Q: I want to petition for an increase lot size requirements in an R1 zone neighborhood. How do i go about doing this?
I live on Blue Mountain in Front Royal, Va. We are zoned R1 and the neighborhood is located in a Sanitary District. Through a FOIA, I have pulled permits for various lots around the area and these fly by night builders are building on expired permits. What can a citizen do to increase lot size requirements (currently set a .5 acres) for the community -hopefully, making it tougher for builders to build here. Also, who at the state level, can support and investigate these violations? This is a small town and these builders have a lot of pull in this area. Thank you.
A: Changing zoning to up-zone property owned by someone else is going to be an uphill battle. There are tricks and skills, but it isn't going to be accomplished inexpensively, and it isn't going to happen based on an Internet-explored plan on a pro se budget. You need to sit down with a Virginia real estate lawyer, who will need to spend time reviewing the current zoning, the putatively expired permits, the facts about the offending construction, and the political environment. It is most likely that the more economical and more feasible answer will be enforcement of current law rather than up-zoning, but I have seen up-zoning succeed... rarely.
Justia Ask a Lawyer is a forum for consumers to get answers to basic legal questions. Any information sent through Justia Ask a Lawyer is not secure and is done so on a non-confidential basis only.
The use of this website to ask questions or receive answers does not create an attorney–client relationship between you and Justia, or between you and any attorney who receives your information or responds to your questions, nor is it intended to create such a relationship. Additionally, no responses on this forum constitute legal advice, which must be tailored to the specific circumstances of each case. You should not act upon information provided in Justia Ask a Lawyer without seeking professional counsel from an attorney admitted or authorized to practice in your jurisdiction. Justia assumes no responsibility to any person who relies on information contained on or received through this site and disclaims all liability in respect to such information.
Justia cannot guarantee that the information on this website (including any legal information provided by an attorney through this service) is accurate, complete, or up-to-date. While we intend to make every attempt to keep the information on this site current, the owners of and contributors to this site make no claims, promises or guarantees about the accuracy, completeness or adequacy of the information contained in or linked to from this site.
