Sean Hickman, P.E.
Director
The concept of rezoning is simple: Developers rezone when the land they bought doesn’t match the intended use. However, the process itself can be anything but. First you have to understand the property–its limitations, the surrounding developments (current and future) and what all the possible options are, given the city or county’s past rezoning rulings. This is where a civil engineering firm comes in. A firm with decades of experience can not only give you answers about what’s possible, they can facilitate the rezoning process, making it as fast and cost-effective as possible.
Rezoning Basics
A big part of the rezoning process is making moves that are not only permissible by the governing entities, but accepted by the local community, be it farmers, HOAs or the like. These surrounding communities are typically less excited if lower income businesses, such as convenience stores, come in first. However, if these types of businesses do well, then the door is open for further, higher-income development.
Everything happens in phases.
Let’s say you’re developing 200 acres and that land is surrounded on all sides by agriculture, and you want to change the zoning of your land to residential. Development at this stage doesn’t start with condos. Instead, you’ll likely be approved for a low-density residential project, such as one house per acre. Once there are some subdivisions in place with one home per acre, then the next developments come in, building two homes per acre. The allowable density keeps doubling the closer you get to the city center, until you reach 16 units per acre, which is average for condo and apartment developments.
In addition to density requirements, considerations have to be made regarding property value. If what is being developed is considered less attractive to the current community, a concession of some sort typically needs to be part of the plan.
One of the most cost-effective solutions when rezoning is to design a buffer, such as a greenspace or fence, to further separate existing residential or other development from your project, in the event that your project is residential and will have a higher density rate than the existing areas.
In the example of Orlando, once a freeway like the 429 has been built, that changes the rules. Now the outlying agricultural areas have a FDOT highway intersecting them. Because of that increase in traffic, now the city doesn’t want low-density housing built. Now they will want commercial use and higher-density housing.
If the land is agricultural but surrounded by industrially zoned land, the development will need to be industrial. You couldn’t rezone to residential. At best, could rezone to commercial. For example, when you see Amazon warehouses next to highways, the surrounding lands couldn’t be zoned residential. The industrial warehouses produce excessive noise. At best, you’d need a 100-foot buffer, but even then, you may not be able to zone the land residential.
Know Your Neighbors
The rezoning process steps can get very political. One key thing is to know who your neighbors are. In other words, if a senator, city commissioner, other government official, CEO of a large company or anyone else with significant community pull lives in this adjacent community, that’s something you want to know ideally before committing to the development project.
If you find out this information after the project has started, it can be helpful to hire lawyers in some cases to serve as the go-between to help keep the discussion civil. In many development projects, people can be the most complicated and unpredictable part of a project. The more experience your team has in handling community concerns, the greater your odds of success.
How Civil Engineers Help with Rezoning
In the above example of a buyer purchasing 200 acres, let’s say they don’t have a set plan as to how to develop it to achieve maximum profits. A firm such as Burkett Engineering can create a multi-use plan for the highest and best use (HBU) for the land. The plan will show the development in phases, and can be designed based on what amounts of money you need to make right away.
Civil engineers can help show you the big picture. They provide comps for your finished development project, letting you know what your projected profits might look like. Because they work with builders as well, they can provide cost estimations for the build to further help you dial in your numbers.
Most of all, with the right civil engineering firm, anything can work. We can get you 90% of what you want. The other 10% is dictated by the neighbors. If the neighbors either don’t show up or don’t care, then that 10% is decided by the jurisdiction, and you simply have to match your neighbors. But, if that last piece is decided by the neighbors, it helps to have experience on your side. Ideally, you and the team representing you approach the community with understanding–both of the community’s needs and what might work to meet those needs, as well as your budget and bottom line. In many cases, it comes down to finesse.
Timing for Rezoning
The amount of time you need to budget for the rezoning process steps is up to you. Every project consists of a lot of moving pieces. A civil engineering firm can help you as much or as little as you need, based on your budget and experience level. More seasoned developers may simply need a sounding board for a complex project. Other developers may want the engineering firm to handle all the land rezoning requirements for them. Chances are, you don’t want to go it alone. If you do, you may get bogged down in the details and miss crucial details and deadlines.
Working with an AHJ
Throughout the process, you or your civil engineering firm will be answering to and working with just one AHJ, or authority having jurisdiction over the zoning ordinances, aka the local laws governing how land can be used in whichever jurisdiction you’re in
If the land lies within city limits, then the city is the AHJ. If the land falls in an unincorporated area, then you’re dealing with the county. The AHJ may also be the state, Bureau of Land Management, U.S. Forest Service or a handful of others.
A civil engineering firm can kick off the process by confirming which AHJ oversees your land. In most cases, we are familiar with their code already, which streamlines the review process, helping you reach a finished product sooner.