Mission Viejo Zoning Attorney

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

Zoning Planning & Land Use Law in California

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

Local governments will normally divide the city or town into sections, called "zones," each of which is designated for a specific use, such as residential homes, commercial businesses, agriculture, manufacturing, etc. This process is known as "zoning."

Zoning serves many different purposes - but it its major one is to increase or preserve property values by ensuring that conflicting uses don't result in legal disputes. Obviously, if you bought a house in a residential neighborhood, and your neighbor could just convert his property into a steel mill, your property's value as a residential lot would decrease substantially.

Zoning laws typically acknowledge the necessities of things like factories, sewage treatment plants, and stockyards, but recognize that such activities shouldn't be done in residential areas.

Possible Outcomes of Boundary and Title Disputes in Mission Viejo, California

Suppose you find that some condition on your land is in violation of Mission Viejo, 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 substantially interfere with your use of your property, this is likely the ideal course of action.

Occasionally, however, a landowner wants to make improvements on their property which might constitute a slight violation of Mission Viejo, California's zoning laws. In this case, the owner can apply for a variance - an official agreement from the local government to not enforce a certain zoning regulation. Typically, variances are granted when the violation is extremely minor, and, enforcing the letter of the zoning law would not do much to advance its broader purpose.

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. Typically, 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 Mission Viejo, California Attorney Do?

If you find yourself facing zoning or other land use issues, it's essential to have good legal advice. A seasoned Mission Viejo, 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 Mission Viejo

Mission Viejo, California is a city in Orange County, California. Its current population is estimated to be about 93,000 people, making it one of the largest master-planned communities built under a single plan in the United States.

Mission Viejo, California's economy is dominated by Saddleback College, a community college located in the city. With over 2,000 employees, it is the largest employer in Mission, Viejo, California. The community college is attended by a large number of students who plan to go on to four-year universities. Some of these students go on to graduate school, and become Mission Viejo, California attorneys.

Another major employer in Mission Viejo, California is the local healthcare system, which employs over 1,000 people, such as doctors, as well as administrative personnel, including lawyers.

If you live in Mission Viejo, California and are in need of legal advice, you would do well to contact a Mission Viejo, California attorney as quickly as possible.

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