What are zoning/planning regulations like where you live?

[Laura Corin]

They are quite strict here, and I wonder how they compare.  The UK is a very small space for 60 million people, so there's a real fear of urban sprawl.

 

Each settlement (village, town, city) has designated edges.  Within those edges, one can often get permission to build on 'brownfield land' (large gardens; derelict sites) except in particular historical areas.  Around major cities, there is usually a designated 'green belt' on which development is not allowed, in order to give breath and space to the city.  Each local government area will have a development plan, setting out where major development can happen - it's usually pretty limited.   To get permission to build in the countryside (I work for a building firm, so I see this first hand)  in addition to satisfying the other criteria, the house has to fit in with the local vernacular style of architecture, or it has to be tactfully designed to 'disappear' into the landscape.

 

You can usually only build on your own land if you are within a designated settlement or you are building to replace another building (or foundations of a ruined building).  Exceptions are made for things like garden sheds and pagodas, which don't need permission.  For an example of how the regulations work: we have a smallish house on three acres in the countryside.  We don't have the right to build another house on the land because we are outwith the officially designated edge of the nearest village.

 

The result of strict regulations: limited urban sprawl, few strip malls, abundant verdant countryside and very high property prices.

 

How is it where you live?  How do you feel about it?

 

L

[GSOchristie]

In our neighborhood they are very strict, like you have to get HOA permission before even planting large shrubbery or trees on your own property, the houses are all built by a specific group of builders, so they all look very similar.  Outside our neighborhood, I'm pretty sure there are no regulations.  There are trailer parks next to industrial parks next to Walmart next to other neighborhoods.  We live in NC in a mid size city (277,000 people).  

[Laura Corin]

In our neighborhood they are very strict, like you have to get HOA permission before even planting large shrubbery or trees on your own property, 

 

 

Wow!  Permission for landscaping?  I don't think we have that.....  Now you need permission to take down trees in some areas, but not to plant them, I think.

 

L

[theYoungerMrsWarde]

I'm still new to this state (Idaho) but in my town it doesn't look like there ARE any regulations. We've got houses in the middle of corn fields, churches in between corn fields, and corn fields between the Walmart parking lot and the RV selling lot!  :confused1:  And beet fields right next to the sugar beet processing factory. It's taking some getting used to from where we moved from. (California.)

[LMD]

I got a crash course in rural zoning regulations this past year when we were shopping for our land.  Land is zoned into all different zones with different laws about what you're 'allowed' to do with it.  For example if land is zoned conservation zone then you can't touch any vegetation without a permit (conservation zone land doesn't sell easily!).  Then there are zone 'overlays' which further restrict.  A big one is the Bushfire Management Overlay which changed a lot of restrictions recently, it was reviewed and changed after bushfires in '09 that killed 173 people.  Things like what building materials you can use and requirements of water tanks accessible to fire trucks etc.  Different councils will also have restrictions on what you can and cannot do, and it is largely up to their discretion to approve permits (though there are appeals processes).

 

We're a big country with plenty of outback, but we also have a big government so it's all regulated pretty heavily.  At least theoretically, it's a rare government worker who will actually travel thousands of k's to check out an un-permit-approved shed!  ;)  There are also loopholes.

 

 

I'm not sure about urban regulations, I know that some councils are strict on architecture usually due to historical preservation.  Councils and the state government have development plans.  Our local council doesn't seem to think very far ahead, they keep putting in new estates everywhere without upgrading the infrastructure - so we have terrible traffic congestion.  Lots of urban sprawl.  Garden sheds etc. are supposed to need a permit - anything with a decent size concrete slab needs one I think.

[Pawz4me]

Wow!  Permission for landscaping?  I don't think we have that.....  Now you need permission to take down trees in some areas, but not to plant them, I think.

 

L

 

HOAs are homeowners associations.  Usually they're in big housing developments (including town homes and condos).  They really don't have anything to do with a municipality's zoning regulations.

[Jeannie in NJ]

New Jersey, the land of permits.  When we decided  to turn our 2nd floor deck into a year round sunroom, we had to put in an additional parking space and we had to plant 2 new trees in our area between our sidewalk and the street, huh, what you say?  Yes, that is correct and this is not an HOA but a city regulation.

[Ottakee]

In our area we have decent zoning in our rural township. If you have 5 acres or more you can have your animals, build a barn, etc. The township next to us though has a lot stricter zoning and you can't put up a fence in many areas, have animals like horses unless you are in certain areas, etc.

 

Then there are subdivisions that have really restrictive zoning--you have to have brick on your house, it has to be a certain (large) size, you have to .......... and you can't ........ and on and on.

 

We are in West Michigan. Zoning here though varies greatly from city to city and township to township and then even within subdivisions, etc.

[TexasRachel]

Rural Texas here. We had to get a permit for the septic system and a engineer had to approve the roof (that was more for wind storm insurance though) and that's it. Our lack of permits completely blew a couple of people's minds. When we were building the insurance company couldn't believe we didn't need permits or that there were fire hydrants around. Took about three phone calls before they believed us. Or just gave up. Also when we bought the land there was an older brick home on the property. Our mortgage company wouldn't lend us the money with another home on e property so DH just pulled it down with his tractor. My uncle from Washington couldn't believe that he could just do that. "You just demolished it? Without approval?!?" DH-"it's my land I'll do what I want."

[Wheres Toto]

Yeah, NJ can be fun.  We were recently going to rebuild and it was super-duper fun.  :glare:

 

My town is stricter than most of the rest of the state.  The state requires 50 feet between wells and septic systems, our town requires 150 feet.  We also have regulations about how close a building can be to the property line or the street.  If we do a direct replacement, we can be grandfathered on some regulations.   So, if we rebuilt and kept a strict two bedrooms, we wouldn't have to move our current well and septic (which are within state guidelines but not municipal) and could stay slightly closer to the road than we are supposed to be.

 

We are also on a river that is a designated wetlands so we have to get extra permission (and permits $$$) to build in the riparian zone.