Property Zoning and Building Usage?

[DusterRT]

I am going to guess that this sort of information varies by where specifically something is built, but I'm wondering about commercial vs. residential building, home vs. garage, etc.

Let's say I buy a piece of property, and then build a shop on it (like a steel building or pole barn, etc). I build it with a loft/apartment type of deal above the shop and live there. Would this be considered commercial, since the shop will compose most of the square footage? I frequently see people mention building restrictions where the garage cannot exceed 50% of the house square footage; is this what separates residential and commercial?

Could I just say I have an extremely large living room with a concrete floor, 220 outlets, really big doors and a lift?

What would happen if I build said shop in a residential area, and then decide to run a business out of it? Can you build a shop on a commercial property and live on it? Or farming-zoned property?

I'm probably moving to the southwest soon, and I'm trying to get an idea of what kind of property I should look out for (farmland, commercial, residential, multi-use, etc).

Specific answers might be difficult, but if something generally holds true, I'd like to hear it...thanks,

Travis (currently garage-deprived)

 

[bmwpower]

I'm not certain, but I'm subscribing to find out for sure.

I would image this is going to vary as you move from area to area, which is going to make it hard for you to determine what the restrictions will be until you move to that particular place. I would also think that these sort of variances are probably some of the harder to get since residents usually do not like to hear the word "commercial" being used to describe the areas near their houses...at least that's the way it is up here.

 

[MetalMangler]

Travis -

As you and bmwpower already mentioned, it is going to vary from area to area. I'm in the Northeast so I know absolutely nothing about the Southwest. (That isn't going to stop me from weighing in however! )

The 2 biggest factors are going to be neighbors (Homeowner organizations, deed restrictions, etc) and the local political establishment. Deed restrictions are probably going to be highly localized, so you'll find out about those when you start looking seriously at a given property. The local political establishment is going to be more generalized, so a little easier to check into. I live in a small town, and excepting for some weird hours, the folks running the town are quite approachable. (This does not mean they'll give you the answers you want, just that you can go in and ask them.) And that's what I would do. Walk in (or make an appointment), and say... I'm looking to do X. If I got some <Rural, Farm, Etc> zoned property and wanted to build my concrete playroom, do you see any major problems? Would that be consistent with the zoning, or do you think I'm going to need a variance? If I at some point wanted to turn my hobby into a business, would that be covered, or again, do you think I'd need a variance? Do you think I would be better off going for the variance right from the start, or cross that bridge when I come to it?

I usually make it clear that I'm not trying to get them to approve anything up front, sight unseen... I'm just looking for info... I also let them know I'm not going to come back later and say "You said I could do this". I'm looking for them to give me their best estimate. I'm looking for information, not approvals. And since they are frequently involved in the approval process, having them involved from the start can help.

Also, if the person is a PITA at this stage, you can probably expect that you'll either have to win them over (are you charming enough?), or that you're gonna have heatburn every time you need to hit the office for your next inspection, plan approval, etc.

I've had good luck in my area, but that was sheer luck rather than prior planning. But finding friendly local officials (or making them friends) can definitely ease things when it gets time to plunk money down on the barrelhead.

MM

 

[snorvet]

Travis,

It varies, but sometimes residential uses are acceptable in a commercial zone. Very seldom is a commercial use ok in a residential zone. A lot of building codes/zoning ordinances are online now, so that would be a good place to start

 

[Alistair]

Try the country website for wherever you're planning to move. Fairfax County in VA has a pretty extensive list of zoning ordinances and suchlike (not easy to find what you want, as there is almost too much info).

You can expect strict limits on the number of non-resident employees in a residential area. Usually residential zones limit hazardous materials (including many automotive chemicals and lubricants).

 

[twostory]

In my county (in Georgia), my detached garage building has to be smaller in square feet than the house. My house is 2,800 sq ft (two story house) the garage is 2,200 sq ft (two story) The foot print does not matter, but the floor area did.

My property is residential, so the detached garage is strictly for "hobby", that is the magic word to put on your application. I am not allowed to run a business out of the garage, nor am I allowed to have living space in the garage (a garage apartment set up). I plan on having a sink & toilet intially, but will put a full bath in upstair after the CO is issued and the county is gone. Try to do as little as possible to get you CO. Then do all the nice features later, this will make life easier. The less the county knows, the better your life will be.

The local county controls and issues the building permit, that is were to get you infomation, as it will vary everywhere in the USA.

 

[DusterRT]

Thanks guys..

Yeah, I had been running into the issue of having too much available information on the web..I don't know where to start looking! I guess I'll just have to sit down, pick an area, and dig until I find something resembling what I'm looking for.

Travis

 

[imported_banzaitoyota]

the best place to dig is your LOCAL zoning and building permit office