Refinancing and rezoning: What to do when your property has been improperly zoned

When someone is trying to sell or refinance their home, one thing they don't want to hear is that the property their house sits on is improperly zoned.

Ryan Shrimplin, Cape Girardeau city planner, said a new zoning ordinance was adopted in 2010, changing the zoning of some districts within the city.

There have been a few property owners in the city who have had to file a rezoning application to get their property zoned for the appropriate use. The application must be approved by the Planning and Zoning Commission and the Cape Girardeau City Council.

A homeowner who needs financing may not be able to acquire such if their home is on land that is zoned industrial, Shrimplin gave as an example, because a lender may not be comfortable issuing a loan for a property that does not permit residential use.

"That happens from time to time," he said.

Shrimplin said there were properties on the west side of Clark Street in Cape Girardeau a year or two ago that were zoned for light industrial use, not for residential use, as they were being used.

Another case of improper zoning would be if a property initially zoned and used for single-family housing becomes zoned R-4, or medium-density multifamily residential, which means the single-family housing use is taken out of the property's permitted uses.

In that case, because the previous zoning conformed with the ordinance at one time, the property becomes grandfathered in as long as it stays single-family housing for 274 days, Shrimplin said.

If the property does not continue as single-family housing, its grandfathered status is lost.

Shrimplin encourages properly owners who encounter improper zoning of their property to contact the city in advance so they may be advised and guided toward the right rezoning request.

If there are several surrounding properties in the same situation, property owners may be able to file one application for the rezoning of all the properties, he said.

"There are lots of areas in the city where the zoning doesn't permit current use of property," Shrimplin said. As those problems are encountered, the city works with the property owners for a resolution, he said.

Most of the time, the city advises the property owner to file a rezoning application so the city can determine an appropriate zoning.

"We certainly look to see if rezoning to a different district makes sense," Shrimplin said, and in most cases, it does.