Residential Re-Zoning in Denver

[joseywales]

My question involves real estate located in the State of: Colorado, county of Denver

Summer of 08 I purchased a duplex with partially finished basements.
I have now completed the basements and have divided the duplex into a 4-plex of 2 bedroom apartments.

The property is only zoned for a duplex. How do I go about getting it re-zoned so I can rent out all 4 of my apartments?

[SChinFChin]

I'm making some assumptions here, but generally you'll need to go to your local zoning board for a zoning variance. But to find out for sure, find out from your zoning board what the exact procedure is.

I don't know what your area is zoned for, and how strict zoning is in your area, but usually they build 2-plexes in areas zoned for 2-plexes, or 1 family and 2-plexes. In many areas where zoning is strict, they would not give you approval for such a variance. Where I live, in NYC, they are so strict that if they know about it, they'll hit you with a violation.

I was slapped with a violation because my area was zoned 2-family, and the builder snuck an extra apartment in, and when the city found out about it, they put a violation on it, and made me take it out.

In an area where a good friend of mine lives, in NJ, the schools are jammed packed, and because zoning variances must come before the local zoning board for approval, the school board would come in and object to any and all variances that will increase the population, i.e. result in more students for schools that has no more room for them.

The smarter thing to do is to find out if creating the 4-plex out of the duplex is feasible before building it. It might be a good idea to to call and find out some general information without tipping anyone off if you did any illegal construction.