Homestead Zoning Attorney

Find the right Zoning Planning & Land Use attorney in Homestead, FL

Zoning Planning & Land Use Law in Florida

The laws governing how land can and cannot be used in Homestead, 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 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 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.

Possible Outcomes of Boundary and Title Disputes in Homestead, Florida

You have quite a few options if you find that a planned or current use of your property violates Homestead, Florida'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 Homestead, Florida's zoning laws, a variance will usually be granted.

You also have significant 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 Homestead, Florida Attorney Do?

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 Homestead, Florida real estate attorney will greatly improve one's chances.

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Life in Homestead

Homestead is Miami-Dade County's second oldest city! It is located about 35 miles from Miami. Homestead has been in the news over the past few years because it was affected by Hurricane Andrew in 1992. After redevelopment, in 2002, the city experienced a building and housing boom!

Popular attractions in Homestead include ArtSouth, Coral Castle, Everglades Alligator Farm, Fruit and Spice Park, Homestead Rodeo, Homestead-Miami Speedway, Monkey Jungle, Homestead Air Reserve Base, Schnebly Redland's Winery, and Turkey Point Nuclear Generating Station.

Homestead has some small law offices that can cater to the reasonable legal inquiries of residents. For larger legal issues, nearby Miami has many small to large size law firms with excellent attorneys, capable of handling the most complex legal matters. Therefore, the residents of Homestead can remain assured that any and every legal inquiry of theirs can be easily tackled.

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