Due diligence
Know what you can build before you buy or design.
Before capital is committed, we research the zoning and entitlement picture for a site — permitted use, setbacks, height, FAR, overlays, flood, and the approval path — so you're surfacing risks in due diligence, not at permit rejection.
Who it's for
Who needs zoning & entitlement research
Every permit problem that shows up late started as a zoning question nobody asked early. Is the use permitted? What do the setbacks, height, and FAR allow? Is the parcel in an overlay, flood, or historic district that changes everything? Answering these after closing or after design is where budgets break.
Developers and investors use us to front-load that research — a clear read on what a site allows and what it would take to entitle a given use, before the offer, the design, or the permit.
Developers & investors
Underwriting a site and needing to know what it allows before the offer stands.
Site selectors & brokers
Screening candidate parcels for a specific use across a market.
Architects & design teams
Confirming the envelope — setbacks, height, FAR — before design hours are spent.
Owners repositioning property
Testing a new use or density against the zoning and entitlement path.
Typical projects
The scopes we file this permit type for most often.
Required documents
What a complete, first-pass submittal package needs. Exact requirements vary by jurisdiction — we confirm the local checklist before filing.
| Document | Why it's needed / notes |
|---|---|
| Parcel & zoning identification | The zoning district and designation for the specific parcel(s). |
| Permitted-use determination | Whether the intended use is permitted, conditional, or not allowed. |
| Dimensional standards | Setbacks, height, FAR, lot coverage, and density for the district. |
| Overlay / special-district review | Overlay, flood, historic, coastal, or airport zones affecting the parcel. |
| Parking & site standards | Parking ratios and site requirements for the intended use. |
| Entitlement-path summary | The approvals (by-right, conditional, variance, rezoning) the use would require. |
Common rejection causes
The issues that send this permit type back at intake or plan review — and what we pre-check to prevent them.
Use not permitted
The intended use isn't allowed in the district — the risk we surface before you commit.
Dimensional non-conformance
The program exceeds setbacks, height, FAR, or coverage. We quantify the gap early.
Overlay / flood constraints
An overlay, flood, or historic designation adds requirements the base zoning doesn't show.
Parking shortfall
The site can't meet the parking the intended use requires.
Entitlement burden underestimated
The use needs a conditional-use, variance, or rezoning that adds time and risk.
Access / easement issues
Access, easements, or right-of-way constraints affecting the site.
Agencies involved
The review bodies that can touch this permit. Coordinating across them — in the right order — is where projects stall without an expediter.
Planning / zoning department
Source of the zoning determination, dimensional standards, and use table.
Zoning administrator
Issues zoning-verification letters and formal determinations.
Floodplain / GIS
Flood-zone and mapping data for the parcel.
Historic / design review
Historic and design-overlay designations.
Transportation / parking
Parking and access standards for the intended use.
How Alliance handles the process
One accountable team owns the permit end to end. Here's the path for this service.
Parcel & program intake
We confirm the parcel(s) and the use / program you're testing.
Zoning determination
We identify the district, permitted-use status, and dimensional standards for the parcel.
Overlay & constraint check
We check overlays, flood, historic, and other special districts that modify the base zoning.
Entitlement-path analysis
We map whether the use is by-right or needs a conditional-use, variance, or rezoning, and what that entails.
Verification letter (optional)
Where you need it in writing, we pursue a zoning-verification letter from the jurisdiction.
Findings & risk summary
We deliver a clear read on what the site allows, the risks, and the approval path — before you commit.
What we handle vs. what you stay responsible for
We are a permit documentation and submission company — not a contractor, architect, or engineer. Clear lines keep your project moving and compliant.
Alliance handles
- Confirming zoning and permitted-use status
- Compiling setback / height / FAR / coverage standards
- Checking overlays, flood, and historic designations
- Mapping the entitlement / approval path
- Requesting zoning-verification letters where needed
You (or your design/build team) handle
- The intended use / development program to test
- Survey and title where deeper diligence needs them
- Design and engineering for any submittal that follows
- Legal counsel on land-use and contract matters
- Go / no-go and offer decisions
Typical timeline variables
Nobody can promise a date the jurisdiction controls. These are the factors that actually move this permit's timeline — the ones we manage to keep it short.
Related jurisdictions
Zoning and entitlement are the most local layer of all — the use table, dimensional standards, and overlays are specific to each jurisdiction and parcel. We research the actual district and designations for your site, not a generalization.
See local context in our permit guides, or send us the parcel and the use you're testing.
Case study
A representative engagement. Client details are anonymized; the permit specifics are typical of this service.
The challenge
A developer had a parcel under consideration for a use that looked viable on the base zoning, but the offer clock was running and no one had checked overlays, parking, or whether the use was by-right.
What Alliance did
We confirmed the district and permitted-use status, checked the flood and overlay layers, ran the parking and dimensional standards against the program, and mapped the entitlement path — flagging that the use needed a conditional-use approval.
The result
The developer went in with an accurate read: the use was achievable but required a conditional-use approval, so the timeline and risk were priced into the offer instead of discovered after closing.
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Frequently asked questions
Specific to zoning & entitlement research. Ask us anything we didn't cover.
What does zoning research tell me before I buy?
Whether your intended use is permitted, what the setbacks, height, FAR, and parking allow, whether overlays or flood zones apply, and what approvals the use would need — so risk is surfaced in diligence, not at rejection.
Can you get a zoning-verification letter?
Yes — where you need the determination in writing from the jurisdiction, we pursue a zoning-verification letter.
Is this different from a permit?
Yes. This is pre-permit due diligence — confirming what a site allows and what it would take to entitle a use, before design or permitting begins.
Can you screen several parcels at once?
Yes — multi-parcel and multi-market screening for a specific use is a common request.
What if the use isn't allowed by right?
We map the entitlement path — conditional use, variance, or rezoning — so you understand the time, cost, and risk before committing.
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