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.