Land Use, Zoning and Planning Lawyers in Los Angeles, California
The laws governing how land can and cannot be used in Los Angeles, California are fairly complex, and can be confusing to laypersons. This should provide a basic overview.
Local governments will usually divide the city or town into sections, called "zones," each of which is designated for a particular use, such as residential homes, commercial businesses, agriculture, manufacturing, etc. This process is known as "zoning."
Zoning serves several different purposes - but it its main 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 simply convert his property into a steel mill, your property's value as a residential lot would decrease significantly.
Zoning laws generally acknowledge the necessities of things like factories, sewage treatment plants, and stockyards, but recognize that such activities shouldn't be conducted in residential areas.
What if My Property Violates Los Angeles, California's Zoning Laws?
You have quite a few options if you find that a planned or current use of your property violates Los Angeles, California's zoning regulations.
It should be clear, however, that the ideal solution is to simply fix any condition on your property which is in violation of a local zoning law. If the violation is not serious, and correcting it won't significantly interfere with your use of your property, this is probably the best course of action.
What if, however, you've invested a significant amount of time and money into making an improvement on your property, only to find that it violates your local zoning laws in some minor way? In this case, you can apply for a variance. This is essentially an exception to the zoning rules. If declining to enforce these rules would not harm anyone, and would not do much to advance the purpose of Los Angeles, California's zoning laws, a variance will usually be granted.
You are also protected if your land is currently in full 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. Generally, these new regulations cannot be used 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.
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How Can a Los Angeles, California Attorney Help?
If you want to make improvements to your property, apply for a variance, or contest a zoning regulation as being applied to you retroactively, you have a right to do so, including some constitutional protections. However, your chances of prevailing in a zoning dispute will be markedly improved if you hire an experienced Los Angeles, California real estate attorney to help.
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Life in Los Angeles
Most people think of Hollywood when they think of Los Angeles, California. Los Angeles is home to many celebrities, movie studios such as Paramount Pictures Home Entertainment Studios, and the Walk of Fame. Los Angeles residents and visitors can often sight celebrities shopping on Rodeo Drive, in Malibu, Beverly Hills, or in various night clubs.Besides celebrities, Los Angeles is near the happiest on Earth-Disneyland! Kicking back and enjoying rides, great shows and parades, and hanging out with your favorite Disney characters is not the only thing Disneyland is about. Rather, Disneyland is a place where families come together, have fun, and both children and adults feel like a kid again. This unique attraction is one of the reasons Los Angeles is so visited by people all over the world.
Other attractions in Los Angeles include the J. Paul Getty Museum, Universal Studios Hollywood, Hollywood Museum, Griffith Park, Venice Beach, and the Hollywood Bowl Museum.
Los Angeles being such a large city with a population of 9,862,049 is home to many intelligent, ivy-league-educated, and promising lawyers. Therefore, many large, multinational as well as mid-sized and small firms are present in Los Angeles. No legal need is left unattended in Los Angeles, California.
