Two Contiguous Lots, a Wetland Buffer, and a Buildable-Lot Question
Owner owns two contiguous parcels: Lot 1 is 12,000 sq ft with a 1950 cottage; Lot 2 is 30,000 sq ft vacant. Zoning requires 20,000 sq ft minimum lot area and 100 feet of frontage. Lot 1 has only 60 feet of frontage and has been separately taxed for decades. A wetland and 100-foot buffer cross Lot 2, leaving about 18,000 sq ft of upland. Owner wants to sell Lot 2 separately and keep the cottage. A buyer asks whether Lot 2 is a buildable lot and what it is worth.
1. Can Lot 2 be sold separately as a buildable lot?
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Lot 1 is substandard and may continue as a preexisting nonconforming lot, but expansion or rebuilding after destruction may require zoning relief. Lot 2 meets the 20,000 sq ft area requirement on paper, but frontage and wetland buffer must be checked. Because the lots are contiguous and commonly owned, the local ordinance may require merger of substandard lots; Lot 1 is substandard, so a merger could eliminate it as a separate lot. Before marketing Lot 2 as buildable, obtain a zoning certificate or buildable-lot determination. If Lot 2 has adequate frontage, access, and enough upland after the wetland buffer, it may be buildable; otherwise it needs relief.
2. Which valuation approach should be used, and what adjustments matter?
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Use the sales comparison approach for land, adjusting for location, frontage, wetland buffer, approvals, access, and utilities. The cost approach is not meaningful for vacant land except for site improvements; the income approach applies only to a hypothetical completed home. Value Lot 2 as raw land subject to approvals, not as a finished homesite. Apply a discount for entitlement risk, wetland restrictions, and the possibility that the lot must be merged with Lot 1.
3. What land-use approvals and risks should the buyer investigate?
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The buyer should check zoning, frontage, access, wetland and coastal jurisdiction, septic or sewer capacity, well capacity, stormwater, and driveway sight lines. Possible approvals include a special-use permit, dimensional variance, wetland permit, or subdivision or replat approval. If the lots were unlawfully created or must be merged, the buyer may need relief before building. The agent should warn the buyer not to rely on separate tax bills as proof that Lot 2 is a legal buildable lot.