Land Use - NOW or future?

08 Jun 2015| Posted by: Geoff Baldwin

If your land presently enjoys, say, an urban zoning (for residential development), enquire whether you can develop unconstrained and or if it is the subject of an overall planning structure plan and or an overall subdivision guideplan - as this can and will effect when and what you can develop. Such will also effect future subdivisional access to your land and even though you may presently have an existing road frontage, (and you thus presume you can gain access to your intended new subdivision) under the guideplan this may not be available for the overall intended subdivision as the future internal roadplan may be different, and you may therefore have to wait for a neighbour to develop before you can get access “into” your subdivision; through their adjoining property. Sometimes this can take many years before subdivision can proceed - even though they are actually zoned for immediate (hypothetical) development now. The guidleplan layout may in fact have a design which shows lots on your property which back onto the existing road frontage that currently provides your access. The final layout may cancel the use of that road altogether, and use the overall “new” road system within the subdivision created. Be careful here - as this can (sometimes) cost you years of time and many $$$.