First Time Attempting to Re-zone Land - Advice Needed

[Keaton Sheffert]

Hello BiggerPockets Users,

I am looking for advice on how to best convince my local zoning commission to accept our proposal for a rezoning from residential to commercial (for apartments).

Background: My business partner and I are hoping to begin our first development in 2025 in our small town in Southern MI. We have located a good parcel of land at a fair price, only issue is it's currently zoned for residential and we are planning to develop a small, 8-unit apartment on it. Given the nature of small towns, we have personal relationships with multiple members of the board which we believe positions us well for success but of course there is still uncertainty. To help our case, I am thinking about putting together a report of some type that would help for why this development should be accepted. 

In the report I plan on having a executive summary which outlines what the project is and how it will help the community. Curious some data points / arguments / etc. other BP users have used in the past to argue how and why a project would benefit the community. What exactly would make a city board approve non-affordable (i.e. not Section 8)  apartments? How might a city board view a project such as this and what might be some of the bigger questions they would ask of us?

Apologize if these questions are vague, I am quite new to this.

Happy to provide some of the data I have found thus far (though data online is scarce given the size of the town).

Thanks!

P.s. Location says Ann Arbor but we are in a smaller town west of there.

[Brandon Weis]

I think your idea of an executive summary is great, but make sure to include pictures. You can show a packet to the mayor of the city, and they'll focus on a 3d picture of the development rather than 10 bullet points on how it will increase affordable housing supply. 

I would even take it a step further and share that executive summary with all neighbors of the site. Mailing would help, but I'd recommend going door-to-door if you could. I've personally gone knocking door-to-door sharing development plans and have had positive reception 99% of the time. Sadly, the biggest thing is stressing that it's not section 8 housing as that seems to be the boogeyman for any homeowner. My main selling point that it would be Class A multifamily and offer some of the nicest living in the area, raising their property values. Other classic selling points are increasing housing supply in a market in need of it (assuming yours also is) and bettering the community.

You can also hear concerns/worries for the people most likely top show up to the zoning meeting and voice their dissent, so you can prepare counterarguments or talk them off the ledge.

It's great you already have relationships with members on the council, but I would check if they have to recuse themselves from voting on the issue. That was the case for us. Outside of that, I'd just say to prepare to answer the most useless questions you can think of. It's amazing how people on these voting committees single in on issues that should not stand in the way of community progress like landscaping, parking, and dog parks.

[Keaton Sheffert]

Thank you very much for this response Brandon! This is very helpful.

In regards to getting neighbors on board, would you go so far as getting their signature? or how exactly do you get them to vouch for you if they are in favor of the project?

In our market, there isn't much data outside of the census (I've checked Costar, CBRE, etc) do you know of any other sources i could use to back-up that the market is in need of housing? This is the general conscious and well known so might not need hard data.

Finally, when you say useless questions to prepare for, what are some of the worst you have heard? would be interesting to hear how "bottom-of-the-barrel" these questions can get lol

(I can also hop on the phone sometime and chat throw if you prefer and are open to that)

[Henry Clark]

OP use the lookup for my post.  Self storage zoning.

1.  Look at a zoning table and see what is possible in each.   Even with special use or variance.
2.  Look at a zoning map.  See if the needed zoning is next to your property.  Commissions don’t like to do Spot zoning changes.  If next door not Spot zoning.

3.  Get the future planned zoning map.  Seeing your property is in the correct zone in the future.  They will be more amicable to change yours.

4.  Check the setbacks, landscaping and parking requirements for your project.   Will it fit?  
5.  Check with the Planning group on the need for this type of project.  

[Alecia Loveless]

@Keaton Sheffert In my town there is a very specific set of criteria for getting either a Special Exception or a Variance for a proposed change to the zoning.

There are certain agents that people sometimes hire to make the actual proposal to the board. These include surveyors, real estate brokers or potentially a property manager. Then typically the applicants also attend the hearing to help answer any questions that may arise that the agent might not know the answer to.

While it is great to have those kinds of personal relationships with board members it doesn’t really make much difference in our area due to the nature of the requirements. It is usually fairly cut and dried.

The only time it might make a difference is if you have a reputation of being good at what you’re proposing or a good citizen in general and then some of the requirements of the Planning Board (which in my town deals with the project and how it is structured with regards to the property) might be a little more lax.

