Land Use & Development in North Carolina
Zoning legislation is always a sticking point for local governments and residents alike. Often times residents feel like if they purchased the land they should be allowed to do what they want with it while local governments are attempting to keep things relatively organized so that nothing gets out of hand. After all, no one really wants four sheds built on a neighbor’s lawn that are rented out to other people. There is often a fine line between understandable and excessive in regards to these zoning laws, however, so how are you supposed to know what you can and cannot do on your own property?
Zoning laws are generally created by local governments that determine what use different properties can have. For example, an exclusively residentially zoned area will be an area that can only have private housing while an exclusively commercially zoned area will only allow for businesses. This is why you don’t see a house in the middle of a strip mall and vice versa. While there can be certain exceptions in regards to businesses run out of homes, these are few and far between and often have a lot of legal hoops that need to be jumped through in order for it to occur. This is, of course, not including online only stores.
One of the biggest conflicts that homeowners normally have with zoning boards are things like shed construction. According to the Shed Depot of North Carolina, the Residential Building Code of the state requires permits for any “accessory structure” with a dimension that exceeds 12 feet. This means that if it is longer or taller than 12 feet, you must get a permit for it. Many townships require zoning permits to create or place storage sheds on your lawn, this is certainly not unique to North Carolina. Many places even require you to pay for the permit to place a shed on your property. These prices, naturally, go up depending on how much space you are looking to add to a building. For example, according to the Gaston County website, a “very rough, ball park figure” for the permit for a 1,500 square foot of heated space with a two car garage is around $850. This is in addition to the actual construction costs.
Here at MHC Law, we understand just how frustrating dealing with these kinds of regulations can be. Thankfully, we have a large amount of experience dealing with the zoning laws in our area and can assist you the whole way. Give us a call at 704-864-6751 or use our email tool to let us know what you are trying to accomplish. We want to see your dreams come true, so let us help you get your dream building constructed!
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