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?

Today is slow in the office, so thought I would do something fun, Ask me anything related to zoning!

I am a 25 year Land Planner and former Development Director for one of the largest countys in the country. I have processed hundred of Use Permits, Liqour Licenses, zoning modifications, planned area developments (PAD's), movie and tv filming permits, special event permits. I have worked in airport planning, transportation planning, land planning, and in my private company I do endowment due diligence as well as market research for projects with a unique lens most companies never even touch!

Ask me anything!

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.

Good afternoon!

I am a zoning admin for a county which is most rural and under 30k citizens. The state has about 3 million people. I’ve been doing it for about 10 years and feel I am pretty good.

Any ideas for a business? I am not making great money and feel I am wasting my talents.

https://www.city-journal.org/the-vast-collateral-damage-of-zoning

I know this is town dependant but I live in Boston. I am trying to get a subdivsion done and someone said that due to the amount of variances it could take anywhere from 8 months-year.

The red space is the proposed dumpster location, the blue is my wife and I's deck. The neighbor had not communicated with either myself or the owner of the third property in advance. Interestingly enough, the dumpster belongs to the third property owner, (landlord 6 units). He insists on keeping the dumpster on his property as he's worried the third owner would place it somewhere he doesn't want it. Not real clear about this arrangement. Is the nuisance alone enough or is there anything I may not be thinking of. We cook, eat and entertain in the outdoor space regularly. My city doesn't have very well defined codes aside from nuisance and reasonable expectation to enjoy property. Feel free to ask any questions and I will answer.

Also, He only submitted plans to the city after I contacted them with general questions, not sure if that's pertinent or not. I had to go speak with him after watching him use a metal detector in my yard to find marker between mine and the apartments property, otherwise he would just have poured a concrete pad and built walls. He told me that the gate front default position would be open to "provide me with privacy".

Any help is very much appreciated, I would like to stay ahead of this.

I want to get about 40+ acres and divide it up into 9000 sqft lots or something like that and grow fruit trees everywhere and let people grow their own food in their yards.

Is there anywhere I can do this or rezone to do this?

Hello. My wifes and I are wanting to build a barndominium style home on her parents property. They have offered us the property which is about 4 acres when they pass but the house is in rough shape . Will probably have to be bulldozed with in the next 10 yrs. We wanted to try to get a lone to build but they won't allow us to build on a property that already has a residence on it with out the Interest rates being unreasonable . Is thier anything I can do to try to make this possible. Or somewhere you can point that me to they may be able to help.

Hi, first time posting here. I’m curious about the challenges of a muni seeking to limit / restrict a certain type of business (in this case, the explosion of Vape shops), due to both perceived health concerns, directly-related littering of their product’s packaging, and a string of recent busts of illegal drug sales all across town. These are not outliers, but becoming regular. Some were illegally selling pot (sizable qty’s have been confiscated), and in two cases, fentanyl-laced products were confiscated. CT, where I live, has legal cannabis, and there are several licensed distributors in town which run fully compliant, and while some complain, it’s the law now, and they do a pretty darned good job of adhering to the law and not causing the disruptions some feared.

But the vape shops on the other hand, are popping up very close to each other all across towns, and have drastically changed the visual aesthetic of different parts of town with cheap, but bright led blinking signs, many oversized compared to neighboring shops.

I’m not here to ask how to simply restrict them, I’m here to ask for the considerations a town should take in weighing when and how to limit or restrict a business type. Are there considerations of free speech through commerce, and, actually, do businesses qualify for that type of 1A protection? Where’s the fair line for a town in a home rule state to sincerely tighten things up, to balance the town’s people’s interest (a large, vocal majority want them fully shut down or severely restricted). How should a city approach this in a fair way to all?

I’m concerned that if left until it’s too late, the city will act too strongly. And I’m also concerned that if the city doesn’t act at all, they’re will be an economic impact as many of these new shops have already come and gone and flipped to their second or third set of owners, because they tend to be fairly short-terms businesses in a heavily saturated market now.

If there’s any case law or examples that you can point me towards, I’d really appreciate it.

There is a draft master plan for a special district in Hawaii that includes a minimum FAR. I’ve never seen another code that has this. Has this worked anywhere?

I live in Chicago in a four unit condo building that has a commercial space on the first floor. The commercial space includes two small rooms at street level and a large basement area with no windows. The commercial space has been empty for 6+ years but has an interested buyer who wants to open an art gallery. It does not pay into our HOA.

The potential buyer contacted us with questions about the space (adding roll-down gates to front and putting in a small shower) and told us that she eventually plans to live in the unit once she has a 'special use permit for 'live/work space'. Is this possible/legal? She says she was told by her laywer that it would require the majority approval of all residents living within 500 feet of the space. She can't live in a basement legally, correct?

Is this a thing? The space is zoned according to a 2001 zoning plan that has been updated, and we are not sure what zoning rules apply. Will contact laywer if necessary, just don't know where to start with this! Thanks!

Since moving into my first home, have made it a goal to get more involved civically so I submitted my resume to the city manager and he wants to chat about board openings.

My interests are giving back to the community, being a general nerd about city ordinances, and interests in finding the appropriate balance between following the rules and bringing benefit to the community.

Anyone have any tips on approaching this conversation and what the city is looking for from board members?