Where this fits on the exam
| Official syllabus topic | Land Use Controls and Regulations: Zoning; Permits and Nonconforming Uses |
|---|---|
| Official PSI area | Land Use Controls and Regulations |
| Published weight | 5% of the national portion |
| Source edition | PSI Georgia Candidate Information Bulletin dated July 1, 2026 |
The Rule
PSI publishes a weight for the complete official area, not a guaranteed count for this individual comparison. Use the source, document, actor, event, and timing stated in the question before applying a memorized definition.
Side-by-side comparison
Read across each row. The terms are deliberately compared on identical dimensions so the difference remains clear when the exam hides the vocabulary inside a scenario.
| Decision dimension | Variance | Special use | Nonconforming use |
|---|---|---|---|
| Origin | Relief from a zoning requirement based on qualifying hardship | Use listed as allowable after discretionary approval and conditions | Lawful use that predates a zoning change |
| Purpose | Avoid unique property hardship without rewriting the ordinance | Permit a compatible use after review | Allow an existing lawful use to continue subject to limits |
| Applicant burden | Show ordinance and jurisdictional hardship standards | Satisfy special-use criteria | Prove lawful preexisting status and avoid prohibited abandonment or expansion |
| Example | Setback variance for an unusually shaped lot | Conditional approval for a school in a residential district | Existing store after the district becomes residential |
Decision rule
Georgia-specific distinction
Worked example
Scenario. A lawful corner store existed before the parcel was rezoned residential and continues operating without expansion.
Reason it through. The use was lawful before the zoning change and persists afterward.
Answer. The store is a legal nonconforming use, subject to local continuation rules.
Common exam traps
- Calling a use variance a rezoning
- Treating special use as prohibited use
- Assuming nonconforming use can expand freely
- Ignoring abandonment rules
Original practice questions with detailed explanations
These are original instructional questions mapped to the July 1, 2026 PSI outline. They are not copied from PSI or any live examination. Choose an answer before opening the explanation.
Question 1A corner store operated lawfully before its parcel was rezoned residential. It keeps operating without expanding. How is the store's use classified?
- A. A variance
- B. A special use
- C. An illegal use
- D. A nonconforming use
Show answer and explanation →
Answer: D. A nonconforming use
A nonconforming use was lawful before a zoning change and may continue subject to local limits on expansion and abandonment. The store did not ask for relief or approval, so it is not a variance or special use. Calling it illegal is the mistake, since a later rezoning does not automatically outlaw a lawful existing use.
- A. Incorrect. A variance grants relief from a zoning requirement. The store's continued preexisting use comes from a different classification.
- B. Incorrect. A special use is an ordinance-listed use requiring approval. No new conditional approval is described here.
- C. Incorrect. The store was lawful before rezoning. A later district change does not by itself establish an illegal use.
- D. Correct. The lawful use predates the zoning change and now differs from the new district requirements. It is a nonconforming use, subject to local continuation limits.
Question 2An owner's lot is unusually shaped, so a new house cannot meet the 25-foot front setback. The owner asks the zoning board to allow a 20-foot setback. What is the owner seeking?
- A. A variance
- B. A special use permit
- C. A nonconforming use
- D. A rezoning
Show answer and explanation →
Answer: A. A variance
A variance gives limited relief from a zoning requirement when the owner meets the hardship standards, such as an unusually shaped lot. The owner wants an exception to the setback rule, not a new use. A rezoning is the wrong choice, but that changes the district's rules rather than excusing one lot from them.
- A. Correct. The owner seeks a limited setback exception based on the lot's stated hardship. That is a variance request; approval is not automatic.
- B. Incorrect. A special use request seeks approval for a use contemplated by the ordinance. This owner seeks relief from a dimensional rule.
- C. Incorrect. A nonconforming use predates the changed rule. The owner is proposing a new house, not continuing an old lawful use.
- D. Incorrect. Rezoning changes the district designation or applicable zoning rules. The owner asks for a specific setback exception instead.
Question 3A residential district's ordinance lists schools as allowed only after board review and approval with conditions. A private school applies to build there. What is it seeking?
- A. A variance
- B. A special use permit
- C. A nonconforming use
- D. A rezoning
Show answer and explanation →
Answer: B. A special use permit
A special or conditional use is one the ordinance already contemplates for the district, subject to review and conditions. The school is asking for that listed approval, not relief from a rule. A variance is wrong because a variance excuses a hardship from a requirement rather than approving a listed use.
- A. Incorrect. A variance excuses a requirement under applicable standards. The school seeks approval of a use already listed conditionally.
- B. Correct. The ordinance already contemplates schools after board review and conditions. That is the special- or conditional-use process.
- C. Incorrect. A nonconforming use is a lawful preexisting use continuing after a rule change. This is a proposed new school.
- D. Incorrect. The school need not seek a new district merely because conditional approval is required. Its use is already contemplated in the stated ordinance.
Ready to move on?
You have this distinction down when all of these are true.
- Define every compared term without using the other term as the definition.
- Rebuild the comparison table from memory.
- State the decision rule and Georgia distinction without notes.
- Solve the worked example after changing one key fact.
- Explain the rule or fact that makes each distractor wrong.
- Answer all three original questions correctly in mixed practice on a later day.
Recommended next lesson
Continue with Deed Restrictions Versus CC&Rs Versus HOA Bylaws. Next, deed restrictions versus CC&Rs versus HOA bylaws turns from public zoning relief to private controls, which can bind a lot even where zoning would allow the use.
Return to the complete exam-concept library or the Land Use Controls and Regulations hub.