By Joe Szabo, Scottsdale Real Estate Team
If you’re interested in buying land for real estate development, you’re going to have to successfully navigate a maze of intersecting local and private regulations.
Here’s a short list of some regulations you’re likely to encounter:
Subdivision regulations:
a) These ensure that there’s adequate infrastructure and access to parcels of land before they’re sold.
b) They create clear titles to land.
c) They’re guided in part by zoning regulations, which set minimum lot area, frontage, and other dimensional standards.
Floodplain and wetlands approval:
a) You can’t build in a floodway, and you’re limited in what you can build in a floodplain. FEMA offers maps to help developers determine these areas.
b) Maps can sometimes be refined through construction or a petitioning process, so consult a qualified engineer if you have any questions.
c) If you buy existing property in a floodplain, the National Flood Insurance Program is the best available insurance.
d) Local regulations may prohibit or discourage development in wetlands.
e) If any wetlands development is allowed, it’s likely that some local review process will be required for approval.
Traffic regulation:
a) Local governments write traffic regulations to help ensure safe and convenient passage through neighborhoods.
b) The level of traffic is measured in terms of service, from free-flowing to gridlock. A professional traffic engineer can handle traffic review projects.
c) Traffic issues rarely derail development projects, as most problems can be solved through road widening, turning lanes, and signalization.
Design review:
a) Many local governments have design review boards that help advise some decision-making body, like a city council, whether to approve a proposed project’s design.
Historic District review:
b) In historic districts, the local government regulates the appearance of buildings, usually the portions visible from public view.
Environmental permits
c) The state and local environmental permitting processes often overlap, although some permits are unique to the state level, involving issues of regional and statewide concern.
d) Before beginning any project, always contact federal, state, and local officials to inquire whether your project may require a comprehensive environmental review.
e) If you have coastal property, check for the 100-year flood elevation and look at the resource maps available from state authorities for the location of any protected plant species or organisms on the site.
Federal regulations
f) The Fair Housing Amendments Act prohibits discrimination against individuals protected by the Americans with Disabilities Act. Thus, group homes for such individuals must be allowed in any single-family residential development.
g) The Religious Land Use and Institutionalized Persons Act ensures that local governments can’t unreasonably restrict the free exercise of religion. Thus, people using their homes for religious activities usually can’t be restricted by local ordinances.
Please note that this Scottsdale Real Estate Blog is for informational purposes and not intended to take the place of a licensed Scottsdale Real Estate Agent. The Szabo Group offers first class real estate services to clients in the Scottsdale Greater Phoenix Metropolitan Area in the buying and selling of the best Luxury homes in Arizona. Award winning Realtors and Re/MAX top producers and best real estate agent for Luxury Homes in Scottsdale, The Szabo group delivers experience, knowledge, dedication and proven results. Contact Joe Szabo at 480.688.2020, info@ScottsdaleRealEstateTeam.com or visit www.scottsdalerealestateteam.com to find out more about Scottsdale Homes forSale and Estates forSale inScottsdale and to search the Scottsdale MLS for Scottsdale Home Listings.
