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Within the districts established by this Part or any amendment that may later be adopted, there exists lots, uses of land, structures and uses of structures and land in combination which were lawful before this Part was passed or amended, but which would be prohibited, regulated or restricted under the terms of this Part or future amendments. It is the intent of this Part to permit these non-conformities to continue until they are removed. It is further the intent of this Part that non-conformities shall not be enlarged upon, expanded or extended, nor be used as ground for adding other structures or uses prohibited elsewhere in the same district.
To avoid undue hardship, nothing in this Part shall be deemed to require a change in the plans, construction or designated use of any building on which actual construction was lawfully begun prior to the effective date of adoption or amendment of this Part and upon which actual building construction had been carried on diligently. Actual construction includes the placing of construction materials in permanent position and fastened in a permanent manner. Where demolition or removal of an existing building has been substantially begun preparatory to rebuilding, the demolition or removal shall be deemed to be actual construction, provided that the work is carried out diligently.
In any district in which single-family dwellings are permitted, a single-family dwelling and customary accessory buildings may be erected on any single lot of record at the effective date of adoption or amendment of this section notwithstanding limitations imposed by other provisions of this section. The lot must be in separate ownership and not of continuous frontage with other lots in the same ownership. This provision shall apply even though the lot fails to meet the requirements for area or width or both, that are generally applicable in the district, provided that yard dimensions and requirements, other than those applying to area or width or both, of the lot conform to the regulations for the district in which such lot is located. Variances of requirements listed in Chapters 1120
through 1126
, other than lot area or lot width, shall be obtained only through action of the Building and Zoning Appeals Board as provided in Sections 1105.33
to 1105.39
. Also, in any district in which single-family dwellings are permitted, lots of record combined that included an existing single-family dwelling and another existing principal use at the time of their most recent combination may be separated only through action of the Building and Zoning Appeals Board into the configuration at the time of their most recent combination. This provision shall apply even though the lots fail to meet the requirements for area or width or both, that are generally applicable in the district. This is not intended to authorize the sale of land described as prohibited in Section 1117.04
.
(Ord. 4387. Passed 10-23-12.)
If two or more lots or a combination of lots and portions of lots with continuous frontage in a single ownership are of record at the time of passage or amendment of this Part and if all or part of the lots with no buildings do not meet the requirements established for lot width and area, the lands involved shall be considered to be an undivided parcel for the purposes of this Zoning Code and no portion of the parcel shall be used or sold in a manner which diminishes compliance with lot width and area requirements established by this Zoning Code, nor shall any division of any parcel be made which creates a lot with a width or area below the requirements stated in this Zoning Code.
Where, at the time of adoption of this Part, lawful uses of land exist which would not be permitted by the regulations imposed by this Zoning Code, the uses may be continued so long as they remain otherwise lawful, provided:
(a) No such non-conforming uses shall be enlarged or increased, nor extended to occupy a greater area of land than was occupied at the effective date of adoption or amendment of this Part.
(b) No such non-conforming uses shall be moved in whole or in part to any portion of the lot or parcel other than that occupied by the uses at the effective date of adoption or amendment of this Part.
(c) If any such non-conforming uses of land are discontinued or abandoned for more than one (1) year except when government action impedes access to the premises, any subsequent use of such land shall conform to the regulations specified by this Part for the district in which the land is located.
(d) No additional structure not conforming to the requirements of this Part shall be erected in connection with such non-conforming use of land.
Where a lawful structure exists at the effective date of adoption or amendment of this Part that could not be built under the terms of this Part by reason of restrictions on area, lot coverage, height, yards, its location on the lot, bulk or other requirements concerning the structure, the structure may be continued so long as it remains otherwise lawful, subject to the following provisions:
(a) No such non-conforming structure may be enlarged or altered in a way which increases its non-conformity, but any structure or portion may be altered to decrease its non-conformity;
(b) Should the non-conforming structure or a non-conforming portion of structure be damaged by more than 50% of its fair market value by fire or an act of God, it may, only after approval by the Building and Zoning Appeals Board be reconstructed as it previously existed. All remaining debris shall be cleared away and disposed of properly within two months of the time of destruction. If the structure is damaged 50% or less of the fair market value, the non-conforming structure may be restored on the same footprint, provided such restoration shall begin within six months from the time of damage.
(c) Should the structure be moved for any reason for any distance whatever, it shall thereafter conform to the regulations for the district in which it is located after it is moved.
If a lawful use involving individual structures, or of a structure and land in combination, exists at the effective date of adoption or amendment of this Part that would not be allowed in the district under the terms of this Part, the lawful use may be continued so long as it remains otherwise lawful, subject to the following provisions:
(a) No existing structure devoted to a use not permitted by this Part in the district in which it is located shall be enlarged, extended, constructed, reconstructed, moved or structurally altered except in changing the use of the structure to a use permitted in the district in which it is located;
(b) Any non-conforming use may be extended throughout any parts of a building which were manifestly arranged or designed for the use at the time of adoption or amendment of this Part, but no such use shall be extended to occupy any land outside the building;
(c) If no structural alterations are made, any non-conforming use of a structure or structure and land, may, upon appeal to the Building and Zoning Appeals Board, be changed to another non-conforming use provided that the Building and Zoning Appeals Board finds that the proposed use is equally appropriate or more appropriate to the district than the existing non-conforming use. In permitting the change, the Building and Zoning Board may require appropriate conditions and safeguards in accord with other provisions of this Part;
(d) Any structure, or structures and land in combination, in or on which a non- conforming use is superseded by a permitted use, shall thereafter conform to the regulations for the district, and the non-conforming use may not thereafter be resumed;
(e) When a non-conforming use of a structure, or structure and land in combination is discontinued or abandoned for more than one (1) year, except when government action impedes access to the premises, the structure or structure and land in combination shall not thereafter be used except in conformity with the regulations of the district in which it is located;
(f) Where non-conforming use status applies to a structure and land in combination, removal or destruction of the structure shall eliminate the non-conforming status of the land.
On any non-conforming structure or portion of a structure containing a non-conforming use, work may be done on ordinary repairs, or on repair or replacement of nonbearing walls, fixtures, wiring or plumbing, provided that the cubic content existing when it became non- conforming shall not be increased. Nothing in this section shall be deemed to prevent the strengthening or restoring to a safe condition of any building or part thereof declared to be unsafe by any official charged with protecting the public safety, upon order of the officials.
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