Garden City and surrounding neighborhoods

Zoning Issues--who can tell what I can and can't do?

Rules apply to ALL

If you find yourself on the 'wrong' side of a zoning dispute you may feel picked on or singled out.
That is clearly not the intent of the zoning ordinance. It's goal is to bring everyone into compliance with a variety of community, neighborhood and city standards that are enacted as local laws. Laws apply to everyone equally.
As we all know, however, there are those who 'get away with' all kinds of violations or, sometimes, are not aware that they exist and do apply to them.
There are rules that apply to residential property, others that apply only to commercial property, and among those, depending on the zoning level, they may even be more or less restrictive.
But keeping a neighborhood and the playing field for everyone as level as possible is what is hoped for.
This means everyone does what they have to do, regardless of way you feel about governmental restrictions.
There are other options for appealing the restrictions available and with due process, which allows public remonstrance against such appeals, things can be altered, if so ruled by zoning appeals boards appointed by the city. Often, 'commitments' are negotiated between those remonstrating against the change in the zoning ordinance (either a complete change, or a 'variance' of the ordinance) and the party wishing to change it. Those commitments are tricky and sometimes carry more problems than they are worth, especially when hard to enforce. The city is the only entity which can enforce them without a civil action taken by the offended party. All are pretty convoluted and time consuming and often not worth the paper they are written on.
In addition, there are sometimes even more restrictive 'covenants' on property by home owner associations which are legally binding and stringently enforced (and sometimes pretty silly). But they have the force of law and people are informed of them before they buy into the subdivisions where they are common.
The point is, like it or not, the law is the law. Same for me, same for you. Same for business, and believe it or not, same for churches and other commonly perceived institutions as 'benevolent.' That doesn't really mean anything in the world of zoning, no matter how many good works they may do.
We all do good works of one kind or another, it is hoped. Keeping up our property, and buildings is doing good for the neighborhood. Keeping the zoning codes is another sign of civic responsibiity and pride. Some of us are better at it than others.
Some believe that no one should be able to 'tell me what I can do with my own place' but that is not really true. We all have the right to at least ask, and if a real violation occurs, the right to seek action to correct it, either private civil action or 'reporting' to the enforcement arm of local governance.
If we all are on the same page, we'll get along better.
Awareness, understanding, education, and communication are the keys to making civic life work for each of us and our community at large.
For more information about this subject, visit Indianapolis' and other governance websites for information about local and municipal codes and how they work. One good source is
www.municode.org which lists ordinances and other codes by location.

Zoning links

Indianapolis Official website, Dept. of Metropolitan Development
Google : enter zoning, municipal codes, as searches
Municode= local ordinances and state statutes for zoning, etc.
What's that orange sign mean ?
Zoning hearings schedule link