Overlay Zone

IS YOUR PROPERTY IN AN OVERLAY ZONE?
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You're likely familiar with what is called base zoning. But do you know what an overlay zone is? An overlay zone is a separate zone that is placed on top of, or "over" an existing base zone. The overlay zone identifies special provisions in addition to (or instead of) those in the underlying base zone.

For example, you can have a commercial base zone that doesn't allow for residential uses and then an overlay zone that sits on top of a portion of the base zone that does allow for residential uses. Other examples of overlay zones include mobile home overlays, job creation overlays, movie studio overlays, auto services overlays. Jurisdictions can create overlays for many types of uses.

So the next time you ask the planning office what the zoning of a property is, make sure you ask if it's in any kind of zoning overlay. If you don't you may be missing out on opportunity to broaden your buyer pool.