Land-Use Planning/Zoning

When you purchase land or plan to, you have a use in mind. This can be to transform it into a place of business, a place to rent out to others, or a new place for you or someone else to live. No matter the project, you need a land-use planning attorney to help you through it. All real estate projects in residential areas in Tennessee have to abide by zoning laws. If you violate a zoning law, land-use planning attorneys may need to become your zoning law attorneys as well.

If you have a plot of land that you want to purchase or have purchased with intention, contact the land-use planning and zoning law attorneys at Tressler & Associates. We’ll make sure your plans follow the letter of the law.

What is Zoning and What are Zoning Laws?

Zoning is a planning tool used around the country. It divides land inside a statutory area of the local authority into sections. These sections can contain towns, cities, and various types of development. This regulates residential environments and the real estate markets in the area. To enforce the zoning of an area, Tennessee and many other states have zoning laws. Zoning laws set rules on things like:

• What areas can hold residential living spaces.
• What areas can hold offices and commercial businesses.
• Whether or not a place can hold domesticated hens.
• Whether or not there are special exceptions for certain types of businesses in residential areas like rural beds and breakfasts.
• What religious and community supporting institutions are allowed in the community.
• Whether or not someone can offer short-term rentals out of their home.

A zoning law attorney can help you discover whether or not your plans are compliant. If they’re not and you try to move forward, you can face steep fines and lose control of your property.

What Restrictions Can a Land-use Planning Attorney Look Out For?

Restrictions set by zoning laws extend further beyond what types of businesses and residencies can be in a neighborhood. Zoning laws also extend their reach over the physical make of a town and how buildings in them should be built. Laws in zoned districts have the power to:

• Determine what types of buildings are permitted in the zone.
• Determine the location of utility lines for services like electricity and plumbing.
• Set restrictions on how the zone builds setbacks from boundaries, such as streets.
• Set restrictions on the size and height of buildings being built in the zone.
• Determine the number of rooms a building can have based on its size and height.
• Determine how large yards should be in correlation to the size of the property and house.
• Set restrictions on the parking situation, where the driveway should, and if people can park on the streetside.

How Can This Affect Your Land-use Planning?

These restrictions may seem like easy issues to avoid, or issues you’ll avoid naturally, but it’s also just as easy to miss. If you buy property in a residential area to build a business for the potentially underserved consumers there, no one will tell you that you can’t until you’ve broken the law.

Neighbors and property sellers are not going to know your plans. Assuming they know the law themselves, this means they have no reason to inform you, and city officials have no reason to do so until you’ve broken the zoning laws.

Another example in a residential situation would be if you’re planning to build a home or a residential building. Zoning laws require that it match the specific size, height, and room number requirements. A contractor for the development should inform you whether your plans are legal, but a land-use planning attorney will inform you of what you can do before you buy the property.

Not having a land-use planning and zoning law attorney puts not only your property at risk but the funds you have or already used for them.

Contact the Land-Use Planning & Zoning Law Attorneys at Tressler & Associates

Local government regulations can be just as restrictive and damaging to your real estate ventures as federal and state laws. To protect yourself and the money you have for your real estate ventures, you should have a real estate attorney with experience in land-use planning and zoning law. Not doing so puts yourself at needless risk. Contact Tressler & Associates for help and representation.