Land Rezoning- Question

[Abe Macias]

I have land I want to rezone from an "R1" to an "R2" to build a duplex. Is there businesses out there that handle the rezoning process for me? I am just starting out and need some advice.

Thanks!

Abe

[Miles Stanley]

Hi @Abe Macias,

I'm a civil engineer here in San Antonio and we do rezonings on occasion.  When i did the rezoning, i noticed a lot of attorneys seemed to be doing other cases as well.  It can be a fairly involved process.  You have to basically convince the city planning commission that your development is in conformance with the plans of the area.  In some cases they even expect you to canvass the neighborhood (go door to door) to garner support for your case.  There are also multiple opportunities for the neighbors surrounding the property (within 200') to come speak for or against the proposed rezoning.  The commission weighs all public input as well as the case you or your engineer/attorney put forth and they render their decision.  It then goes to city council and gets approved or denied.  If approved, all done!  If not, i think there's an appeals process.

Are there other duplexes in the area? One thing to consider is, if the neighborhood is all SFR, then the neighbors may strongly object to a duplex going up. It really depends. The more facts and data you can use to substantiate your proposed case, the better.

This is the process for the city of San Antonio.  Other city's processes may vary.

Thanks and i hope this helps!