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Zoning, an exercise of the local police power, is the most important form of land use control employed by local governments. It is a technique for implementing publicly developed plans for the use of land located within a local government's authority.

Definition of Zoning

Zoning is the territorial division of land by a local government into districts and the segregation of land uses within those districts on the basis of variables such as the nature and extent of use, building height, lot and floor area, and architectural and structural requirements. Zoning regulates the location of businesses and uses of land.

Cities usually have three types of zones:

• Industrial
• Commercial
• Residential

Research Local Zoning Laws

If you are planning on buying or building a gas station, parking lot or garage then you will want to research your city's zoning laws first to make sure that the business is in compliance. Find out which government body maintains your zoning laws and familiarize yourself with them so you will be prepared to deal with any issues that may arise. Zoning laws may be determined by your city or your county, depending on where you live.

Banned from Residential and Commercial Zones

Gas stations, commercial garages and parking lots can be banned from residential zones whenever reasonable, and courts have often found that such bans are reasonable.

Local governments have also successfully banned gasoline stations from commercial zones under the test of reasonableness. Enactments requiring the spacing of gasoline stations along busy highways in an attempt to reduce traffic accidents likewise have been upheld as proper exercises of the police power, which is the ability of a unit of government to exercise its authority for the welfare and good of the public. Zoning regulations and restrictions on gas stations have been allowed by courts even though similar uses are not subjected to such regulations and restrictions.

Nonconforming Use

When zoning is established for an area by a zoning ordinance, that ordinance cannot eliminate structures already in existence. Thus, if a district is zoned residential, the neighborhood service station becomes a nonconforming use site. This business may remain even though it does not fit the predominant classification of real property in the zoning district. However, there have been zoning enactments requiring the discontinuance of gasoline stations when they are nonconforming.

Related Resources on Lawyers.com^sm

- Small Business Law articles and information
- Zoning Ordinances and Regulations
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Related Web Links

- Small Business Administration - Zoning Overview