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Zoning Report

A zoning report built from counsel’s own questions about one parcel, each answer read against the code the building was permitted under and the code in force today.

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Walk one parcel from the map to the signed report ↓

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The problem

A building can meet the code it was permitted under and fail today’s

On an acquisition or a refinancing, the lender asks for a zoning report before closing, and the diligence window is short. Ordering one from a third party means weeks of waiting. Doing it in house means an associate reads the whole municipal code, the zoning map and a stack of city permits by hand.

The hard part is the date. A parking count or a setback that fails the current code may have met the code in force when the building went up, and only the old ordinance and the permit record can prove it. Read a grandfathered feature as a violation and a good deal dies. Read a violation as grandfathered and the buyer inherits the cure.

Built forLand use attorneysReal estate associatesZoning analystsReal estate partners

The Problem Today

Each deal needs a zoning answer, and the rules a building was permitted under are seldom the rules in force now.

2–3 wks: average wait for a single-site zoning report published
6,000+: zoning ordinances in one provider’s library published

What an associate reads today

Code
Permits
Variances
Survey

Grandfathered or violation?Only the old ordinance and the permit file can tell
Weeks gone from diligenceA third-party report eats into a short contract window

The Solution

Ask about one parcelUse, parking, height, setbacks or signs, in plain words
Code read as of each dateThe text in force when the building was permitted, beside the current text
Each answer citedThe exact code text, plus the permit or variance that settles it
Counsel signs the reportOnly accepted answers reach it, and a partner releases it

Built-in controls

Only answers counsel accepts reach the report
Nothing called grandfathered without a record
Each answer quotes the code passage it rests on

What You Get

Counsel tells the client and the lender what is lawful, what the seller must cure and what needs approval, while there is time to act.

1 hour: of associate reading per site, down from 6–10 our estimate

Cure requests out earlyA violation reaches the seller before the window closes
A right-to-rebuild statementThe lender sees what a rebuild after a fire would lose
Approvals found before closingA conditional use permit spotted while the deal can still adjust

Code then, code now

Nine screens behind one zoning report, from the parcel to the signature

From the parcel’s district to counsel’s signature: what each screen does, how it works in short points, and the role it serves.

01Parcel and zone
District and overlay found from the zoning map, assessor and survey
How it works
- Reads the zoning map sheet, the assessor record and the survey together
- Places parcel 2077-14-3-02-011 wholly in O-2 and the corridor overlay
- Each parcel fact carries its source, from the 4.62 acres to the proposed use
- A split-zoned lot goes to the analyst
Zoning analystStarts every site from a confirmed district and overlay; no more tracing map sheets against assessor pages.
02Permits and certificates read
Every permit, variance and open case laid on one timeline
How it works
- Lays 14 permits, 2 variances and 1 enforcement case on one line from 1996
- Puts the amending ordinances on the same line
- Reads it all in 6 min 40 s: 3 min 05 s for the code, 1 min 50 s for permits and variances
- Flags the final inspection of B-21-0884 as not found
Zoning analystReplaces days of pulling city records and working out which ones bear on zoning at all.
03The code as of each date
The code rebuilt as of any past date, ordinance by ordinance
How it works
- Seven rules across five dates, from April 1996 to today
- Each changed cell names the ordinance that changed it
- Office parking moves from 1 per 375 sq ft to 1 per 300 sq ft in November 2019
Zoning analystAnswers which version of the code applied when the building was permitted, without a hunt through the ordinance archive.
04Ask about this parcel
Questions in plain words, answered with the code then and now
How it works
- Counsel types the question the client would ask
- Quotes the 1996 ratio beside the current one, with the arithmetic: 112 required then, 140 now
- Cites the certificate of occupancy, the parking permit, §17.62.040 and the survey
- Accept into the report, edit, or reject on stated grounds
Land use counselGets a straight answer on the parking and the reason it holds, in place of a third party’s binder weeks later.
05Permitted and conditional uses
The use table read for the proposed use, with its approval path
How it works
- Medical office over 10,000 sq ft has been conditional in O-2 since July 1, 2023
- Lists the five criteria the commission weighs: three likely met, two needing evidence
- Drafts the application checklist: 9 items, 6 already in the file
Land use counselTells the client before closing that the clinic needs planning approval, what the commission will weigh, and that the open case must close first.
06Conformity, item by item
Every item held against the code today and the code when built
How it works
- Ten items in one table: use, parking, setbacks, sign, height, floor area ratio and landscaping
- Required today, existing and when built, with sources on each row
- 5 conform, 3 legally non-conforming, 1 violation, 1 needs approval
Real estate associateSees the whole site in one view, and which items need counsel, with no table to assemble from a 340-page code.
07Conformity item: generator pad
A violation told apart from a feature a variance protects
How it works
- The pad sits 9 ft from the rear line where 25 ft is required
- Variance V-96-12 covers the principal building only
- Open case CE-23-0412 puts the pad on the seller’s cure list, with a cure request drafted
Land use counselKeeps the buyer from inheriting a cure the seller should pay for, by separating what was never lawful from what was.
08Right to rebuild
What the building loses if it burns, set out for the lender
How it works
- Quotes the 1996 rule at 60 percent of value beside 50 percent of replacement value today
- Names what a rebuild would need: 140 spaces and a 50 ft front setback
- Keeps counsel’s added note on law-and-ordinance coverage as an edit
Real estate partnerHands the lender a right-to-rebuild answer it can lend on, with the damage threshold and the features a rebuild would not keep.
09Zoning report and sign-off
A zoning report built only from accepted answers, signed the same day
How it works
- Each statement cited, from the summary to violations
- 11 pages and 46 citations, all checked by the analyst
- 6 of 6 answers decided: 5 accepted as drafted, 1 edited
- Counsel signs; release is a separate partner’s step
Land use counselSigns a cited report on the day the questions were asked, where a third-party report takes two to three weeks.

