The rejection of your zoning permit application by a zoning board need not signal the end of your building project. City appeals boards and state appeals courts offer opportunities for residents to get second hearings about issues on their properties. You need to remain persistent and organized as you appeal a zoning board decision.
Instructions
1. Locate a copy of the meeting minutes and supporting materials from your zoning board presentation before you appeal a decision. Your city's zoning board website should feature meeting minutes for each month's meetings. You have the right to access copies of meeting transcripts used by the zoning board in its portion of the appeals process.
2. Pursue an appeal to a zoning board decision based on undue harm to private property. Most appeals boards find unnecessary blockage of private-property development as the best argument against a zoning board decision.
3. Argue to overturn a zoning board decision based on faulty interpretation of zoning laws by municipal bodies. This argument requires extensive knowledge about the letter of the law and an overwhelming history of similar decisions made by the board in the past.
4. Organize your neighbors to seek an appeal for a zoning board decision that influences neighborhood aesthetics. You can compile testimonials and signatures from people who share your property line as well as other neighbors who have experienced similar problems with the zoning board.
5. Develop a connection between overturning a zoning board decision on your property and the greater good. Local courts and appeals boards typically side with the initial board decision unless a property owner demonstrates that his zoning permit improves the community in some way.
6. Seek the services of an attorney who specializes in zoning laws. Your attorney may be most useful for preparing administrative documents and reviewing your arguments to find faults that may be exposed by a board member.
7. Research the possibility of pursuing additional legal action if your appeal is denied by the city's appeals board. You should consider your circuit court as the last resort for appeals, as state supreme courts will only hear extraordinary property cases due to their full dockets.
