As soon as words like zoning are spoken, my brain immediately tunes out. In other words, I zone out. It is intimidating and boring and all things Not Fun. So let’s change that.
Not that this blog will make zoning your new passion, but let’s at least clear the air and make zoning a more comfortable topic. At that next Cocktail Zoom Party, you can not only keep up but you can lead the conversation with your zoning prowess. First and foremost, if you don’t know the zoning restrictions in your county, you don’t know what your property is capable of!
Zoning is like the crazy uncle every family has – every county has its own wacky zoning! It is critical to know your county. If your dream is to open up a professional balloon animal store and the property is the perfect balance of flat and trees to match your dream, but is zoned residential, you will have a house full of balloon animals and no one to sell them to! However, a few counties over, a similar property may be zoned commercial. It’s a crazy world and county zoning is the king! As we teach our kindergartners, Begin with the End in Mind. You need to know what your ultimate end goal is before you begin.
The zoning LandCentral categorizes properties with are as follows: Residential, Agriculture, Recreational, Forest/Conservation, and Not Zoned/Unclassified. Keep in mind that there are other zone classifications but these are pretty general and for our purposes we are able to fit our properties under these categories. But when it gets down to the nitty-gritty, you will need to ensure the exact zone and exact specifications before you commit to a property if you have a very specific need.
The Cliff’s Notes version is pretty self-explanatory. Residential means you reside on the property. It is for private homes. Agriculture is intended for farming and agricultural development. Recreational means the property is for fun. And fun is, unfortunately, never permanent. No permanent structures can be built on recreation zoned land. Forest/Conservation means that typically the land is not safe for developing on or it needs to be preserved as much possible without interfering with the integrity of the land. And Unclassified, or Not Zoned land is pretty loosey-goosey. It means that each individual county will have its own restrictions and regulations for what can happen on the land.
There are two ways to search our LandCentral properties to find the best fit for you. You can do an Advanced Search and filter by your preferred zoning. That will show you only the properties with those specific zone classifications you are wanting. Another option is to search the properties you like and under the “Property Specifics” portion of each page, you will find the zone classifications.
In the end, if you love a property the zone may not matter to you. You can commit to the property and determine the appropriate development for the land later. Or you may have a dream to fulfill and the exact location of where to set up your stage may not be as important as the stage, or zone, itself. Only you can decide the best way to make your dreams come true. Just know that as you are dreaming, LandCentral is right here to help you make those dreams a reality.