If you’ve worked in planning long enough, or just spent time swapping stories with other planners, you start to collect tales. Requests that make you pause, raise an eyebrow, and say: There’s no way that’s real… right? And yet, they are.
Here are ten of the wildest zoning requests I’ve heard from fellow planners, read about in case studies, or seen shared at conferences (names changed, goats very real).
1. The Drive-Thru Goat Yoga Facility
One planner shared this gem: someone wanted to rezone a residential lot to allow a goat yoga drive-thru. It had speakers, no parking, and a site plan done in what looked like Microsoft Paint. It didn’t pass, but it lives rent-free in my mind.
2. The Backyard Shed Wellness Retreat
A wellness coach tried to rezone their 10x10 shed as a 'commercial retreat center' with no plumbing. Another planner said it was denied, but the applicant now advertises it as a ‘healing Airbnb.’ We’re not sure if guests are offered bottled water or spiritual dehydration.
3. The Floating Home Subdivision on a Retention Pond
A Florida planner once said: 'You haven’t lived until someone proposes eight floating homes on a stormwater pond during hurricane season.' It was denied. Thankfully.
4. The Backyard Rollercoaster
This came from a midwestern planner: a dad built a rollercoaster for his kids and requested a variance to keep it. The coaster was taller than the house. Ultimately removed, but not before it went semi-viral on Reddit.
5. From Pasture to Private Jets: The Jumbolair Rezoning
One of the wildest zoning transformations happened in Ocala, Florida, where a chunk of agricultural land was rezoned to create Jumbolair Aviation Estates—a luxury fly-in community with private hangars, taxiway access, and a runway long enough to land a Boeing 747. Yes, really.
Originally zoned for agriculture, the property had to be completely reimagined through rezoning in 2000 to allow residential and aviation-related uses. The result? A gated community where homeowners can taxi their planes straight to their front door—including actor and pilot John Travolta, who kept his Boeing 707 parked in his driveway.
It's not every day a cow pasture turns into an airpark for multimillion-dollar aircraft—but with a bold vision and the right zoning request, it happened.
6. Let’s Just Build It… on Top of Grand Central?
In one of the boldest zoning plays of all time, Penn Central Transportation Company proposed building a 55-story skyscraper directly on top of Grand Central Terminal in New York City.
The idea? Use the air rights above the historic train station to cash in on prime Midtown real estate. But the New York City Landmarks Preservation Commission said no, arguing the addition would overwhelm and destroy the architectural character of the landmark.
The case made it all the way to the U.S. Supreme Court, where the city’s right to restrict development for preservation was upheld. The ruling in Penn Central v. New York City (1978) became a cornerstone of modern land use law and a clear reminder that just because you own the air above a building doesn’t mean you can fill it with steel and glass.
7. When Zoning Went Full Gallop: The World Equestrian Center
In Ocala—Florida’s horse capital—developers didn’t just want to build a few arenas. They proposed the World Equestrian Center, a 378-acre equestrian resort-meets-mini-city with indoor and outdoor stadiums, a luxury hotel, fine dining, a chapel, retail village, and more. Think: Disney World, but for horses.
The land? Originally zoned for rural/agricultural use. The vision? A full-blown transformation into a commercial entertainment hub. Locals were stunned. Some praised the jobs and tourism it would bring. Others worried about losing the rural charm and farmland that defined Marion County.
Whether you see it as visionary or excessive, it was one of the boldest zoning asks the region had ever seen—and it trotted right through the finish line.
8. Garage Microbrewery
This one’s become almost urban legend: a ‘garage hangout’ turned into a full Friday night taproom. When questioned, the owner insisted 'it’s just guys from work.' Eventually shut down after the third complaint about IPA smells.
9. Wedding Venue + Petting Zoo Combo
In a rural county, a planner told me about a permit request for a dual-use site: barn weddings + petting zoo. The alpacas wore bowties. It was denied after one too many guest allergies and goat cameos in the bridal photos.
10. Rename a Zoning District After a Cat
Reported in a planning forum: a long-time resident petitioned to rename their zoning overlay in honor of their beloved street cat, Mr. Boots. It didn’t pass. But someone made a plaque anyway.
Planning might be full of codes and regulations, but it’s also full of people, and people bring ideas that are creative, passionate, and sometimes completely wild.
Have you reviewed a request that left you speechless? I’d love to hear it. Drop your story in our Facebook page comments or send it my way, let’s build the unofficial archive of planning’s greatest hits!