Zoning laws ensure that you use real estate for suitable purposes. The municipality, city or county sets the zoning for that area. Different types of zones include residential, commercial, recreational, agricultural, industrial or mixed-use.
Besides dictating which types of buildings can be erected in a specific area, zoning laws may also set other criteria for certain facets of use in the area. This includes things like dictating the parking, signage or building design.
How does zoning impact a company?
Because of the way zoning laws function, there’s a chance that limits restrict what type of business you can place in an area. For example, you might be able to build an office building but not a daycare on a specific lot. Even if the building you’re considering houses a business similar to yours, you must ensure that your company will be able to operate there.
Sometimes, companies can receive a variance. This means that they can operate their business in the intended space even though it’s contrary to the zoning laws. A variance isn’t transferable to another business, so you’d have to secure your own if this is how the previous company operated in the space.
Anyone who’s considering leasing or purchasing real estate for a business should ensure that they can house their company in the intended location. You might have to secure a special permit or a change in the zoning for your location in some cases. Determining all this before you commit to the lease or sale is critical so you don’t end up with real estate that you can’t use.