[Keaton Sheffert]

@Henry Clark Thanks Henry! I took your suggestion and spent the night checking through the cities Master Plan. Based on their goals and future zoning map it looks like we may be well positioned. I need to do some more diligence as it relates to point #4 and #5 

[Keaton Sheffert]

@Alecia Loveless Thank you for the advice!

I imagine it really is more cut and dry than i think. Our small town might be a bit more personable. My business partner had dinner with a friend on the Planning Commission just last night. We own a complete eye sore in the middle of the CBD and he said if we can fix it up and make it glitzy and nice it would certainly help our case. We've flipped quite a few houses so should be easy but funny to see the Quid pro quo nature of it haha

[Stuart Udis]

@Keaton Sheffert Zoning changes can be a valuable tool in real estate. Every municipality has different zoning variance procedures. As a general rule of thumb most municipalities expect for the applicant to demonstrate hardship. Why can't you build residential housing on this parcel? Is it on a busy commercial street or surrounded by other non residential uses? Does the parcel have unique and challenging characteristics? Common examples include difficult grading, or an irregular lot orientation. 

Secondarily how will the multi-family concept impact the most immediate and impacted neighbors? This is important because these are generally the property owners with standing to file an appeal if they are not satisfied with the plans which can become a drawn out and expensive process.  Therefore best to communicate with the immediate neighbors early in the process. Sometimes minor tweaks to the design can garner their support which is far better than having an adversary. If you can provide additional benefits to the community, particularly those most greatly impacted that's great but that alone usually isn't sufficient in most municipalities. As others noted, most municipalities issue future zoning maps which indicate the direction the local planning commission or equivalent wants to take their zoning and if your plans are consistent, that's generally a good indication as well. 

To provide a practical example, I acquired a 60,000 SF assemblage that contained an autobody garage, nearly an acre of surface parking and a 4 unit building in Philadelphia. The base zoning required 25 feet of frontage and a lot area of 2,250 SF per house. Despite being nearly 60,000 SF of land, strict adherence to the zoning code would only allow 7 homes because the parcels lacked street frontage despite being very deep. The hardship in my case stemmed from the fact the parcel size required a storm water management system that would cost the same to implement if I built 7 homes or 30. There were challenging grading issues and limited access from the street to bring in utilities. There was also a failing retaining wall in the rear of the property that completely blocked natural light form a handful of houses, and was technically on the property line and a shared responsibility. I ultimately obtained a variance to build 12 townhomes and 18 condos reliant on my hardship case and by agreeing to take responsibility for replacing the retaining wall in a re-designed terrace approach that stepped the wall back from the most immediate neighbors which was a rounding error once applied to the overall project budget. I received my desired density and $1.3M in imputed equity that recently allowed me to finance the construction at 87% LTC through a bank. Meanwhile the  neighbors quality of life will improve once the new wall is constructed 2025 Q1 and the denser use is consistent with the Philadelphia planning commission's 2035 plan. All stakeholders were satisfied and no appeals were filed.

[Brandon Weis]

Quote from @Keaton Sheffert:

Thank you very much for this response Brandon! This is very helpful.

In regards to getting neighbors on board, would you go so far as getting their signature? or how exactly do you get them to vouch for you if they are in favor of the project?

In our market, there isn't much data outside of the census (I've checked Costar, CBRE, etc) do you know of any other sources i could use to back-up that the market is in need of housing? This is the general conscious and well known so might not need hard data.

Finally, when you say useless questions to prepare for, what are some of the worst you have heard? would be interesting to hear how "bottom-of-the-barrel" these questions can get lol

(I can also hop on the phone sometime and chat throw if you prefer and are open to that)

Getting neighbor signatures could be fantastic! My main goal was just getting their verbal support so I was confident they wouldn't show up to the hearing and voice dissent. My main goal was avoiding public voices against it. After that, I was confident we could clearly show the positives of the project to the board.

I don't have a great answer on displaying a housing shortage for your area. In most areas, and ours, it is a common opinion as rents have skyrocketed the last few years so it's an easy talking point. If you could find any news stories, that might be a place to start, or even share national housing shortage data. It just obviously won't be market specific.

On a personal rezoning I did for a house hack new-construction triplex, I was asked numerous questions about how many bushes and trees I was going to plant. And a large decision point for them to rezone it to allow 1-4 family was contingent on me living there (which should not be relevant to a project improving the community). I assured them that I "had" to live there for at least a year but didn't know where life would take me after that as I only planned on living there for the minimum term and didn't want to lie, and then thankfully one of my connections on the board, changed the conversation.

