DOB objections on zoning grounds

Who does this land on?

Owners and design professionals in plan examination, and every buyer or lender whose schedule depends on that permit issuing.

What governs it?

• The Zoning Resolution section the objection cites, which is the whole of the dispute
• The Department of Buildings plan examination process and its objection and reconsideration procedures
• The Department’s zoning determination process, which produces a written reading of a Resolution section
• The Board of Standards and Appeals, which hears appeals from final determinations
• The construction codes, which produce their own separate objections that are cleared differently

How does the process run?

1. Read the objection against the cited section, because objections are sometimes a mismatch between the drawings and the zoning analysis rather than a real conflict
2. Where the drawings are wrong, amend and resubmit, which is the fastest path and the most common
3. Where the reading is arguable, submit a written zoning analysis and request reconsideration by the plan examiner and then the borough office
4. Where the reading needs to be settled, request a written zoning determination from the Department
5. Where the determination is final and adverse, appeal to the Board of Standards and Appeals
6. Where the Resolution simply bars what is proposed, the remaining paths are a special permit or a variance

Where does it bite in a transaction?

• A closing is scheduled against a permit that has not issued because a zoning objection is open
• A seller agrees to close out an open permit without knowing a zoning objection is what stalled it
• A conversion budget assumes a plan approval that turns on a contested floor area calculation
• An expired permit is refiled and the new examiner reads the same section differently

What else should you read before you file or sign?