Making Sure You re in the Zone

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Making Sure You're in the Zone

One of the first steps to take when beginning any new business, whether in a home office or elsewhere, is to make sure your area is zoned for the type of business you plan to operate . Zoning regulations vary a great deal from place to place. For instance, did you know that in some parts of the country the zoning laws date back to the Civil War while in other parts of the country there are no restrictions at all? There are some places where operating a home office is not permitted.

Zoning laws are important and can be a good thing. They are one of the ways that your local government keeps residential areas residential, business areas business, industrial areas industrial, and agricultural areas agricultural . They are also intended to protect us from danger or unsafe situations. Consider the Black Mamba snake for a moment. The Black Mamba is considered to be one of the deadliest snakes in the world. Death from this 14- foot serpent can occur in less than 15 minutes if it bites you. Imagine for another moment that your next -door neighbor gets the bright idea of breeding these snakes from his or her home and selling them over the Internet. Without zoning laws in place, there would be little you could do to stop your neighbor from raising these lethal, slithering creatures . As a basic rule of thumb, there are regulations in place if somebody's business puts others at risk.

Typically, zoning laws are in place to control:

• The type of business you conduct

• Parking

• The amount of traffic in your area

• Using signs for advertising purposes

• The hours when your business may be in operation

• The use of hazardous materials and chemicals

• How many people you employ in your home business

• How much of your home is designated for your business

• How much odor, smoke, and noise your business will generate

It is important to remember that zoning laws can vary from town to town and county to county. What is permitted in one area may not be permitted in another. For instance, in Manhasset, New York, a realtor is not allowed to solicit potential home sellers by telephone, but in the very next town of Port Washington, it is permitted. How can you find out about the zoning laws in your area? Contact your local government agency and ask for the Zoning Department, Planning Department, or the Building Inspector. The address and phone number can be found in the back of your local yellow pages.

Zoning Violations

A number of home businesses operate outside the law. Home businesses are created every day without checking into the zoning codes in that community. Then again, there are some home businesses that blatantly disregard the law and operate even though they pose a health or safety risk to themselves , others, or animals. Most get away with it because either no one knows about it or the business isn't disturbing anyone .

Zoning complaints usually begin with a phone call from an unhappy neighbor. Perhaps he or she is put out because your customers take all the parking on the street during your Pilates class. Maybe your neighbor is tired of looking at all that equipment you have stored on your driveway for your roofing business. Then again, maybe you run a perfectly private and discrete home business, but your neighbor is still holding a grudge from last summer's block party. If not your neighbor then the complaint could come from a disgruntled customer, a postal carrier, or anyone at all.

A representative from the town or municipality where you live will come to investigate the complaint. If you have not broken any zoning codes then you may resume your business. If, however, you are cited with zoning violations, the zoning department will send you a notice ordering you to stop your business. If you don't heed the warning you can be fined for each day that you are in violation. You could be fined as much as $100 a day.

Things can really start to heat up if you choose to ignore the zoning notice ordering you to stop your business. As a rule, if you ignore the notice and continue running your business, the zoning department will seek an injunction against you. An injunction is an order from a civil court barring you from continuing the violation. Following that you will receive a notice for a hearing. It's not recommended that you ignore an injunction and fail to appear for the hearing because that puts you in contempt of court. Contempt of court means a possible fine and jail time. Do you see where all of this is heading?

Zoning Variances

There are situations where the zoning laws are either outdated or, in your opinion, unfair. In those cases, you can try to seek a variance. A variance is a license that legally makes it permissible for you to do something that is against the law. Obtaining a license can be easy or tricky, depending on where you live. Sometimes a variance amounts to nothing more than completing paperwork while in other places, you might have to plead your case publicly to your city council. Your local government's zoning or planning department can provide additional information.

If you don't want to get started with fighting zoning codes in your town, there are other possibilities to consider. While these possibilities don't apply to all businesses, they may help to spark other types of solutions for your business. For example, in some areas parking is very restricted. In fact, in some towns parking on the street is prohibited at any hour. You operate a party planning business but you can't have clients over for meetings because there is no place to park. In the spirit of making a good impression and appearing professional, meeting at the local diner might not be a great idea. In these situations, you might consider renting a professional office or suite by the hour or reserving meeting rooms in your public library.

There are a number of websites that offer free legal forms for you to copy and download. A good one that we recommend is: Internet Legal Resource Guide at www.ilrg.com.

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