The following provisions shall apply to all structures and uses existing on the effective date of this chapter which do not conform to the requirements set forth in this chapter and to all structures and uses that become nonconforming by reason of any subsequent amendment to this chapter.
Any nonconforming use of buildings or open land except those specified in § 450-507 below, may be continued indefinitely, provided that any such use:
A. 
Shall not be enlarged, altered, extended, reconstructed, restored, or placed on a different portion of the lot or parcel of land occupied by such uses on the effective date of this chapter, without a special exception from the Zoning Hearing Board. Any enlargement, alteration, extension, reconstruction, or restoration shall comply with the following:
(1) 
It shall take place only on the lot or contiguous lots held in the same ownership as that existing at the time the uses became nonconforming.
(2) 
Any modification shall conform with the area, building height, parking, sign and other requirements applying to the district in which said modification is located.
(3) 
The total of all such expansions or alterations of use shall not exceed an additional 35% of the area of those buildings or structures or land devoted to the nonconforming use as they existed on the date on which the use of such buildings, structures or land first became nonconformities. The applicant shall furnish conclusive evidence as to the extent of the nonconformity when it was created.
(4) 
Appearance shall be harmonious with surrounding properties; this feature includes, but is not limited to, landscaping, enclosure of principal and accessory uses, height control, sign control, architectural control and maintenance of all improvements and open spaces.
(5) 
Buffers and screens shall be provided as necessary to adequately protect neighboring properties. This includes, but is not limited to, fences, walls, plantings and open spaces.
(6) 
The expansion shall not create new dimensional nonconformities or further increase existing dimensional nonconformities.
(7) 
No expansion of a nonconforming structure or a nonconforming use located outside of a structure existing on the effective date of this chapter shall be permitted in the Floodplain Overlay District.
(8) 
Excluding expansion, any modification, alteration, repair, reconstruction or improvement of any kind to a nonconforming use or structure located in the Floodplain Overlay District shall be permitted when either elevated above the base flood elevation. In no case, shall any modification, alteration, repair, reconstruction or improvement cause increases in flood height, velocities or frequencies.
B. 
Shall not be moved to another location where such use would be nonconforming.
C. 
Shall not be changed to another nonconforming use without approval by the Zoning Hearing Board and then only to a use which, in the opinion of the Zoning Hearing Board, is of the same or of a more restricted nature.
D. 
Shall not be reestablished if such use has been abandoned for any reason for a continuous period of one year or more, or has been changed to, or replaced by, a conforming use. For the purposes of this chapter, abandonment shall commence when reasonable efforts to reestablish (such as lease, rental, sale, etc.) a nonconforming use have ceased. The eighteen-month period may be extended by special exception from the Zoning Hearing Board.
E. 
Shall not be restored for other than conforming use after damage from any cause, unless the nonconforming use is reinstated within one year of such damage; if the restoration of such building is not completed within the said one-year period, the nonconforming use of such building shall not be deemed to have been discontinued.
F. 
The Board of Supervisors may require the removal of any abandoned nonconforming use or structure upon proper notice to the owner of the property on which an abandoned nonconforming use or structure exists. If the owner has not completely removed the abandoned use or structure within a reasonable amount of time, not to exceed six months, the Board of Supervisors shall have the authority to itself cause the removal to be accomplished, the costs of such removal to be paid by the property owner.
Nothing herein contained shall require any change in plans, construction or designated use of a building for which a building permit has heretofore been issued and the construction of which shall have been diligently prosecuted within three months of the date of issue of said permit.
A noncomplying building or structure is any building or structure which does contain a use permitted in the district in which it is located, but does not conform to the district regulations for: lot area, width or depth; front, side or rear yards; maximum height; lot coverage; or minimum livable floor area per dwelling unit. Nothing in this article shall be deemed to prevent normal maintenance and repair, structural alteration in, moving, reconstruction, or enlargement of a noncomplying building, provided that such action does not increase the degree of or create any new nonconformity with regards to the regulations pertaining to such buildings.
In any district where dwellings are permitted, a single-family dwelling may be located on any lot or plot of official record as of the effective date of this chapter irrespective of its area or width or depth, providing the necessary approvals have been obtained for water supply, sewage disposal and driveway connection to a public road. When the lot does not meet the minimum lot area, depth or width for the district in which it is located, the following modifications may be applied:
A. 
The sum of the side yard widths of any such lot or plot need not exceed 30% of the width of the lot, but in no case shall any one side yard be less than 10% of the width of the lot.
B. 
The depth of the rear yard of any such lot need not exceed 20% of the depth of the lot, but in no case shall it be less than 10 feet.
It is the express intent and purpose of this chapter that if a building, structure, sign or land was expanded or extended to the limits of expansion for a nonconforming building, structure, sign, or use of land as authorized by a prior zoning regulation or ordinance, no further expansion of said building, structure, sign, or land shall be authorized. In the event a nonconforming building, structure, sign, or use of land was expanded to a portion of the limits of expansion authorized by a prior zoning regulation or ordinance, additional expansion if permitted by this chapter, shall only be authorized to the amount of expansion not previously utilized pursuant to said prior zoning regulation or ordinance.
All uses or buildings which are deemed to be nonconforming under the provisions of this chapter and which are located in the Floodplain Overlay District are subject to requirements set forth in Chapter 400, Floodplain Management.