How to Overcome Zoning Opposition

A zoning board is an interesting phenomenon. A group of people with few if any qualifications come together and make up one of the most powerful forces in your community. When you're on the wrong side of the zoning board, it can feel like an uphill battle. However, you can overcome zoning opposition if you follow these steps.

Instructions

Difficulty: Easy

1. Talk to your neighbors. When you live in a community, everyone wants to take part. Neighbors feel they have the right to know what you're going to do before the people across town find out. Before you even have a plan on paper, talk to your neighbors about what you want to do on your property. You'll need their support to move your project forward.
2. Line up some professionals. People who sit on a zoning board take themselves very seriously. By day they may be neighbors and peers in your community, but in the evening they step up to a higher calling. The only way to trump the zoning board mystic is with actual credentials. Plan your presentation strategy with an architect, an engineer and an attorney. These people have experience dealing with zoning boards, and their presentation will carry more weight than yours with the zoning board.
3. Play politics. Why not--local officials do it all the time. Exploit your relationships with important and respected members of the community. Spend some time in the local haunts chatting up your project. Keep a positive tone and listen for ways you can subtly repay these people for their support. Give gifts with no strings attached. Show your support for local initiatives that are popular with the in crowd.
4. Keep your nose clean. Zoning opposition can get nasty and personal. Try to keep it off the personal level by staying out of trouble in other areas of the community. Now isn't a good time to oppose the dog-catcher's re-election, withhold donations from the volunteer firefighters, or go out of town to buy a new car. Anything that will draw attention to you right now could be negative.