Read the zoning code without hallucinating it
Rung 8 of 10 · Fact-check list
1 · Learn the move · Fact-check list
Zoning is the single most dangerous thing to ask an AI about, because it will confidently 'recall' a setback or a permitted use that is wrong for your parcel. Zoning is hyper-local and changes block by block. The move is a fact-check list: you paste the district excerpt, and for every requirement, permitted use, setback, FAR, height, parking, lot coverage. The answer must quote the exact section it came from, or write UNKNOWN. No quote, no rule. Anything the excerpt doesn't state stays UNKNOWN and routes to the planning department, never gets filled from memory. Interpretation, variances, and the final call belong to the planning dept and land-use counsel. The AI reads the code back to you; it does not know the code.
Is a 40,000 SF mixed-use building allowed on my C-2 parcel? What are the setbacks and how tall can I go?
2 · Your turn. You write the prompt
You're evaluating a C-2 parcel for a 40,000 SF mixed-use building (ground-floor retail over apartments). You paste the district excerpt: permitted uses list retail, office, and 'multifamily dwellings'; front setback 15 ft, side 5 ft, rear 20 ft; FAR 2.0; height 45 ft; parking 1 space / 300 SF retail. The excerpt says nothing about mixed-use as a single category. Write a prompt that tells you what the code actually permits without inventing the part it's silent on.
Remember: the AI sees only your prompt, not this page. If the situation isn't in your prompt, it doesn't exist.
Optional. These shape the output when you run your prompt below, not your score.