Applying for Rezoning – The Issues That You Might Face

You may need to apply for rezoning for your development. Steven Chandler of PDI explains some of the issues you may face with this type of application. 

Here’s the reality of project development.

Without approval, you don’t have a project.

It’s great to run a successful feasibility study and acquire a site. But without the necessary approval, you can’t move forward and the project stalls.

Rezoning is one of the biggest issues that you’ll run into in this department. Applying for rezoning is often a convoluted prospect that can eat into your time and budget.

In this article, Property Development Institute’s Steven Chandler explains some of the issues that you may face.

Why Might You Need to Rezone?

You’ll need to apply for rezoning if the current zoning of the land isn’t suitable for your intended development.

As a basic example, you may intend to build a block of apartment units. For that, you’ll typically need to build in a High-Density Residential zone. Each state has different names for their zones. However, the general purpose remains the same for each.

That may present a problem if the zoning of your block only allows for general residential or low-density developments.

Thus, you have to apply for rezoning before your project can move ahead.

As mentioned, this is a time-consuming process. You’re going to have to build delays into your project to complete it. Plus, you will have to consider the costs of the application in your feasibility.

The Big Question You Have to Answer

When you apply for rezoning, the relevant authority will ask one key question:

Why is the current zoning wrong?

Remember that the local authority created that zoning and they have reasons for the choices they make. Any application that you submit must provide an answer to this question. Otherwise, the local authority may not even consider the rest of the application.

You’ll look to your preliminary documentation to put your argument forth.

This documentation will usually include the following:

• Information about the current controls that apply to the site and how they’re inadequate for what you’re proposing.
• Data about traffic, both current and expected. In the high-density example, your development will likely lead to an increase in traffic. You’ll need to take a realistic view of this and find an argument for why it’s not an issue.
• Your opinion on the urban design principles of the land. Specifically, the local authority wants to know why rezoning that land leads to a good urban outcome.

Gather this data and use it to present your case to the local authority. They want to see that you’ve done your research and can provide good reasons for why your development is a good thing for the community.

That brings us to our next point…

Communicate Regularly With the Local Authority

It’s not a good idea to just put an application together and send it.

In many cases, the local authority will reject it because they don’t know enough about you or the development.

Ideally, you’ll involve the authorities from the beginning of the development project. You’ll make contact when you settle on what you want to do with the land. Furthermore, you’ll maintain that contact as you’re forming your argument.

The reason for this is that you want to put a face to the project. You need to build relationships with these people. After all, they're the people who will ultimately make the decision about your rezoning application.

If you’re not talking to the authorities, they may assume that the rezoning request doesn’t mean that much to you. They’ll almost certainly assume that you haven’t put much thought into the impact it will have on the local community.

There’s Often No Clear Process

If you visit the local authority’s website, you’ll usually see that they have defined processes for each type of development.

These will prove useful to you during the course of the project. They outline the restrictions that you need to work within if you hope to have a successful development application.

The issue is that many local authorities don’t have clear processes for rezoning applications.

Again, that’s why it’s so important to open communications with the local authority. You often can’t rely on the web to provide you with clear steps to take. That’s because rezoning applications are much rarer than development applications.

Meeting with the authorities early on allows you to nail down a process to follow. 

Never assume that you can handle this later. The risk of doing that is that you get to the project start point before you start the application process. When you discover that there isn’t a defined process, that start point keeps getting delayed.

As a result, you’re holding the land for longer, which means it costs you more money. Plus, you wreak havoc on your scheduling.

The Typical Documentation for the Application

Because there often isn’t a defined process, the exact documentation you need may vary.

However, there are a few documents that will almost always go into your rezoning application:

• An urban design review, which you should create as part of forming your argument.
• Your site analysis.
• A strategic planning report.
• Information about any high-level planning controls that apply to your site.
• Information about the planning controls you want to put in place.
• Design documentation that outlines your future vision for the site.

You may also need an economic impact statement, though you usually only supply this upon request.

Creating a Successful Rezoning Application

It’s important to make the distinction between a rezoning application and a development one.

They are not the same thing.

You will not start the development application process until you’ve handled the zoning issue. If you start it in advance, you’ll find that it gets declined.

The key here is that you can make a convincing argument for the rezoning. For that, you’ll need a clear vision and plenty of data.

Archistar can help you with both. The platform provides in-depth information about any parcel of land that you consider. This includes its zoning status as well as direct hyperlinks to any government documents that apply to that parcel. You can also use its Parametric Design Engine to create 3D concept models for any proposed development.

Start your free trial today to unlock the power of Archistar.

This content comes courtesy of Steven Chandler of the Property Development Institute. Steve Chandler is a third-generation property developer with over 35 years’ experience. He is a lecturer at two of Australia’s most recognised universities and travels Australia delivering property development training at introductory and advanced levels. Steve has also authored a number of books on building and property development.