Unless otherwise provided in this chapter, any lot, building, structure or use of land that is not conforming with the provisions of this chapter, but that is lawfully existing under the provisions of the local law in effect immediately prior to the date on which this chapter becomes effective, may be continued subject to compliance with the conditions set forth in §§
295-55 through
295-65 below. Any unexcused failure to comply with those conditions shall immediately render the lawful nonconformity unlawful; and the lot, building or structure and any use thereof shall thenceforth conform to this chapter. This section shall also apply to any lot, building, structure or use lawfully existing on the effective date of any amendment to this chapter that makes such lot, building, structure or use nonconforming with this chapter.
The only use to which a lawfully nonconforming
use may be changed is one that is permitted under this chapter, except
that the Board of Appeals, upon application made within six months
after the cessation of the lawfully nonconforming use and after notice
and hearing, may grant a temporary conditional permit for a new use
that does not conform with this chapter, provided that the Board shall
find that:
A. The proposed new use shall be confined to the same
structure, building and land;
B. The proposed new use will be substantially more in
keeping with the comprehensive zoning plan of land use and development
and the character of the neighborhood than the former nonconforming
use; and
C. The proposed new use will tend to facilitate the later
conversion of the structure to a more conforming use.
No lawfully nonconforming building, structure
or use, if changed in whole or in part to a building, structure or
use that conforms to or is in greater conformity with the provisions
of this chapter, shall be changed back to a former lawfully nonconforming
building, structure or use.
Application pursuant to §
295-60 for a building permit to rebuild or restore any damaged or destroyed building shall be filed within six months of the day of such damage and shall be accompanied by plans for reconstruction, which plans shall comply in all respects with the requirements of this chapter for the district in which the building is located, except as specified in §
295-60.
Any building permit issued for rebuilding or restoration pursuant to §§
295-60 and
295-61 shall lapse 12 months after its issuance unless the rebuilding or restoration has been substantially completed in accordance therewith and the Building Inspector, in his or her discretion, has granted an extension of the permit. All rebuilding and reconstruction shall be completed, and the nonconformity resumed, within 18 months after the day of damage or destruction; otherwise, the nonconformity, to the extent not resumed, shall be deemed to be abandoned and shall thenceforth not be resumed.
A building permit may be issued for the erection
of a building for a permitted use on a lot for which a valid conveyance
was recorded before the effective date of this chapter, notwithstanding
that the area or dimensions of the lot are less than that required
for the district in which it lies, provided that:
A. The lot met the zoning requirements existing at the
time the deed to the lot was recorded;
B. All required yards and other requirements in effect
at the time of the obtaining of the building permit are complied with;
and
C. At no time since the effective date of this chapter
has the owner of the lot owned any contiguous lot. If at any time
since the effective date of this chapter the owner of the lot has
owned any contiguous lot, then that other lot, or so much thereof
as may be necessary, shall be combined with the lot for which the
permit is sought to make one or more conforming lots, whereupon a
building permit may be issued, but only for such combined lots.
Should the required area or dimensions of lots be changed by future amendment of this chapter, any conforming lot existing on the effective date of that amendment and made nonconforming by the amendment may be built upon, subject to the limitations contained in §
295-64.