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Anyone know of any good zoning forums?

E

Eddie_23

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Dec 10, 2019
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I know this is more of a building code forum and I tend to only ask zoning questions. lol
 
We have a zoning section but you posted this under commercial building codes. I'll move it to the correct area. If you keep posting, the data will pile up and more activity will ensue.
 
The hard part is that zoning codes are typically unique to that area; therefore, local experts are your best call.
 
Zoning ordinances are so unique to each jurisdiction, and most are "home-grown" -- meaning there is no consistency in language, organization, or zoning classifications. Thus, a national forum would be near useless. It is best to call the city planners directly or get with someone locally who is experienced in working with the local ordinance.
 
Ty J. said:
The hard part is that zoning codes are typically unique to that area; therefore, local experts are your best call.
Click to expand...

I did exactly that and they said since I wasn't running a business and just wanted to store stuff that they wouldnt allow me to build a warehouse. So then I said well then what zone would I need to be in to build a warehouse, store landscape business trailers, and do wood working? He said their wasn't a zone for that and id have to come in a describe in more detail what I wanted to do. I'm not sure if the issue was that their weren't going to be employees working their 5 days a week or if maybe he didn't think I knew what was involved. Or if it was the zoning that was the issue. The lot was zoned for general commercial and I think that is more for retail businesses. Now the question I didn't ask was if it was zoned light industrial then would that be more appropriate for warehouse storage?

They wanted a parking lot with parking spaces, an office up front, a water detention pond etc which was fine by me. If I build a warehouse building up to their standards and specifications, who cares if I'm just using it for personal storage/hobby shop.

So if I buy a warehouse already built are they going to say you can't store your boat, three landscape trailers, mowers and a bunch of commercial grade wood working equipment to use as a hobby still? I didn't ask that question. I think if I found a warehouse zoned light industrial then it wouldn't matter what I did inside.

In the end he did kind of say I could do that if I wanted, but I was quite brainwashed after all that, so I'll probably just find a property that is already built cause to talk to someone on the phone for 30 minutes being totally upfront about your intentions and then still not really get a solid yes or no to your question is ridiculous.
 
To summarize what i just said, anyone see any issues owning a 5000 sq ft warehouse just to store store trailers and do hobby wood working? The idea behind getting an industrial building is to rent it out down the line and use it as an investment. Or maybe even rent out a portion of it right from the beginning. I can't believe the zoning guy stuck his nose up just because I wasn't going to have people working in the warehouse 5 days a week and mainly use it for storage.
 
Eddie_23 said:
To summarize what i just said, anyone see any issues owning a 5000 sq ft warehouse just to store store trailers and do hobby wood working? The idea behind getting an industrial building is to rent it out down the line and use it as an investment. Or maybe even rent out a portion of it right from the beginning. I can't believe the zoning guy stuck his nose up just because I wasn't going to have people working in the warehouse 5 days a week and mainly use it for storage.
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Yep a little funny

I see hobby warehouses a lot either owned or rented.
There is something missing
 
That's the second city nearby me that has told me their isn't a single area in their city that will allow me to build a building just so I can store my stuff.
 
% ~ %

Eddie_23,

IMO, ...I would search online first, the neighboring jurisdictions
and their Zoning Ordinances, to get a feel for their definitions,
their requirements, etc., rather than talking on the telephone.

You mentioned that you want to use \ have a 5,000 sq. ft. bldg.
to store stuff and to perform personal woodworking activities,
and also, that possibly, ...to have the bldg. rented out......These
two desires "may" be two different Zoning requirements.

Respectfully, I recommend that you begin your due diligence
research of gathering & documenting the data......What you
think may be defined as General Commercial or Light Industrial
"may" be defined in that jurisdiction as something different.
As others have mentioned, each jurisdiction will be different in
their Ordinances, possibly their language and their requirements.
Once you have gathered & documented the information from
the jurisdictions you are looking in, then you can present their
information, in their language, to help you.

Also, I respectfully recommend that if you haven't already, ...to
write down your intentions and desires, for your own clarity.......I
have found that what I think I want is sometimes very different
after I have actually written it down and refer back to it later.

I believe that you can find a suitable location for what you are
trying to do, but it is going to take some effort and research to
gather all of the differing information.

Thanks for coming to this Forum !.........We are trying to assist
you! :)

% ~ %
 
Maybe from now on i'll just tell them it's going to be a rental property? Do commercial buildings have city inspectors show up unannounced to see what's inside? Like fire extinguishers and such? Im asking in general, of course every city is different.
 
CDA I don't just drop $250,000 cause I woke up one morning and thought it was a good idea. People who know me know I tend to think on things for a long time, but usually in the end I pull the trigger unlike most who just talk. Also we kind of had a financial crisis with this COVID-19 thing so a lot of people lost a ton of money a few months ago.
 
Eddie_23 said:
Maybe from now on i'll just tell them it's going to be a rental property? Do commercial buildings have city inspectors show up unannounced to see what's inside? Like fire extinguishers and such? Im asking in general, of course every city is different.
Click to expand...

They won't be unannounced but they may have once a year inspections if the have a Fire Code.
Also per the building code you may need sprinklers for woodworking and truck and boat storage.

Can't a realtor help you with this?
 
Eddie- Your zoning classifications seem similar to ours (Commercial General, Industrial Light, etc) so I imagine your municipality used the same example ordinance when they adopted their zoning standards as mine did. It's a crappy ordinance, so I can see why the muni, and you, are having trouble with it. It's really designed for large-ish urban areas, not smaller rural towns. We've been amending ours almost constantly since we adopted it, because we keep finding things in it that don't work for our little town. I guess that's neither here nor there, but please try to remember that your guy you're talking to with your city has a crap hand to deal with with the ordinance he's enforcing.

If you wanted to build your building here, here's a snippet of what our zoning would require: Storage buildings are only permitted in the IL (Industrial Light) or IH (Industrial Heavy) zones. Engineered drawings and site plan required. Concrete, asphalt, or other "dust-free" parking required, which will come with a min. of parking spaces required depending on the size of the building (and don't forget to add 1 space for every required ADA space, because they take 2 spaces). Sidewalks required if on an undeveloped site. Stormwater management required. Screening requirements for dumpsters/outside storage. Lighting requirements for your parking lot. Sustainability requirements, design and façade requirements, etc, etc, etc. It's a decent sized ordeal to build a new building in town. And remember that if you rent out part of the building, it can only be rented to someone who's going to use their portion for a permitted use in the zone, so it'd have to be rented to someone who's also using it for storage, or for manufacturing, warehousing, transportation, or whatever else your town has permitted in that zone.

So that's a whole lot to say that boils down to, your city zoning isn't going to be cost-efficient for you to build a new building that you're not making money on. If I were you I'd either: A) buy an empty parcel in the county or somewhere outside of zoning restrictions or, B) buy a building that's already built that's close enough to what you want that you can make it work. Preferably, again, outside of a zoning jurisdiction.
 
All of our unincorporated non zoned areas are about a 45 minute drive from the house, but yes I think option B is probably the best bet. They want an outrageous amount of money for a steel warehouse around here. The cheapest around Is $400,000-$750,000 for 4000-5000 sqft but I guess after 10 or 15 years it will be worth much more.
 
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