When owning land, one of the most common challenges is adapting to zoning regulations. However, there are mechanisms that allow owners to make a use different from that established by zoning. Let's look at a practical case and the available solutions.

Practical Case: The Desire to Build a Business in a Residential Area

Let's imagine that a property owner wants to build a grocery store in an area zoned exclusively for residential use. The question is: how can you obtain the necessary permission to carry out your project?

Common Options and Their Viability

• «Novation» (Novación): NO. A novation is not related to zoning, but to the replacement of a debt or one of the parties in a contract.
• «Amendment» (Enmienda): NO. Although it is possible to change zoning regulations through an amendment, it is a process that affects an entire area and not just a particular property.
• Approval of surrounding owners: NO. Although having the support of neighbors can be beneficial in many cases, it alone does not allow an exception to zoning regulations.
• «Conditional Use Permit» (Permiso de Uso Condicional) o «Zoning Variance» (Variación de Zonificación): YEAH. These are mechanisms designed to provide flexibility in zoning.

Profundizando en el «Conditional Use» y las «Variances»

A «Conditional Use Permit» It is an exception that allows property owners to use their property in non-conforming ways with the current zoning. On the other hand, a «variance» is a request to deviate from current zoning requirements.

Conclusion

Los desafíos en torno a la zonificación pueden parecer complejos, pero existen herramientas legales como el permiso de «conditional use» y las «variances» que permiten a los propietarios adaptarse y realizar sus proyectos. Es esencial conocer estas herramientas y cómo se aplican en cada situación.