Zoning laws are more than telling you what type of structure you may build or what activities you can do on a certain area of land. They also provide other important rules you must follow.
The City of Flowood explains conformance with the law is mandatory to avoid a zoning violation.
Main rule
The main rule is that you must use the property for the purpose for which you specified under the zoning law. That means if you zoned the property for a business, then you must operate a business there and cannot use it as a residential building.
Changes
You also cannot alter the building in any way that does not abide by zoning regulations. This means you may be unable to add to the building or put up another structure. You would be unable to get a building permit for work that falls outside the scope of the zoning regulations. You cannot alter the building or property. Adding a fence, for example, requires approval because it was not part of the original plan. Outbuildings are another addition that would require approval or the addition of a parking lot. Any changes must go through zoning regulations before you can do them to avoid violations.
Other details
You must abide by all details in the zoning regulation for parking spaces, signs and other rules. If you fail to do so, you could violate the ordinance. Strict adherence to the ordinance is essential to ensure you do not end up having to make changes or spending money to fix something that pushed you outside of the zoning regulations.
