Newark Zoning Attorney

Find the right Zoning Planning & Land Use attorney in Newark, NJ

Zoning Planning & Land Use Law in New Jersey

In Newark, New Jersey, there are laws which determine what can and can't be done on given parcels of land. These laws get pretty involved sometimes, and aren't always extremely accessible to laypersons. This article should serve as a good overview of these laws.

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

Local governments have several different reasons for enacting zoning laws, ranging from ensuring that residential areas are peaceful and quiet, to protecting property values. For example, 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 individuals 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 avoiding legal disputes.

Possible Outcomes of Boundary and Title Disputes in Newark, New Jersey

Suppose you find that some condition on your land is in violation of Newark, New Jersey's zoning laws. In cases like this, you have quite a few options.

First of all, and most simply, the owner could just fix the violation. If the violation isn't very considerable, and fixing it wouldn't cost very much, this is probably the best and easiest option.

Of course, simply fixing a zoning violation isn't always modest or easy, and may interfere with your planned use of your property. For example, you might have just undertaken a considerable remodeling of your home, and later found out that some small part of it technically doesn't conform to Newark, New Jersey's zoning laws. If this happens to you, you can apply to your local zoning board for what's known as a "variance." This is simply a decree by the zoning board that the particular rule your property violates no longer applies. The Supreme Court has held that local zoning boards have to grant variances when the violation is extremely minor, and enforcing the ordinance would be unduly burdensome and not in the public interest.

Furthermore, if the zoning laws covering your property have changed, and some aspect of it is now violating the new rules, these changes can typically not be enforced against you, because it would be unfair to apply a new law retroactively.

What Can A Newark, New Jersey Attorney Do?

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 disagreement will be markedly improved if you hire an accomplished Newark, New Jersey real estate attorney to help.

Talk to a Real Estate Law Attorney now!

Life in Newark

Newark is a massive city. To give you an idea how massive, "The Brick City" is the largest in all of New Jersey and at a short distance of 8 miles from Manhattan, it's an ideal place for many New York professionals to call home. Port Newark is on Newark Bay along the Atlantic Ocean and is the largest port on the East Coast. The Port of Newark offers the most rail facilities, biggest cranes, and wide deep docking. It serves as the location for shipping nearly all New York containers. Newark's skyline shows what industrious city it is. Newark is home to the headquarters of Prudential Financial, Horizon Blue Cross and Blue Shield of New Jersey, New Jersey Transit, and the Public Service Enterprise Group PSEG are headquartered in downtown Newark.

Newark plays host to some of the nation's best universities and schools. The New Jersey Institute of Technology has educated NASA aerospace engineers to National Technical Medal of Technology winners. Rutgers University is located in Newark and has been consistently voted as one of the top business and graduate school in the United States. The city and local colleges draw outstanding talent for the New Jersey Performing Arts Center that is just adjacent to Military Park, a 6 acre green space with the well known "Wars of America" statue on display. You may also remember Brick City which was aired as a five part documentary on the Sundance Channel in 2009. The second installment comes in 2011. The documentary revolved around Newark's leaps and bounds to improve the safety and corruption of the past.

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