Sean Hickman, P.E.
Director
The biggest question on your mind when you’re about to buy land or just after you’ve purchased is: How much money can I make from this project? In most cases, you’ve purchased agricultural land and are looking to rezone that agricultural land to increase density. You might be looking to rezone to residential, commercial, or a mix of both. Here’s what you need to know to make the most of your land.
How Do I Start the Rezoning Process?
Once you’ve committed to the project but before the official rezoning process kicks off, you or your engineering team have to collect preplanning data in order to answer all the questions that you’ll be asked later. To define the basic scope of the project, you need to gather planning data.
- Rainwater and wastewater plans
- Environmental impact, showing the project’s impact on the land’s flora and fauna
- Geotech survey to know the soil content
- Land survey to delineate boundaries as well as show easements, cross-access agreement or any other limitations on the land
- Traffic report may be required if current traffic patterns will be significantly altered
If a land survey or environmental impact study has been completed already for your land, it will need to be updated. Otherwise, at this stage, you or your civil engineering firm is working with various contractors to gather only what data your specific project needs from the above list.
Determining Which Rules of Land Use Apply for Your Land
Every piece of land is part of a district. The delineation of districts is an overlay on top of on city maps. Every district has its own rules regarding setbacks, zoning and in general, what you can and cannot do. At this stage, you’ll need a development regional impact study, or DRI to ensure your development won’t negatively impact or overwhelm the existing infrastructure. Check out this set of rules as an example from Southeast Orlando.
If your land is not currently part of a district, you get to make one–and decide what the rules are. Typically, most new districts choose to copy the regulations of the neighboring districts.
If you’re designing the district from scratch, you’re going to create a district that’s compatible with the neighbors. The only way you know if it’s compatible is to talk to the neighbors in a courtroom or other regulated space.
Orlando’s Vision 2050 Growth and Management Plan Refresh
At the time of writing, Orange County is developing the Vision 2050 Growth Management Plan Refresh detailing the newest rules for the districts. Once Orlando’s 2050 Growth and Management Plan Refresh document is completed, the plans won’t typically change again any time soon. However, developers aren’t limited to the land use zoning regulations spelled out in that document. There are ways to change future land use maps and rezoning regulations. It can require more work, but that’s where civil engineering firms can step in and help. By hiring a firm that’s familiar with this document, you save time and money ensuring that you are working to meet the most updated ordinance pertaining to your property.
What Happens at a Pre-Application Meeting?
After the civil engineering firm has gathered the land survey and other planning data for your property, next up is the pre-application meeting with the Authority Having Jurisdiction (AHJ). Your engineering team shares their proposed plan, and explains how much density they think the project will receive in the various areas. They’ll also detail what will be built in each phase of development.
The AHJ you’re interacting with has many departments that your team will be speaking to:
- Water
- Sewage
- Traffic
- Stormwater
This review process occurs in two parts: the planning department and the zoning department. The zoning department is looking at the past and what zoning regulations have already been established. The planning department is considering future use, and can make adjustments to their future and land use maps (FLUMs), which differ from zoning maps. These FLUMs for Orlando need to match the city’s Vision 2050 plan.
Do I Need A Lawyer to Rezone my Property?
The most efficient use of lawyers is to bring them onboard once the proposed rezoning plan has been approved, which is typically toward the end of the rezoning process steps. After this round of public hearings have been completed, and you and your team understand what everybody needs, then the lawyer works to write these changes into law. If the result of the public hearings is that a specific buffer needs to be created between your project and existing development, then the lawyers write into law that both parties agree this buffer cannot be changed unless there is a different hearing to do so.
Initial Plan Review
After pre-application, the civil engineering firm submits the site plan, along with half of the construction plan. At this point, the grading work at your site is completed, and the utilities and stormwater systems have been completed halfway. Your team now has enough detail to answer the next round of questions moving forward. The review planning committee can provide further details to each specific departments that will need to review your plans and the work completed thus far. They can determine if you’re ready to go to public hearings.
Public hearings can last six to nine months– sometimes up to a year to obtain all the paperwork and approval letters. The timing varies greatly because, if the public asks for changes, your team needs to amend the site plans, resubmit them and then get another public hearing. This is a prime example of where experience pays. A civil engineering firm is more likely than a land owner to submit changes that will be accepted after the first round of resubmitting.
Construction Review and Possible Sale of Project
By this stage, you’ve already passed through the first part of the rezoning process. Most of the questions from the review board have been answered.
From here, it can take another six to nine months to start the construction process and finish the rezoning process. It often takes two years in total to complete all necessary permitting to rezone a piece of land from agricultural use to residential.
Construction can now begin.
However, at this stage, many developers choose to sell the land at this stage to maximize profits relevant to time invested.
It’s time to purchase again and start the next project.
If you do want to continue developing and plan to start construction, contact us so we can determine what we need to move forward with the process.