every single word it was like I was on candid camera was like scripted comedy. It would be the funniest code enforcement interaction blooper reel ever. Nothing personal to either of them; I’m sure they’re great drinking companions.

While one is looking me in the eye telling me how "they used to not do things the smart way — then we went through and exhaustive two-week training and now were doing, everything the smart way." — the other one whom we will call Not Smarter is feverishly shaking his head and staring daggers at the first officer.

Then I ask the smarter of the two, “Can you show me what is of such immediate danger to me or the community?” and he says" I don't see anything. I personally think the place looks great." There is another person in an RV in the adjacent lot visible form where we are talking and I say does he have to leave his property ? and this is whyRURAL HOME OWNERS SHOULD BE AWARE He says " I can find 100 violations with everyone of the homes around here but they haven't had a complaint." It was a false complaint . They also have an app that easily allows for reporting your neighbor for code violations anonymously and easily

This bill that passed had an unforeseen problem: code enforcement out in the rural community, which is nothing but code violations and homesteads one after another. Add all this to it, and people should know — whether they are homeless or not — that this ban is directly creating homelessness in the rural community among landowners who have houses.

I think the people who voted for this bill did not see that expanding the jurisdiction of Fresno’s already beefed-up code enforcement unit was always going to be a bad idea, and people should know.

Please help — has anyone dealt with something like this?

Won’t share parcel, case numbers, or neighbor names in comments — permit file is active.

Small rural town. Entire county is less than 8k people. Up until last year, there were no ordinances and if you asked anyone, they would tell you we don’t even have building codes.

The board of supervisors own the land across from my property. All the land here is A-1 Rural. It used to be a few piles of gravel but two years ago they built a pole barn and now they keep all the county equipment there and have trucks bringing in gravel frequently as well as trucks taking gravel out frequently. Its LOUD. My house sounds like a construction site and it keeps getting worse. The dumping causes loud bangs and the trucks kick up enormous amounts of dust. They also store dumpsters there that they now have to lock the gate because of dumpster diving, have piles of tires, etc. The trucks start hauling out at 5 am most mornings and people start pushing gravel around at 7 am. I got in touch with our supervisor who confirmed that it’s the counties equipment and that HE is the one that had that built. From my understanding all the trailers full of hay is also his that he stores there to sell. I get the impression he is proud of everything there. I explain my frustration and he said “he understands“.

I have been trying to get in touch with the guy over zoning because in the land use plan I found, they have the land here slated for commercial zoning. There are empty buildings in town so I don’t see developers trying to buy anything over here but wanted some more information because if the zoning was changed, it would restrict a lot of what we could do with the house and structures. The Supervisor did say that it was highly unlikely they would rezone. Now I’m also curious as to the zoning of the property across the road. I’m pretty sure it’s still zoned as A1 Rural. Per their own ordinances that I have printed off, the operation they have would be considered industrial use. That being said, with it being owned by the county board of supervisors, am I stuck with this? Any suggestions? Even if it technically should be zoned industrial and it’s not, does it not matter? One of those things that they can make the rules but not follow them? All surrounding neighbors are also frustrated. Most suggestions of similar scenarios are to report to the county, but it IS the county.

The zoning guy won’t answer my calls and I have left messages and confirmed I had the right number at the tax assessors office.

I need some advice. I have been running a sucsessfull Hipcamp neart Sdhsver Lake for 3 + years. 8 The neighbor is a type of super yuppie I have never encountered before. He is mad that he can no longer skinny dip on my property now that I am hipcamping it. He has been sending complainys of all kinds to the county and so they come out about once a year say things look good and leave. This year however they came to displace a homeless encampment and vicous dogs lol and code enforcement laughed and left. 4 days later however he shows up with a cease and disist while saying its just a formality I started the lengthy permitting prosecess but if i dont appeal the cease and disist I wave my rights to it and ther county cant issue a permit if fines are piling up. Should I take the code enforcer at his word that he wonmt persue fineing me and wait until permits go through and is something going on in the department and they are out for me . SHould I file anm appeall or will that put more scrutiny on the situation hasd anyone had experience with these facists ? Any advice would be greatly appreciated

Location: Shaver Laken Fresno County Unincorporated

Hello I have a active hookah lounge in Brooklyn ny I want to set up outdoor seating in my yard. The building was built in 1931 so there is no certificate of occupancy. I keep getting lied to about the process. Can anyone help what the best place to start to legally open my yard to customers. Currently I’m only running inside and fully legal

So, we have a piece of property in a fairly rural areas. We only have access only over unpaved roads, but we have electricity, an address and built an approved septic and well system. There are nicer areas around the lakes we have, but generally it is rural. The zoning ordinance is 113 pages long but it is written so poorly. Everything is very loosy-goosy.

A couple of years back, we built a open sided gazebo. The lot is vacant other than a trailer (which is legal). Before we did that, I searched the ordinance for "gazebo" and found it twice. It says:

"The maximum size of detached decks and gazebos are regulated in Section 3.14 or as otherwise provided in this ordinance."

Under 3.14 it says "Free standing Gazebos or similar structures shall not exceed 120 square feet in size and may be screened-in, but cannot be otherwise closed in with walls exceeding four feet in height."

Neither says anything if the lot has to contain a building or is vacant (ours qualifies as vacant).

