We just want to play some hoops

Q. I hired an architect to do plans for my commercial building after I got caught running a sports program. It didn't seem like a problem. I have plenty of room inside and a basketball league needed a place to play. The problem is that I'm not zoned for the use and the town requires room for more cars than I can have parked there.

Even though everybody has cars parked facing straight into the building in this area, I'm being told that my architect showed the cars as is and that they rejected it, because the cars are illegally parked over the property line. How can I get out of this mess?

A. First, let me clarify that your property, which is north of Old Country Road, is located in an industrial area. The properties around you all have parking facing straight in, and I checked to see if there were any allowances for this.

A senior official explained that although no property is set up to have the parking going over the property border lines, your town is aware of the issue and chooses to "just leave it alone." In the process of filing papers to get a zoning variance so you can continue to have a basketball league playing there, you will score points by filing your game plans showing every room in the facility, with indications of fire protection systems, exit signs and emergency lights, property exits and the correct parking.

This means that even though the town chooses to ignore the problem, they won't let you go on record as perpetuating it. Your parking will need to be shown only on the property, and in your case, you'll need to get records of prior approvals and copies of approved plans that show the on-site parking configuration.

The architect should be advising you of the proper number of occupants per room to justify the amount of people when the building is fully in use. It is, as you stated, difficult, because you're the one whom the building department is focused on. This is usually the case when there's a complaint. Someone blew the whistle and your local government officials are compelled to act on a complaint and to follow procedures.