Land Use, Zoning and Planning Lawyers in Lakeland, Florida
The laws governing how land can and cannot be used in Lakeland, Florida are fairly complex, and can be confusing to laypersons. This should provide a basic overview.
Localities typically divide their jurisdictions into segments, referred to as "zones," on which particular types of use are permitted. For example, one area of a town might be zoned for residential use, a nearby one for commercial use, and areas on the outskirts zoned for industrial use. This practice is called "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 Lakeland, Florida's Zoning Laws?
Zoning laws are often quite extensive and meticulous, and it's very possible that your property in Lakeland, Florida contains some minor zoning violation that you don't know about. If this happens to you, you have significant legal protections.
The most obvious solution is to correct the problem, so your property is no longer in violation of local zoning laws. If the violation is minor, and correcting it would not be very costly, this is likely the best way to go.
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 Lakeland, Florida's zoning laws, a variance will usually be granted.
Further, if you have been living on your property for a long time, and made improvements on it that complied with the zoning laws in effect at the time, a new zoning law that would be violated by your current use of your property, the new law cannot be enforced against you. The U.S. Constitution bars the passage of "ex post facto," or retroactive, laws. Once the laws take effect, however, you'll have to comply with the new zoning laws with respect to any new improvements you want to make on your property.
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How Can a Lakeland, Florida Attorney Help?
If you are in the early stages of a major construction or remodeling project on your property, especially if it is in a residential area (where zoning laws tend to be most restrictive), you are likely to encounter one zoning law issue or another. Of course, having read this article, you should now be aware that you have rights when it comes to contesting a zoning law as applied to you. While such contests do not always come out on the side of the landowner, the assistance of a good Lakeland, Florida real estate attorney will greatly improve one's chances.
There are 251 Real Estate, Housing & Property Law cases posted in Lakeland
Cases Posted to LegalMatch listed by ZIP Code:Zoning Planning & Land Use Attorneys in the Largest FL Cities
Life in Lakeland
Lakeland is located in Polk County, Florida. It is between the popular cities of Tampa and Orlando alongside Interstate 4.The economy of Lakeland prospers from the citrus, cattle, and phosphate mining industries. The largest employer is Publix Supermarkets. Other top employers include FedEx Freight & FedEx Services, Saddle Creek Corporation, GEICO, Summit Consulting, and Rooms To Go.
Lakeland is a place filled with history. Some popular historic attractions are Dixieland, Biltmore-Cumberland, Beacon Hill-Alta Vista, and Munn Park.
Being so near Tampa and Orlando, Lakeland residents can take their complex legal programs to the mid to large size firms located in these two large cities. For any small legal issues, Lakeland is filled with small law offices that are owned by excellent, competent attorneys.
Overall, Lakeland is a wonderful area to live in. It has the small town feel but is surrounded by two of Florida's largest, metropolitan cities. Lakeland residents have the best of both worlds!
