How Can a Lawyer Help Navigate Zoning Laws for Small Businesses in Daytona Beach, FL?

What Are Zoning Laws?

Zoning laws refer to the regulations stipulating how a property can be used. Zoning can also regulate the size and scale of a building and define how many doors or parking spaces a building can have in a specific geographic area.

Zoning laws can affect small business owners who wish to make changes to their building, open another location, and more. Laws are in place to help evenly distribute or specify areas of cities for certain things.

For example, commercial zoning provides an area where businesses can operate, such as a store or an office.

Residential zoning is for personal homes or, in some cases, those who want to run a business out of their home.

Agricultural zoning is for farming or industrial zoning for manufacturing or other tasks, which are typically louder or more intrusive to those around them.

Check Your Specific Zoning

If you want to make changes relative to your business, it’s essential to check to ensure the appropriate zoning for that area is in place. If not, you risk investing in an area that isn’t zoned for your business, which can create unnecessary financial loss.

Check the zoning laws with your local city, town, or county by requesting to speak with the planning or recorder’s office. Daytona Beach is a city full of opportunities and areas where growth can be achieved, but it’s essential to understand where and what you are able to do to avoid complications.

It’s important to note that even if you begin renting a business space where another business was previously, you should check with the city regarding the zoning. The previous owner may have had a variance, or the zoning laws may have changed, meaning you would need a permit or variance to operate your business there.

What Do Zoning Laws Typically Pertain To?

Zoning laws cover a myriad of topics, but one of the main ones is noise. As mentioned above, a manufacturing plant isn’t typically allowed right next to a personal home due to the noise level variations for both properties.

Parking spaces are another issue that zoning helps to alleviate or govern. If a commercial area exists, there are typically more parking spaces available than there would be for a residential area. If the area isn’t zoned for retail business, you may be unable to extend parking spaces for your business.

Additionally, things like plumbing and septic requirements exist for buildings zoned in commercial or industrial areas. Buildings will typically be required to have a certain number of bathrooms or a minimum capacity of their septic system to withstand multiple people in the building at a time.

If you operate your business out of your home, you may be required to operate during a set number of hours due to being in a residential area. Check with Daytona Beach’s recording or planning office to ensure that you are compliant before you make investments or significant changes to your workspace.

Planning For Growth

If you are planning for growth in your business, it’s imperative to speak with an experienced small business attorney and learn more about the options that you have available to you. For example, if you start out working from your home, you may have restrictions regarding hours or operation, but you may cut costs by doing so.

If you plan to grow into a more significant or commercial space, it’s essential to understand what part zoning may have in those plans and adjust as necessary. You may also need to apply for a variance or speak with the city regarding when re-zoning may occur, which may also influence your decisions.

Staying ahead of the game and being proactive can also help you obtain and sustain an edge over your competition.

Work With Your Business Attorney To Plan Effectively

By working closely with your business attorney as your partner, you can be up-to-date on upcoming changes to zoning laws that may affect your business or future plans.

For instance, if there is a plan to rezone an area or otherwise make changes to it, your experienced attorney may know of the prospective changes before they become law and can act accordingly to protect your business interests.

A solid and consistent legal presence is one of the best ways to ensure that zoning laws work in your favor. Suppose you have a working relationship with your business attorney. In that case, you can stay proactive in these changes or as your needs change rather than reactive, mitigating financial risk from several angles.

Furthermore, it’s important not to get discouraged due to zoning laws. By working with your experienced attorney, you can learn more about your options for a variance or other permits that will allow you to make your dream a reality.

Your Additional Partner in Business

My office is small by design, as I thoroughly enjoy getting to know each of my clients and their dreams and working with them independently. I know how important my business dream is to me, and I take pride in my work, as do my clients. We are in this together.

Whether it’s learning more about the zoning laws in your area, working together to put contracts in place to protect your business, providing you with legal presence in litigation or negotiations, and more. I have vast experience and passion for my business clients, big and small.

Contact my office today at (850) 888-8992 to learn more about your options and begin our working relationship.

I look forward to working with you to continue making your business dreams a reality.