Zoning laws are not always set in stone. Local agencies can enact change. As a business or property owner, you also have the right to request a variance or exception to the laws.
According to the Naples Daily News, the city council wants to put zoning variance requests on hold for two types of situations through a process called zoning in progress. The two situations are parking and building heights.
The goal
With a new mayor and new people sitting on council, the goal of zoning in progress is to meet the promises they made during their campaigns. These newly elected officials want to keep the city small, which means no approvals for height variances. In addition, there is a parking issue that requires some attention, and they wish to handle that as well.
The method
With zoning in progress in place, the council is able to continue working towards new ordinances. You can still submit your variance request for parking and building height, but you will not receive an approval until zoning in progress expires.
At that time, the council hopes to have more solid rules in place that would limit buildings to 42 feet in height with no allowable exceptions. When it comes to parking, they hope to eliminate exceptions and stick with on-site parking only for residential sites.
The zoning in progress would remain in place for about six months, which would give the council time to put these new rules into place. However, if the council completes the work before that time, the process may end early. Once it ends, any requests that have been submitted will be under consideration against the new zoning rules.
