Full question:
The man at the end of the street I live on wants to be rezoned to commercial. What effect will this have on the dozen or so residents that live within 300 ft of this property? We are required to go to meetings about this and state our reasons for saying no to the rezoning.
- Category: Government
- Subcategory: Zoning
- Date:
- State: Texas
Answer:
Sometimes whether a rezoning is allowed or not depends on politics.
But there are regulations about rezoning and when it should be allowed.
Sometimes people wanting to have a rezoning request denied will retain an attorney to represent them.
Likewise, sometimes the applicant is represented by an attorney and sometimes not.
At the hearing on the rezoning, the applicant will present his reasons for requesting the rezoning.
People for and opposing the rezoning should also be given an opportunity to present their reasons to favor or not favor the request.
The side with the most people is sometimes favored, sometimes not.
It is also wise to present for the record a written opposition to the request.
Reasons to deny can include many reasons but below are some of the reasons or considerations are below.
--No reasonble justification or reason has been stated by the applicant to support the rezoning.
--There are no clear plans for the property.
--The rezoning would devalue the surronding property.
This could be testified to by an appraiser who believed this.
--The area has not changed from it's residential use and rezoning to commercial would not be reasonable due to lack of change in the area.
--Negative impact on surrounding property such as traffic, etc.
--The proposed rezoning would not be compatible with the area.
--Many other reasons and factors.
The zoning ordinance should state what factors are to be considered and each factor could be addressed.
If stating objections you need to present facts, not general statements.
For example, in the above example it may not be sufficient to say that values will be effected unless you state specifically why and having an expert appraiser testify could be used to support this.
This content is for informational purposes only and is not legal advice. Legal statutes mentioned reflect the law at the time the content was written and may no longer be current. Always verify the latest version of the law before relying on it.
