Any use of property existing on the effective date of the ordinance from which this chapter is derived which does not conform with the regulations in this chapter but did conform with the provisions of prior ordinances shall be deemed a nonconforming use.
(Ordinance 443, sec. XXI(1), adopted 11/16/59; Ordinance 451, sec. 4, adopted 11/8/60; 2008 Code, sec. 98-91)
(a) 
A nonconforming use may be continued subject to regulations as to the maintenance of the premises and conditions of operation as in the judgment of the board of adjustment may reasonably be required for protection of adjacent property.
(b) 
A nonconforming use shall not be extended, but the extension of a use to any portion of a building arranged or designed for such nonconforming use at the time of passage of the ordinance from which this chapter is derived shall not be deemed the extension of a nonconforming use.
(c) 
The lawful use of a building at the time of passage of the ordinance from which this chapter is derived may be continued, although such does not conform to the provisions of this chapter, and such use may be extended throughout the building, provided no structural alteration, except those required by law or ordinance, is made therein. If no structural alterations are made, a nonconforming use of the building may be changed to another nonconforming use of the same or a more restricted classification; provided, however, that if a nonconforming use of a building is once changed to a nonconforming use of a higher or more restricted classification, it shall not later revert to the former lower or less restricted classification.
(Ordinance 443, sec. XXI(1)(a)–(c), adopted 11/16/59; Ordinance 451, sec. 4, adopted 11/8/60; 2008 Code, sec. 98-92)
(a) 
Any duplex or apartment existing or being used on the effective date of the ordinance from which this chapter is derived shall be thereafter deemed a conforming use. Any use existing within a building at the time of passage of the ordinance from which this chapter is derived in any commercial or manufacturing district shall be deemed a conforming use upon the lot devoted to such use at the time of passage of the ordinance from which this chapter is derived.
(b) 
A cemetery, sewage disposal or sewage treatment plant, public utility plant, county fairgrounds, or institution existing in any use district at the time of passage of the ordinance from which this chapter is derived, or any L first manufacturing district use existing in a J or K industrial district, shall be deemed a conforming use upon the lot devoted to such use at the time of passage of the ordinance from which this chapter is derived.
(Ordinance 443, sec. XXI(1)(d), (e), adopted 11/16/59; Ordinance 451, sec. 4, adopted 11/8/60; 2008 Code, sec. 98-93)
A nonconforming use of any building, structure, or land which has been abandoned shall not thereafter be returned to such nonconforming use. A nonconforming use shall be considered abandoned:
(1) 
When the intention of the owner to discontinue the use is apparent;
(2) 
When the characteristic equipment and furnishings of the nonconforming use have been removed from the premises and have not been replaced by similar equipment within one year; or
(3) 
When a nonconforming building, structure, or land or portion thereof becomes vacant and remains unoccupied or out of use for a continuous period of one year.
(Ordinance 443, sec. XXI(1)(f), adopted 11/16/59; Ordinance 451, sec. 4, adopted 11/8/60; 2008 Code, sec. 98-94)