Seven rules that changed since 1996, and where this building stands on each

The code the building was permitted under, the code today, and what follows for the site.

Rule	When built	Today	For this building
Office parking	1 per 375 sq ft	1 per 300 sq ft, office and medical office	112 spaces may continue; the clinic adds nothing to the shortfall
Medical office over 10,000 sq ft in O-2	Permitted	Conditional since July 1, 2023	The clinic needs a conditional use permit
Front setback on the parkway	35 ft	50 ft in the overlay, since 2008	Building at 42 ft may stay as built
Height in O-2	40 ft, varied to 44 ft	45 ft	Conforms without the variance
Rear setback in O-2	30 ft, varied to 18 ft for the building	25 ft, principal and accessory structures	Building conforms by variance; the pad at 9 ft does not
Monument sign	80 sq ft	48 sq ft	The 72 sq ft sign may be re-faced; a structural change must meet 48 sq ft
Rebuild after damage	Over 60% of value	Over 50% of replacement value	Past that, rebuilt to the current code

Around the answers

The citations, drafts and trail around the zoning report

Screens the analyst, counsel and the partner turn to between answers.

Certificate of occupancy CO-97-0044 opened from a citation: 42,000 sq ft, 3 stories, 112 spaces with 6 accessible — **Where the 112 comes from**Click any cited record and its page opens. The 1997 certificate of occupancy holds 112 spaces, 6 accessible, with the words the answer relies on marked.

Ordinance 2023-09 opened from the code-by-date table: medical office over 10,000 sq ft becomes a conditional use, effective July 1, 2023 — **The ordinance behind a change**Ord. 2023-09 made medical office over 10,000 sq ft conditional in office districts from July 1, 2023, and left existing medical offices alone.

Permit table beside a missing final inspection for B-21-0884 and a drafted request to the city records office, waiting for the analyst to approve — **One missing inspection, one request**The resurfacing kept 112 spaces and the survey counts 112, so the parking answer stands. The request waits for the analyst to send it.

Monument sign item: legally non-conforming at 72 sq ft, 48 sq ft required today and 80 sq ft when built, with both code passages quoted — **A sign permitted under the old limit**Permitted in 2001 at 72 sq ft under an 80 sq ft limit. It may be re-faced with the clinic’s name; a structural change must meet 48 sq ft.

Draft cure request to the seller objecting to violation CE-23-0412, the generator pad 9 ft from the rear line, with Not now and Approve buttons — **The objection to the seller**Drafted from the violation: a permit and a variance, or a moved pad, and a closed case before closing. It goes out once counsel approves.

Audit trail of the matter: questions asked, sources opened, answers accepted and edited, agent readings and the signature on the 11-page report — **The trail behind the signature**Questions, agent readings, sources opened, acceptances and the signature, each timed and marked as a person’s act or an agent’s. No entry can be altered.

Five records behind every quote, from the code to the purchase agreement

Each quote and figure in an answer traces to one of these.

The code and its amending ordinancesThe current code, the ordinance it replaced and each ordinance on point, with the zoning map, refreshed weekly from the publisher.

Permits and certificates of occupancyFrom a connected city permit portal, or by a records request the analyst sends where there is none.

Variances and enforcement casesEach variance read no wider than its words, each open case with its status.

The surveyMeasured setbacks, height and striped spaces, and anything built since, such as a pad 9 ft from the rear line.

The purchase agreementThe proposed use from its recital, and the date the diligence period ends.

The analyst prepares, counsel signs and a partner releases the report

Agents read and quote; the wording of the report and its recipients are human calls.

Zoning analyst

Sees: The parcel, each agent’s reading and the passage behind each citation
Signs: Prepares the report and sends records requests to the city

Land use counsel

Sees: Each answer with the code then and now and the records that decide it
Signs: Decides each answer, accepting, editing or rejecting it on stated grounds, then signs

Real estate partner

Sees: The signed report, its open items and the right-to-rebuild statement
Signs: Sends the signed report to the client and the lender; a report they signed is not theirs to release

Real estate associate

Sees: The conversation about the parcel and the answers given so far
Signs: Asks questions and reads answers, without accepting or signing

Questions on zoning reports, grandfathering and the right to rebuild

What is a zoning report?

A zoning report says what a site’s zoning allows and whether the site conforms on use, parking, height, setbacks and signs, with its permits, variances, open violations and right to rebuild. Here the zoning report is built from cited answers counsel accepts.

How does it tell a legal nonconforming use or structure from a violation?

It rebuilds the code as it stood when each feature was permitted, from the amending ordinances, and reads the permit or variance that approved it. A feature counts as legally non-conforming only with a record that it was lawful when built; one never permitted is a violation.

Do the agents contact the city, the lender or the seller?

No. The agents draft records requests, cure requests and the report. The zoning analyst sends records requests, counsel approves what goes to the seller, and the real estate partner releases the report.

What happens when a reading is uncertain or a source is missing?

Below the firm’s confidence threshold, the item goes to the zoning analyst before it reaches an answer. A question that needs a source the agents do not hold goes to the analyst as well, and the answer appears, cited, once the source is added.

Does client data from zoning due diligence train any model?

No. Client documents never go into model training, and no setting turns that on. Files are held through the matter and the firm’s retention term, and their deletion is logged.

Real Estate Law & Conveyancing