Can any one help on a residential zoning law?
We live on residential zoned area, my neighbor operates a landscaping business for a long time, before we moved in, his property it is a residential zoned also, I learned from the town when he started his business for one person he never obtained a license or what so ever, at the present time his 2-3 grown kids 10 workers, 6-8 truck, tractors, other big machinery's, land fill, soil, fertilizers, and so on, after moving few months, I complain to the town that this people are running big landscaping business on a residential property, making so much noise and pollution all day long, we can not rest, or leave the windows open, site outside in the backyard, nothing done, I took my complaint the town meeting with a lawyer, after few meetings the board heard my complaints in return they awarded a certificate to this people, the right to park the trucks and do business, Grand father law, plus my lawyer took my $1200 dollars by doing nothing, he said now we have to take the case to county court, again in the town record there is no business permit issued to this people, I can't understand how the board can issue a certificate without sending notices to the neighbors, I cant afford a lawyer, is there any else I can do to fight with the town, or county, state, Please only serious reply
Thank you.
Answer:
Well, you don't say where you live, even the country, so it's kind of hard to get specific.
But, if you are in the US, it sounds like your neighbor was given a conditional use permit, based on a pre-existing use. This means that he may have been able to show that he was operating the landscaping business there at a time that it was zoned differently or at a time when it was county land and not controlled by the city. Many times, county zoning is less restrictive and business permits might not be required. Later, when a city incorporates or annexes an area, they often must allow these previously legally operating businesses to continue.
If they did not, but simply came in and told a previously legal business to shut down, that would be considered an unconstitutional "taking" of a right.
Allowing pre-existing uses to continue is often called "grandfathering".
If this is the case, your lawyer is right. The next stop is the county. There, you will need to show that your neighbor was not operating legally under the old county rules and that therefore he should not be protected by those old rules.
Also, your lawyer should argue that he should only be allowed to operate the business as it existed up to the time of the rule change. So, if he only had 2 workers and 1 truck back then, that's all he should be able to have now.
But all of this is an expensive fight and the outcome is uncertain. It's unfortunate that you did not do your homework before moving in. It's likely that you will not win this.
If you live in a US town I would think there would likely be ordinances or laws limiting the amount of noise and trash a neighbor may have on his property or for that matter anything that would be considered a nuisance such as the machinery. Also, there may be laws governing anything your neighbor does that may reduce the value of your property or cause you continuous irritation. Look up the ordinances pertaining to buildings and property use in your town and see if it applies. I would think the neighbor would be subject to such laws whether or not he has a permit to carry on a business on his property.
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