The following regulations shall apply to all
,
, and
:
A. Continuation of
and
.
Any lawful
existing on the
of this Ordinance or amendment thereto may be continued and shall not be considered to be in violation of this Ordinance, provided that (unless otherwise noted in this Article) the use shall not be enlarged or extended to occupy a greater area of land, nor moved in whole or in part to another portion of the
.
Any lawful
or
existing on the
of this Ordinance or amendment thereto may be continued and shall not be considered in violation of this Ordinance, provided that (unless otherwise noted in this Article) the
and land involved shall not be structurally altered, enlarged, or moved unless such modifications conform to the provisions of this Ordinance for the district in which it is located.
Nothing in this Ordinance shall be deemed to prevent the strengthening or restoring to a safe condition of any
or part thereof declared to be unsafe by an official charged with protecting the public safety, upon order of such official.
B.
under construction. To avoid undue hardship, nothing in this Ordinance shall be deemed to require a change in plans, construction, or designated use of any
on which actual construction was lawfully begun prior to the
of adoption or amendment of this ordinance and upon which actual
construction has been diligently carried on.
ACTUAL CONSTRUCTION
is hereby defined to include the placing of construction materials in permanent position and fastened in a permanent manner. Where demolition or removal of an existing
has begun preparatory to rebuilding, such work shall be deemed to be actual construction, provided that such work shall be diligently carried on until completion of the
involved.
C. Discontinuation of
.
1.
of a
. When a
of a
, or
and land in combination, is discontinued or abandoned for 12 consecutive months without a present intention to reinstate the
, the
(or
and land in combination) shall not thereafter be used except in conformance with the provisions of the district in which it is located.
2.
of open land. If any
of open land ceases for any reason for a period of more than 180 days, any subsequent use of such land shall conform to the provisions set forth of the district in which it is located.
3. Seasonal uses. In applying this subsection to seasonal uses, the time during the off-season shall not be counted.
D. Purchase or condemnation. (revised 10/3/06) In order to accomplish the elimination of
and
which constitute a
or are detrimental to the public health, safety, and welfare, Williamstown Township may acquire, by purchase, condemnation or otherwise, private property for the purpose of removal of
pursuant to Section 208(3) of Public Act 110 of 2006, being M.C.L.A. § 125.3208(3), as amended.
E. Recording of
and
. The Building Inspector shall be responsible for maintaining records of
and
as accurately as is feasible, and for determining legal
and
in existence on the
of this Ordinance. Failure on the part of a property owner to provide the Building Inspector with necessary information to determine legal nonconforming status may result in denial of required or requested permits.
F. Establishment of a conforming use or
. In the event that a nonconforming
or
is superseded by a conforming
or
on a site, the
or
shall be immediately and permanently removed.
G. Change of tenancy or ownership. In the event there is a change in tenancy, ownership, or management, an existing
or
shall be allowed to continue provided there is no change in the nature or character of such
.
H. Exceptions and
. Any use for which a special
or
has been granted as provided in this Ordinance shall not be deemed a
.
I. Unlawful
. No
shall be permitted to continue in existence if it was unlawful at the time it was established.
J. Nonconforming single-family uses. Notwithstanding the limitations outlined in this article, any
used for single-family residential purposes and maintained as a
may be enlarged or replaced with a similar
of a larger size, so long as the enlargement or replacement does not create new
or increase the extent of existing
with respect to such matters as
and parking requirements.
K. Substitution. A
may be changed to another
upon approval of the
provided that no structural
are required to accommodate the new
, and that the proposed use is equally or more appropriate in the district than the existing
. In permitting such a change, the
may require conditions to accomplish the purposes of this Ordinance.
L. Change of location. Should a
be moved to another
or to another location on the same
for any reason whatsoever, it shall thereafter conform to the regulations for the district in which it is located after it is moved.
(Ord. passed 7-9-2013)