It is the intent of this chapter to permit the continuance of a lawful use of any building, structure or use of any part thereof and shall be used, altered, constructed or reconstructed in conformity with the provisions of this chapter and further it is hereby declared that the existence of nonconforming uses is contrary to the best interests of the general public and further it is hereby declared to be the policy of this community as expressed in this chapter to discontinue nonconforming uses in the course of time as circumstances permit, having full regard for the rights of all parties concerned.
(A) Elimination of nonconforming uses.
(1) In accordance with the applicable state and local missive legislation, the township through its agents may acquire properties on which nonconforming buildings or uses are located, by condemnation or other means, and may remove such uses or structures. The resultant property may be leased or sold for a conforming use or may be used by the township for a public use. The net cost of such acquisition may be assessed against a benefit district, or may be paid from other sources of revenue.
(2) Whenever a nonconforming use has been discontinued for 24 consecutive months, such discontinuance shall be considered conclusive evidence of an intention to abandon legally the nonconforming use.
(3) At the end of this period of abandonment, the nonconforming use shall not be reestablished, and any future use shall be in conformity with the provisions of this chapter.
(B) Nonconforming uses of land. The nonconforming uses of land existing at the effective date of this chapter where no building is located may be continued, provided dimensional requirements are complied with, and further provided that no buildings are to be constructed after the effective date of this chapter, except that will conform to district requirements within which the use is located, and further provided all other pertinent requirements of this section are compiled with.
(C) Nonconforming signs. Signs existing at the time of the enactment of this chapter and not conforming to its provisions, but which were constructed in compliance with previous regulations shall be regarded as nonconforming signs which may be continued as properly regarded and maintained as provided in this code and continue to be in conformance with other ordinances of this municipality. Nonconforming signs which are structurally altered, relocated or replaced shall comply immediately with all provisions of this code.
(D) Illegal nonconforming uses. Nonconforming uses of buildings or land existing at the effective date of this chapter established without a building permit or not shown on the tax records as a nonconforming use prior to the last official assessment roll, or those nonconforming uses which cannot be proved conclusively as existing prior to the effective date of the chapter shall be declared illegal nonconforming uses and shall be discontinued.
(E) Reconstruction and restoration. Any lawful nonconforming use damaged by fire, explosion or act of God, or by other causes may be restored, rebuilt, or repaired, provided that such restoration does not exceed its state equalized assessed value as determined by the assessing officer, exclusive of foundations, and provided that said use by the same or more nearly conforming with the provision of the district in which it is located.
(F) Repair of nonconforming buildings. Nothing in this chapter shall prohibit the repair, improvement or modernization of a lawful nonconforming building to correct deterioration, obsolescence, depreciation, and wear, provided that such repair does not exceed an aggregate cost thereby increasing the assessed value by more than 30% as determined by the assessing officer unless the subject building is changed by such repair to a conforming use. No repair may enlarge or structurally alter the structure in such a way as to increase the nonconformity.
(G) Changing uses. If no structural alterations are made, the Board of Appeals may authorize a change from one nonconforming use to another nonconforming use, provided the proposed use would be more suitable to the zoning district in which it is located than the nonconforming use which is being replaced. Whenever a nonconforming use has been changed to a more nearly conforming use or to a conforming use, such use shall not revert or be changed back to a nonconforming or less conforming use.
(H) Prior construction approval. Nothing in this chapter shall prohibit the completion of construction and use of a nonconforming building for which a building permit has been issued prior to the effective date of this chapter provided that construction is commenced within 30 days after the date of issuance of the permit and that the entire building shall have been completed according to plans filed with the permit application within one year after the issuance of the building permit.
(I) Districts changes. Whenever the boundaries of a district shall be changed so as to transfer an area from one district to another district of another classification, the provisions of this section shall also apply to any existing uses that become nonconforming as a result of the boundary changes.
(Prior Code, § 15.301) (Ord. eff. 12-1-2019)