Where this fits on the exam
| Official syllabus topic | Variances, Special Uses, and Nonconforming Uses |
|---|---|
| Official PSI area | Land Use Controls and Regulations |
| Published area weight | 5% of the national portion |
| Exam portion | National salesperson portion |
| Source edition | PSI Georgia Candidate Information Bulletin dated July 1, 2026 |
The Rule
PSI publishes the weight for the complete content area, not a fixed question count for this lesson. Learn the rule well enough to apply it when PSI changes names, numbers, or parties in a new scenario.
The lesson
Variance
A variance usually addresses hardship tied to the property and provides limited relief from dimensional or similar requirements. It is not a blanket exemption from zoning.
Special or conditional use
The ordinance identifies a use that may be appropriate if the reviewing body approves it under stated criteria and conditions.
Rezoning
Rezoning changes the map classification or governing district. It is a legislative land-use decision, not the same relief as a variance.
Lawful nonconforming use
A use or structure that was legal when established can become nonconforming after an ordinance change. Expansion, rebuilding, abandonment, or discontinuance is governed by local law.
Decision rule
Georgia-specific distinction
Worked example
Scenario. A narrow corner lot cannot meet the side setback because of its unusual shape, and the owner seeks permission to reduce that setback.
Reason it through. The requested relief concerns one dimensional standard and does not ask to change the parcel's district.
Answer. A variance is the likely form of relief, subject to the local hardship standard.
Common exam traps
- Calling every exception a variance
- Assuming a variance rezones land
- Treating illegal use as lawful nonconforming use
- Promising grandfathered status
Original practice questions with detailed explanations
These questions were written for instruction and mapped to the current outline. They are not copied from PSI or any live examination. Choose an answer before opening the explanation.
Question 1An owner's lot is oddly shaped, and a planned addition would sit 7 feet from the side line where the ordinance requires 10. The owner wants to stay in the current residential district. What should the owner request?
- A. A rezoning of the parcel
- B. A special use permit
- C. A variance from the setback
- D. Lawful nonconforming status
Show answer and explanation →
Answer: C. A variance from the setback
A variance gives limited relief from a dimensional rule, such as a setback, when the local hardship standard is met, and the parcel stays in its district. Rezoning is plausible because it sounds broader, but it changes the district classification, which this owner does not want.
- A. Incorrect. Rezoning changes the district classification, although the owner wants to keep the residential district.
- B. Incorrect. A special use permit addresses a use listed conditionally; the stated issue is a dimensional setback.
- C. Correct. A setback variance is the relevant request, subject to the local hardship and approval standards.
- D. Incorrect. The proposed addition is new construction, not an existing lawful use made nonconforming by a later rule.
Question 2A gas station operated legally for years. The county then rezones the area for residential use only, and the station keeps operating. What is the station's likely status?
- A. A lawful nonconforming use
- B. A variance granted by the county
- C. An illegal use that must close at once
- D. A special use approved by the board
Show answer and explanation →
Answer: A. A lawful nonconforming use
A use that was legal when it began and became noncompliant only because the ordinance changed is a lawful nonconforming use, and it can generally continue subject to local limits on expansion, rebuilding and abandonment. Candidates who pick immediate closure assume a new rule wipes out a lawful existing use, which is not how nonconforming status works.
- A. Correct. The station was lawful before the change and may generally continue under local nonconforming-use rules.
- B. Incorrect. A variance requires a separate relief decision; the rezoning itself does not grant one.
- C. Incorrect. A later ordinance does not automatically make a formerly lawful operation subject to immediate closure.
- D. Incorrect. The facts describe continued existing use, rather than a new conditional-use application and approval.
Question 3A church wants to build in a residential district. The ordinance lists places of worship as allowed there only after planning board review and approval with conditions. What approval does the church need?
- A. A variance from the use rules
- B. A rezoning to an institutional district
- C. Grandfathered nonconforming status
- D. A special or conditional use permit
Show answer and explanation →
Answer: D. A special or conditional use permit
When the ordinance itself names a use that may be allowed after discretionary review under stated criteria, the path is a special or conditional use. A variance is the wrong choice, but a variance relieves a hardship from a requirement; it is not the approval process for a listed conditional use.
- A. Incorrect. The ordinance provides a conditional approval path; the church does not need hardship relief from a rule.
- B. Incorrect. The ordinance already allows the use within this district after review, so a new district is unnecessary.
- C. Incorrect. The church proposes new construction and has no existing lawful use to preserve.
- D. Correct. A listed use allowed after review and conditions calls for the special or conditional use procedure.
Ready to move on?
You are ready for the next lesson when all of these are true.
- Explain Variances, Special Uses, and Nonconforming Uses in one clear answer without notes.
- Separate Variance from Special or conditional use using a fresh example.
- Apply the decision rule to a new fact pattern and name the fact that controls the result.
- State the Georgia-specific point or explain why the national rule applies unchanged.
- Answer every practice question and explain the rule each rejected option misapplies.
- Revisit this topic later in mixed practice without category labels.
Recommended next lesson
Continue with Private Land-Use Controls. Private Land-Use Controls turns from public zoning relief to covenants, deed restrictions and association rules, and shows why a county variance does not release an owner from a stricter recorded restriction.
Return to the Land Use Controls and Regulations hub to see every official branch and the complete lesson sequence for this content area.