Zoning Will Cost You - Vote No on May 6

Zoning will require submitting an application for quite a few routine actions/improvements on your property. Installing a deck, replacing a roof, upgrading your windows or siding, adding a storage shed or pole barn. There will be many costs associated with obtaining a Zoning permit for even the most simple, basic tasks and projects.

The Zoning Committee has conveniently been vague about the costs. On page 63, Section 1708 – Fees, they specify no tangible data, stating “The amount of such fees shall be established by the Township Trustees and shall cover the cost of inspection and supervision resulting from enforcement of this Resolution.”

Let’s look at Section 1702 – Plot Plan, found on page 61 of the proposed Ordinance:

When you apply for a Zoning permit, you will have to take on potentially significant costs out of your own pocket.

Section 1702 requires you to submit a plot plan, drawn to scale, in triplicate. How many of you have a plot plan of your property, drawn to scale, showing the property boundaries, just laying around your house?

So what is the cost for a Zoning permit? While it could vary greatly based on the type of project, here are example costs you may incur, based on publicly available data from the City of Findlay, other locales in NW Ohio and engineering data/costs available on the internet:

If you are starting from scratch, you will likely need to hire a licensed, professional surveyor to survey your property, mark the boundaries, and create the scale drawing to meet all the requirements found in Section 1702:

Typical surveyor fees found on the internet, for NW Ohio are:

   - Basic Survey, small property <1 acre: up to $700

   - Basic Survey, medium property between 1 – 5 acres: $1,000

   - Survey of medium property between 5 – 10 acres: up to $2,000

   - Cost per acre to survey 10 – 40 acre plots: $300/acre

   - Cost per acre to survey 40+ acre plots: $8,000/acre

   - Boundary Survey to locate and mark the property lines/pins: up to $700

   - Preparation of plot plan, to scale, showing property lines and building locations, etc: $300 - $500

 If you own 1 acre and want to add a deck to your home, you may need to cough up an additional $2,000 or more just to create the documentation required by the Zoning Committee. 

In addition to a possible application fee (no one knows if there will be one or not, as the Zoning Committee neglected to include any details about this), the proposed Zoning Ordinance does require inspections and states that fees will include recovery of inspection costs. 

There are no guarantees that you will only need one inspection. It is possible that, in some cases, the inspector will not approve the work and require changes (at your cost, of course) and additional inspections, all adding cost to your project and taking your hard-earned money away from you.