All lawful uses of land, buildings or other
structures may be continued, altered, reconstructed, changed, sold
or maintained without being in violation of this chapter, even though
such use may not conform to the use and/or dimension regulations of
the district in which it is located. When existing uses do not conform
to the regulation established for the district in which located, such
uses become nonconforming in terms of this chapter, and such nonconforming
uses or structures must comply with the following.
The Zoning Officer shall identify and register
all nonconforming structures, buildings and uses, and such information
shall be maintained in a permanent inventory or record of nonconforming
structures, buildings and uses and shall include facts pertaining
to the property location and the nature and degree of nonconformance
of each such structure, building or use.
[Amended 5-13-1991 by Ord. No. 1151]
If a nonconforming use of a building or land
ceases, is discontinued or is abandoned for a continuous period of
two years or more, subsequent use of such building or land shall be
in conformity with the provisions of this chapter, except when the
discontinuance is due to a death and the settling of the estate. In
such cases, the discontinuance shall not be presumed to start until
the estate is settled or a court order concerning the disposition
of the estate has been entered.