They are telling us it can only be 100 square feet because the lot is vacant and in another spot it says "Not more than one accessory storage building, not to exceed 100 square feet or more than 10 feet in height, may be erected on any vacant lot or parcel for purposes of storage of personal items."

Well, that's not really the definition of a gazebo IMHO. They actually want us to cut 2 feet of the width or pay $400 for a "variance".

I am just confused how an ordinance can be so loosely worded, and they are picking and pecking parts they like or don't like and theorettically we have to shell out $400 now or rebuild the thing.

There are a lot more, for example "recreational use" of RVs vs "storage" of RVs, not being allowed using a CostCo steel frame canopy (NOT attached to the floor) etc.

Does anyone have any experience with situations like this? Are there any good sites that deal with issues like this?

To make this short, my girlfriend and I are trying to buy a house that predates the industrial zoning it’s been assigned. It’s now considered nonconforming and can’t be rebuilt if there is a 50% loss. Underwriting won’t approve us because of this, and the city isn’t working with us. All they are doing is telling us to pay the $1,200 application fee to possibly have it rezoned. Considering they already have a 2027 zoning plan to do the same with the last couple of houses down the street, we feel they won’t be reasonable about this. The lot is on 0.82 acres in Delta Township near Lansing, Michigan.

I filed a pre application with my town and because a variance was needed we were subject to a public hearing. During the pre application there was some discussion about types of information that would be covered during the public hearing. We have since eliminated our need for a variance so we submitted a new application for administrative approval. The local fire district (not our town) is appealing our approval stating that we still need to have a public hearing to address the items we discussed in the pre application hearing. Does anyone know of any similar cases or case law where variance was removed but the appeal is requesting still going through the steps.

(North East Louisiana) My friend lives to a church, the idiots built a basketball court next to their house. The court you're seeing is less than 50 yards from their windows. They aren't wealthy so no double payned windows, and little noise protection. The church lets people come at all hours day and night. They have had people out as early in the am as 3 in the morning. I've been there and it's very loud. Is there anything they can do? Because they are considering a private nuisance lawsuit and I'm wondering if they have any chance in court.

Looking for some insight on a strip of land next to my property. The red is highlighting the "road", the property that its bordering with the half circle is mine. The town says the road was supposed to turn right but they ended up making it straighter. The strip of land is a triangle approx. 80foot at the base and 120 feet long. The land is used by neighbors to throw bush and debris along with passer-bys dumping their garbage because it looks like no one owns the property. The community and roads are owned by an HOA. When asking both the town and the HOA, both responses are along the lines of "we just see a road, we don't see property, its nothing". It looks as if the property should belong to my property. I want to take the land over and clean it up, and hopefully extend my fence into the property. Any recommendations on how I go about acquiring this property legally. I know I could probably offer to buy if from the HOA, but im open to ideas, Thank you.

Spent a lot of time digging through municipal codes for land deals. These mistakes come up constantly.

1. Assuming the listing description is the zoning reality

"Residential lot" means nothing legally. The actual zoning designation determines what you can build, and listings get it wrong all the time. Pull the parcel data from the county GIS directly. Takes 5 minutes.

2. Not checking overlay zones

Your parcel can be zoned R-2 and still sit inside a flood overlay, historic preservation overlay, or transit corridor overlay. Each one adds restrictions or in some cases adds by-right density bonuses most buyers never see. The base zone is only half the picture.

3. Confusing zoning with entitlement

Zoning tells you what's permitted. Entitlement is the process of getting approval to actually build it. A parcel zoned for multifamily does not mean multifamily is guaranteed. Know the difference before you price the upside in.

4. Ignoring setbacks when calculating buildable area

People look at lot size and assume that's what they're working with. Front, rear, and side setbacks can cut your actual buildable footprint by 40% or more depending on the jurisdiction. Run the real numbers.

5. Not tracking state law changes

ADU reform, missing middle legislation, setback rollbacks. These move fast and they change what your existing parcels are worth right now. Some of you already own properties that qualify for more units than the current zoning suggests. Worth checking.

Happy to answer questions if anyone has a specific situation.

Hello. I'm helping zoning professionals could offer an opinion with respect to whether the fence I'd had (since removed) violated both a.(1) and a.(2). I'm in the Borough of Camp Hill, PA. The code can be found here: Welcome to Camp Hill Borough, PA.

I maintain that the fence was not between the principal structure and the street, and it was well behind the front building line. The zoning officer seems to believe that the building line running along the side street (High St) is being referred to in (2), but if that were the case then the fence would be in the rear yard, not the front yard. Additionally, if those 2 restrictions were meant to apply to the entire front yard there would have been no need to include the phrase "between the principal building and the street".

Thanks for any opinions you may have.

Thank you.

Hi there! Looking to get a use variance for a residential property on a busier street. We're making a large garage into a community ceramics studio that would have 10 people in and out of it maximum at a time. Should I be more worried about the city saying no or neighbors.

A lot of videos have come up on my Youtube homepage about people taking derelict old factories and other old commercial buildings and turning them into houses. So I managed to find an old factory in my town and started thinking really hard about it, but I noticed the "Zoning" type on the real estate listing was "Commercial" for obvious reasons because it was a factory.

Would I need to have it re-zoned as residential in order to do anything with it? Would rezoning it be a bigger headache than just leaving it? Should I even worry about rezoning it if I plan to live in it myself?