Carrollton Zoning Attorney

Zoning Planning & Land Use Law in Texas

Carrollton, Texas has laws which control how individual parcels of land can be used, and how they cannot. These rules aren't always simple, and this article should serve as an introduction to some of the most frequent issues that homeowners might face, though it is not meant to turn a layperson into an expert.

Local governments will normally 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 many different purposes - but it its basic 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 substantially.

While zoning laws appear to be geared just toward protecting residents, they also protect industry, by ensuring that they are free to conduct their business without getting caught up in the several legal disputes that would be inevitable if they were closer to a residential area.

Possible Outcomes of Boundary and Title Disputes in Carrollton, Texas

Zoning laws are commonly quite extensive and meticulous, and it's extremely possible that your property in Carrollton, Texas contains some minor zoning violation that you don't know about. If this happens to you, you have considerable legal protections.

First, and perhaps most evidently, you can correct the violation. If the violation is relatively minor, and correcting it would not cost you much or be a considerable 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 normally be granted if the violation doesn't harm anyone, and enforcing Carrollton, Texas's zoning laws to the letter would not, in this case, advance their purposes.

You also have considerable protections if a zoning law changes, and you find that the land you've been living on for years is suddenly in violation of the new law. In general, zoning laws cannot apply to structures and uses which were built or commenced before the law was changed. Under the U.S. Constitution, it's not permissible for state or local governments to pass laws which have retroactive effect. You should know, however, that any future changes you make to your property will have to comply with the new zoning law.

What Can A Carrollton, Texas Attorney Do?

If you are in the process of physically altering your property, you are almost certain to face some contentions having to do with local zoning laws. If you find that zoning laws are making it very hard to use your property as you see fit, you may have legal recourse, normally in the form of a variance. Of course, your chances of success in any zoning dispute will be immeasurably increased if you have the help of a qualified Carrollton, Texas attorney.

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Life in Carrollton

Carrollton, Texas is a medium-sized city that straddles Denton County, Dallas County, and Collin County. Its population is about 123,000 people.

Carrollton, Texas is named for a city of the same name in Illinois, which was the home of many of the area's original settlers. In the early days of settlement, Carrollton subsited entirely on agriculture. However, once a major railroad went through the region, the city industrialized rapidly, and in 1913, was formally incorporated.

Modernly, Carrollton, Texas is home to many companies who are major players in the technology, energy, and healthcare sectors. Between them, these companies provide thousands of jobs, many of which are highly skilled, and pay very well.

Although summers in Carrollton may be a bit warm for some, the weather tends to be fairly mild for the region, adding another attractive element, in addiont to the numerous employers.

Given the variety of industry in Carrollton, its fairly large population, and healthy economy that revolves around several cutting-edge industries, it should be apparent that the lawyers of Carrollton, Texas need to stay on top of the latest developments in several rapidly-changing legal fields. For this reason, Carrollton, Texas lawyers are very competent and hardworking, and should be able to help you with your legal problem in the best way possible.

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Zoning Planning & Land Use Law in Texas

Possible Outcomes of Boundary and Title Disputes in Carrollton, Texas