Land Use Planning FAQs

The Planning Department plays an administrative role for a city or county.  They develop master plans, sector plans, and provide other planning efforts. They make recommendations to the Planning Board and Council. For G&M’s purposes, the Planning Department informs us, as designers and engineers, what their standards are for their city. 

Entitlements are a general term that describes what the Planning Department allows a property owner the right to use their property for.  Such as construction of a structure, running a business, removing an existing building, and others.  The entitlements conform to the city or county plan.  An entitlement is either issued or denied.  It is important that you contact your local municipality to research your entitlements before you begin your project.

A Conditional Use Permit (CUP) allows the Planning Commission, via a public hearing, to impose certain conditions on a project.  The purpose is to avoid potential future problems. Examples would be a variance describing how a property may be used, land subdivision by dividing a piece of property, and others.  It is recommended that you contact your local municipality’s Planning Department for the standards required for your project.

Any citizen may appeal a decision by a governing board at your local municipality.  The process is made available to any citizen who may appeal by filing an appeal application, stating your comments or issues on the subject at hand.  An appeal period is typically 10 days.  You must file your written statement within that designated period.  Typically, there is a filing fee that must accompany the appeal application.  Your comments will be taken into consideration by the local board you are appealing to before they make their final decision to approve, deny or approve with conditions. It is recommended that you contact your local municipality’s Planning Department to understand their specific standards.

The various review processes provided by the Planning Department in your local municipality can take from 3 weeks to 6 months.  There are many factors that involve the length of time to process your request.  Examples of these factors are:  There are many steps to go through within each separate review.  Applications must be complete (that is, have all the required attachments and the fees paid) before the “clock starts ticking.”  From there, it’s a matter of the time it takes for individual plan checkers and board members to review the documents.  There is also time involved while waiting to get on a board or commission calendar.  Sometimes if a Board or Commission cannot get to your project at the prescribed time, your project may be slipped to the next meeting.

A Variance cannot give special privileges to your property that other properties in your Zoning District do not have.  An example of a need to apply for a variance would be that if your property has a physical limitation, such as a narrow or steep slope, and you want to add a room to the rear of your house, you may want to apply for a variance that will “reduce the required rear yard setback.”   During a Variance review by the Planning Department of your local municipality, it will be your responsibility to prove the following:  that you have special circumstances that deprive your property of privileges enjoyed by other property(ies) in your Zoning District, that granting this Variance will not grant a special privilege, and that granting this Variance will not be detrimental to the public.

All plans that are submitted to your city or county are reviewed by a Plan Reviewer to ensure that the drawings are in building code compliance.  During the plan check, the reviewer will make physical comments on the drawings if required.  The comments are made so that your drawings are in order and that they comply with building, health, and safety regulations. The comments are documented in a letter addressed to the designer or engineer for response.

If your home is in a condominium building or in a planned community that is governed by a Homeowners Association (HOA), it is important that you research your HOAs Covenants, Conditions & Restrictions (CC&Rs) to determine what is and is not allowed within your community.  Some municipalities may require special approval outside of their jurisdiction. CC&R requirements can easily be overlooked thereby causing delays to your project.