Village of Brewster, NY Article VI General Provisions

§ 263-21 Building permit; certificate of occupancy.

A. No building or other structure or part thereof shall be constructed, reconstructed, enlarged, extended, moved or structurally altered until a building permit therefor has been issued by the Code Enforcement Officer. No land, building or other structure or part thereof shall be used or occupied or changed in use until a certificate of occupancy therefor has been issued by the Code Enforcement Officer certifying conformity with this chapter.

B. Temporary certificates of occupancy. Upon request, the Code Enforcement Officer may issue a temporary certificate of occupancy for a building or structure or part thereof before the entire work covered by the building permit shall have been completed, provided that such portion or portions as have been completed may be occupied safely without endangering life or the public welfare.

(1) In the case of construction of single-family dwellings which are subject to additional standards fixed by the Planning Board and in the case of site plans approved by the Planning Board, a temporary certificate of occupancy may be issued for a period not exceeding six months in the case of occupancy during alterations or two months pending completion of a building in a case where work to be completed is unrelated to the safety or health of the occupants or the general public.

(2) Temporary certificates shall contain such appropriate conditions and restrictions as shall be deemed necessary to protect the health, safety and welfare of the occupants of the building or the general public.

(3) Temporary certificates shall be issued by the Code Enforcement Officer.

(4) The temporary certificate shall state the reason for its issuance, and shall further state, in detail, the conditions required to be met before a final certificate may be issued. The applicant must, before issuance of such certificate, deposit with the Village Clerk an amount in cash, to be fixed by the Code Enforcement Officer; said amount is to be 1 1/2 times the estimated cost of completing the unfinished work. The application shall be accompanied by a nonrefundable fee, which fee shall be established by the Village of Brewster Board of Trustees and shall be on file in the office of the Village Clerk.

C. No building permit or certificate of occupancy shall be issued if any condition exists on the subject property which is in violation of the Village Code or the New York State Uniform Fire Prevention and Building Code, or if any outstanding balance is owed to the Village for professional consultant review fees relating to the subject property. However, a building permit may be issued in such instance if an emergency situation requires immediate attention to avoid injury to persons or property, as long as remedial measures regarding the violations have also been commenced.

§ 263-22 Change in plans.

Nothing in this chapter shall require any change in the plans, construction or designated use of any land, building or other structure for which a permit or certificate of occupancy shall have been issued pursuant to law or ordinance, provided that construction shall be promptly and diligently performed. Such issued permit or certificate authorizing plans, construction or a designated use which does not conform to this chapter or any amendment hereof shall become null and void within a period of one year from the effective date of this chapter or any such amendment, unless the construction authorized thereby shall be completed and the activity authorized thereby shall be accomplished. The Zoning Board of Appeals may grant one extension of such period for an additional period not to exceed one year after public hearing for good cause shown.

§ 263-23 Subdivision or transfer of land.

No lot or land shall be subdivided or transferred so as to make a lot nonconforming or more nonconforming or to make any building, other structure or use nonconforming or more nonconforming.

§ 263-24 Nonconforming uses.

Any use of land, buildings and other structures lawfully existing on the effective date of this chapter or any amendment hereto which does not conform to one or more of the provisions of this chapter may be continued in accordance with the following provisions:

A. No nonconforming use, building or structure shall be enlarged and no nonconforming use of land, buildings or other structures shall be extended to include any land, building or other structure or portion thereof which is not subject to such nonconformity. Any nonconforming use of a building or other structure or portion thereof, however, may be extended to include any portion of the building or structure manifestly designed for such use.

B. No nonconforming use, building or other structure, if once changed to conform to this chapter, shall thereafter be changed so as to be nonconforming again.

C. No nonconforming use of land, buildings and other structures shall be changed to another use unless such new use is substantially the same in nature and purpose as the original nonconforming use or is a conforming use.

D. No nonconforming use of land, buildings and other structures which shall have been willfully abandoned shall thereafter be resumed. No nonconforming use of land, buildings or other structures which shall have either ceased or been discontinued for a continuous period of one year or more shall thereafter be resumed.

E. No nonconforming building or structure, no nonconforming portion of a building or structure and no building or structure containing a nonconforming use shall be reconstructed or restored after damage by fire or other casualty when the extent of the damage is greater than 50% of the building or structure. The provisions of this subsection shall not prevent the reconstruction or restoration of any such building or structure damaged by fire or other casualty when the extent of the damage is 50% or less of the building or structure, provided that such reconstruction or restoration shall be completed within a period of 12 months from the fire or other casualty.

F. Except in the event of fire or other casualty as provided in Subsection E, nothing in this section shall be deemed to prohibit work on any nonconforming building or structure when required by law to protect public health or safety and when ordered by the Village Code Enforcement Officer, provided that such work does not increase the nonconformity. Nothing in this section shall be deemed to prohibit work on ordinary repair and maintenance of a nonconforming building or structure or replacement of existing materials.

G. No change of title, possession or right of possession shall be deemed to affect the right to continue a nonconforming use, building or other structure.

H. Nothing in this section shall be deemed to prohibit the elimination or reduction of nonconformity of a use, building or other structure with respect to minimum floor area for a dwelling, to off-street parking and loading spaces, landscaping, outside display and storage and performance standards, provided that all other requirements of this chapter are met.

I. Nonconforming lot. Nothing in this chapter shall prevent the construction, enlargement, extension or structural alteration of a building or other structure on or the use of a lot, as defined in § 263-3, which does not conform to the area, shape and frontage requirements of this chapter, provided that such use, building or other structure conforms to all other requirements of this chapter and that such nonconforming lot has access on a street.

§ 263-25 Changes in nonconforming use.

Notwithstanding the provisions of § 263-24C, the Village of Brewster Board of Trustees may grant a special exception use permit to change a nonconforming use to another nonconforming use if it shall find that the new use will more nearly conform to the provisions of this chapter, that the new use will have a lesser impact upon the surrounding neighborhood and that the new use will not impair the eventual elimination of a nonconforming use on the premises.