On a commercial development rezoning we had, we had to deal with racist commentary and questions about the type of person that apartments would bring to the area. Sadly, everyone has a voice and you have to be prepared for anything.

[Keaton Sheffert]

@Brandon Weis Sounds good - this has been very helpful. 

Fortunately, our parcel only has 1 neighbor, so less work from a quantity perspective on avoid dissent. However, for all we know, this one neighbor could give us high hell - we will ensure we speak to him before. 

In our town, the need for housing is well known, I was able to find some data but I think the general knowledge of it might be enough.

Glad to hear about the success of your re-zoning on the triplex. Did you end up actually living there? or was it more of a "I COULD live here if need be" but the issues was ultimately dropped? 

[Keaton Sheffert]

@Stuart Udis Very helpful Stuart! Great anecdote to include - I have messaged you on the side.

[Brandon Weis]

@Keaton Sheffert 1 neighbor is certainly easier than 50, so that is good! On my personal rezoning, that was just this summer and construction should finish right after Christmas! I am house hacking it, so I will be living there for at least the year minimum, but don't really plan on staying longer than that. They were trying to pin down how long I would live there (and would not have liked the 1 year answer). Fortunately, my connection on the board kept steering them away anytime they came back to that when we met on it.

[Kristi Kandel]

Quote from @Keaton Sheffert:

Hello BiggerPockets Users,

I am looking for advice on how to best convince my local zoning commission to accept our proposal for a rezoning from residential to commercial (for apartments).

Background: My business partner and I are hoping to begin our first development in 2025 in our small town in Southern MI. We have located a good parcel of land at a fair price, only issue is it's currently zoned for residential and we are planning to develop a small, 8-unit apartment on it. Given the nature of small towns, we have personal relationships with multiple members of the board which we believe positions us well for success but of course there is still uncertainty. To help our case, I am thinking about putting together a report of some type that would help for why this development should be accepted. 

In the report I plan on having a executive summary which outlines what the project is and how it will help the community. Curious some data points / arguments / etc. other BP users have used in the past to argue how and why a project would benefit the community. What exactly would make a city board approve non-affordable (i.e. not Section 8)  apartments? How might a city board view a project such as this and what might be some of the bigger questions they would ask of us?

Apologize if these questions are vague, I am quite new to this.

Happy to provide some of the data I have found thus far (though data online is scarce given the size of the town).

Thanks!

P.s. Location says Ann Arbor but we are in a smaller town west of there.

 @Keaton Sheffert reach out to Michigan Economic Development Corporation. They are searching for emerging developers and are offering all sorts of grants to development ready cities. We are actually working with MEDC to put together workshops to help provide trainings for various regions in MI to help fill in the development gaps from the real estate entrepreneurs and what it takes to build a development company and complete a project. Happy to chat more if you'd like. 

Separately, smaller towns are very user friendly. The more you can show that you have community support (talk to your neighbors of the property & the local biz) and potentially MEDC conceptual support that will go a long way. 

As a former planning commissioner the people AGAINST projects are the loudest so you want to make sure you have a good pulse on what your neighbors and the louder people at public hearings stand so you can be prepared ahead of time. 

A picture is worth a 1000 words and a project we helped someone on in the UP was able to gain support and approval by getting renderings done showing what the finished project would look like. They spent 1K on them from upwork and it helped resolve concerns in the meeting real time with some neighbors had who were just picturing the project their own way which was completely different than what the emerging developer was proposing. 

[Scott Mac]

Why do you think they would want to have you put in a section 8 community in that area versus a more upscale type of Apartments???

Is this an area  of town Where they would want to have additional section 8 instead of an upscale apartment community??

Zoning changes might be easy in your town because it's small, but you have to realize that the overall goal of zoning is that there are zones for certain things.

Typically this is not something that is done very lightly because they want certain things in certain zones.

Some of that has to do with things like electrical service being available in needed amounts for the types of structures that will be there.

There is also the impact on the things like the sewer system and traffic patterns and parking, and overall the desire of the neighbors who are already in the area to have zoning change so close to them. 

And while this doesn't directly answer your question, it may give you some foundation to build upon when you are discussing things with them.

Ask them what they want they may want a pitchbook of PowerPoint slides or something like that instead of a written material that is possible some of them will not have time to read.

Good Luck!