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Nearly every city and county attaches building restrictions to land when the land is first put into development. This is called zoning. Zoning determines many factors you must consider, including:

 The type of building you can put on the land

 The lot’s minimum size

 The number of dwellings or units you can build on the lot

Finding out and understanding the zoning of a particular lot before you decide to buy is important. The information is readily available at your friendly, local city hall or county government building; your local government also has a guide that can tell you what each zoning designation means.

Most urban and suburban lots for houses are zoned residential R-1. If a zoning designation has a higher number, you can build more units on it (for example, a duplex or triplex) based on whatever number is designated (R-2, R-3, and so on). Some commercial lots can be used for residential, but the rules vary among municipalities. Most large, rural properties are designated RA for residential agricultural. When the zoning has a number such as RA-5, the designation means your lot must be at least 5 acres in size. This information is important to know in case you want to split the property into more than one lot. If you have 9 acres with RA-5 zoning, you can’t divide the lot in two. (Remember: Each lot needs to be at least 5 acres.) You can split a 10-acre parcel with RA-5 zoning in two, providing it meets all other county zoning guidelines.

Don’t take today’s zoning for granted — the local government can zone to meet with the needs of the community on almost a moment’s notice and without your agreement or even advance knowledge. Although this change happens mostly in rural areas, check with the local government to see if any zoning questions for your area are scheduled. While you’re at it, be sure to ask if any special tax assessments will affect the property. These assessments can add to your expenses as well. And remember that many municipalities will allow you to petition to have a property rezoned, but it may cost you, and it’s not likely to be approved.

Even though you can, in theory, build a single-family residence on a lot zoned for commercial or apartment use, you may want to take the zoning into long-term consideration. Often, a property owner may destroy a small house in a commercial area and build apartments or office buildings, which can change the neighborhood’s tone for the worse (think noisy neighbors and cars parked everywhere), reducing your home’s value.

Zoning only affects the general plans for the property. More detailed restrictions for building may also be stated in the covenants, conditions, and restrictions (CC&Rs) that are recorded on the property, as well as in the design review guidelines. We talk more about CC&Rs in Chapter 4 and design review guidelines in Chapter 6. Ask the homeowners’ association (HOA), your real-estate agent, or the title company for a set of CC&Rs and design review guidelines to find out about other restrictions, such as setback limits, style limitations, and height limits, before you agree to purchase any lot.