Fontana Zoning Attorney

Find the right Zoning Planning & Land Use attorney in Fontana, CA

Zoning Planning & Land Use Law in California

The laws controlling how land can and cannot be used in Fontana, California are fairly complicated, and can be confusing to laypersons. This should provide a basic overview.

"Zoning" is the process by which a local government makes laws determining how individual pieces of land within its jurisdiction can be used. Typically, towns or cities are segmented off into "zones," each one being designated for a specific type of use. Examples of typical zoning categories are single family residence, commercial, multi-unit housing, or industrial.

Local governments have various different reasons for enacting zoning laws, ranging from ensuring that residential areas are peaceful and quiet, to safeguarding property values. For instance, most people wouldn't buy a home in a neighborhood where they knew it was possible for a neighbor to turn their house into a factory.

Zoning laws don't exist just to protect residential use - it also protects persons who engage in other types of use of land, by making sure that they are able to do their business, without bothering neighboring landowners, and thereby preventing legal disputes.

Possible Outcomes of Boundary and Title Disputes in Fontana, California

Suppose you find that some condition on your land is in violation of Fontana, California's zoning laws. In cases like this, you have quite a few avenues.

It should be clear, however, that the ideal solution is to just fix any condition on your property which is in violation of a local zoning law. If the violation is not significant, and correcting it won't considerably interfere with your use of your property, this is likely the ideal course of action.

But what happens if you've invested a large amount of effort and money into improving your land, and you later discover that you've committed some relatively minor zoning violation? You are generally entitled to seek what is known as a "variance" in these cases. A variance is simply when your local government makes a small exception to the zoning rules to accommodate a small violation that would be difficult to fix. A variance will typically be granted if the violation doesn't harm anyone, and enforcing Fontana, California's zoning laws to the letter would not, in this case, advance their purposes.

You are also protected if your land is currently in complete compliance with local zoning regulations, but the area where your land sits is re-zoned, and your property is suddenly not in compliance with the new zoning regulations. Usually, these new regulations cannot be utilized to force you to change existing conditions on your property. No laws can be applied retroactively, under the U.S. Constitution. Of course, if you make any improvements on your land after the law changes, you'll have to comply with the new law.

What Can A Fontana, California Attorney Do?

If you find yourself facing zoning or other land use issues, it's critical to have good legal advice. A reliable Fontana, California attorney will help you work within the law to ensure that you are as free as possible to make the use of your land that you want.

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Life in Fontana

Fontana, California is known as a central hub for the trucking industry because Interstate 10, State Route 210 and Interstate 15 surround it. Fontana lies in San Bernardino County, California. The area is famous for its history, with a historic regional park, theater, and the Kaiser Steel Mill. Alongside history, Fontana is also home to runners all over California because Fontana hosts the Fontana Days Half Marathon and the 5K run. This race is known all over the world as the fastest marathon course!

Fontana is home to approximately 196,069 residents, which includes a diverse population of African Americans, Caucasians, Native Americans, Asians, Pacific Islanders, and Latinos. With so many people, naturally Fontana would offer many cultural, sports, and recreation activities. These activities include the Center Stage Theater, Art Depot, Auto Club Speedway and Fontana Park.

Fontana's main industry is the trucking industry. Therefore the city is home to many truck dealerships and equipment sales centers. Legal services are available to support this industry via small law offices in Fontana that have excellent attorneys. For larger firms or extensive legal representation, the industry and residents of Fontana have available the many law firms that are located in nearby Ontario and Rancho Cucamonga.

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