Land Use, Zoning and Planning Lawyers in Hempstead, New York
In Hempstead, New York, 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 very accessible to laypersons. This article should serve as a good overview of these laws.
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 also serves the interests of industry, as well as residents. By ensuring that there are places where heavy industry can take place, well-planned zoning regulations will ensure that industrialists are free to practice their trade, and that residents will not be disturbed by those activities, which makes industry more efficient by helping it avoid costly nuisance lawsuits.
What if My Property Violates Hempstead, New York's Zoning Laws?
Suppose you find that some condition on your land is in violation of Hempstead, New York's zoning laws. In cases like this, you have quite a few options.
First, and perhaps most obviously, you can correct the violation. If the violation is relatively minor, and correcting it would not cost you much or be a significant burden, this might be the best way to go.
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 usually be granted if the violation doesn't harm anyone, and enforcing Hempstead, New York's zoning laws to the letter would not, in this case, advance their purposes.
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 Hempstead, New York 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 Hempstead, New York real estate attorney to help.
There are 43 Real Estate, Housing & Property Law cases posted in Hempstead
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Life in Hempstead
Hempstead comprises one third of the municipalities in Nassau County and is situated in the southeast. Hempstead is much larger than nearby Buffalo playing host to 756,000 New York residents. It is the 14th most populous city in the State of New York. The Town of Hempsead is the 47th largest employer in Long Island with 2,000 employees. The Village of Hempstead is incorporated within the Town of Hempstead that also includes a total of 22 villages and 37 hamlets. There are many lawyers living in Hempstead. Those lawyers are familiar with Nassau County courts and procedures in many different areas of law.
Hempstead plays host to a number of outstanding parks and recreational areas including the Hempstead Lake State Park, Valley Stream State Park, and Jones Street State Park. The New York State Parks in the Town of Hempstead incorporate fishing areas, covered picnic areas, tennis courts, sports fields, boat launches, hiking, and nature trails. In the winter ice fishing, ice skating, cross-country skiing, and snowmobiling are just a few of the activities offered by state parks in Hempstead.
