A.
Except as otherwise provided herein, the lawful use of land or buildings existing at the effective date of this chapter may be continued although such use does not conform to the provisions hereof. A nonconforming use may not be expanded, enlarged, or converted to another nonconforming use unless approved as a conditional use by the Town Commissioners in accordance with § 185-74, Procedures for approval of conditional uses. Whenever a nonconforming use of land or buildings has been changed to a more restricted use or to a conforming use, such use shall not thereafter be changed to a less restricted use. The nonconforming use of a building may be hereafter extended throughout those parts of a building which were lawfully and manifestly arranged or designed for such use at the time of the enactment of this chapter.
B.
Mobile homes in lawful use as a single-family dwelling at the effective
date of this chapter shall be subject to following:
A.
In any district, any sign and any supporting structure, other than
the building, in existence as of January 10, 2009, which does not
comply with the provisions of this chapter shall be deemed a nonconforming
sign. Such nonconforming sign may continue in operation and may be
repaired, modified, and replaced so long as the overall size of the
structure is not increased and the nonconformity not increased.
B.
If a nonconforming sign is destroyed by any means to an extent of
more than 50% of its size, it shall not be reconstructed except in
compliance with the provisions of this chapter.
C.
Signs advertising out-of-Town businesses, existing prior to the adoption
of this chapter, may remain for a period not to exceed two years following
the effective date of this chapter, but then must be removed, except
that out-of-Town realtors may continue to advertise Dewey Beach property
with portable signs specified above.
No building, land, or portion thereof which is used in whole
or in part for a nonconforming use, that remains idle or unused for
a continuous period of one year, whether or not the equipment or fixtures
are removed, shall again be used, except in conformity with the regulations
of the district in which such building or land is located, provided
that if the building, land or any portion thereof becomes idle or
unused due to a fire, storm, infestation or other peril not caused
intentionally by the property owner, then such building, land or portion
thereof may remain idle or unused for a continuous period of one year
and six months, after which the use must conform to the regulations
of the district in which such building or land is located if such
building, land or portion thereof continues to remain idle or unused.
[Amended 1-11-2014 by Ord. No. 710]
If a nonconforming building is damaged by fire, storm, infestation,
or other peril not caused intentionally by the property owner, it
may be repaired or reconstructed to essentially the same configuration
as existed prior to the damage, provided that application for all
required building permits be made within one year and six months of
the date of the damage. If a different configuration or an expansion
of the original building is proposed, it must conform to all applicable
regulations, including all applicable setbacks, height and elevation
requirements.
A.
Except that in the process of repairing or reconstructing a residential-use structure located in a flood-prone area (e.g., a FEMA-designated VE, AE, or AO flood zone) that does not conform to the required setbacks in any respect and does not meet Town building-elevation standards and has suffered substantial damage, said structure shall be elevated to the relevant minimum building-elevation requirement as per § 185-60B of this chapter.
(1)
For the purposes of this section, the meaning of "substantial damage"
shall be that used by the National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP):
"damage of any origin sustained by a structure whereby the cost of
restoring the structure to its before-damaged condition would equal
or exceed 50% of the market value of the structure before the damage
occurred."
(2)
For the purposes of this chapter, the "Town's building-elevation requirement" shall be the sum of the FEMA-designated one-percent-annual-probability base flood elevation (BFE) for the flood zone in which the structure is located as shown on the effective Flood Insurance Rate Map (FIRM) plus the additional height required by the Town as part of its participation in the National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP), i.e., freeboard. (The required freeboard is specified in the Town Code in § 101-11, Elevation, floodproofing and constructions standards applicable within general floodplain areas. At the time of enactment of this section the Town's freeboard height requirement is one foot.)
(a)
The structure's "building elevation" shall be defined as per
NFIP regulations as "the elevation of the lowest habitable floor (including
basement)" for buildings in AO and AE flood zones and as "the elevation
of the bottom of the lowest horizontal structural member of the lowest
floor" for buildings in a VE flood zone. Building elevation may at
times be referred to as base elevation in Town code.
(3)
Under no circumstance shall any structure elevated under this section
exceed the Town-wide thirty-five-foot building height limit.
A.
This section describes conditions under which the expansion of a nonconforming use of a building is permitted. A nonconforming use of a building may be extended either within the building or outside the building or into a new addition or building on the same lot if the nonconforming use was in existence at the time of original enactment of this chapter in 1983. A nonconforming use of a building may be extended into a building on a contiguous lot if the nonconforming use and common ownership of such contiguous lots predate the time of original enactment of this chapter in 1983 and the contiguous lots have been continuously under common ownership since 1983. Any such expansion of a nonconforming use requires approval as a special exception by the Board of Adjustment as provided in Article X of this chapter, and is subject to the following special requirements:
(1)
The extension is for a use which is necessarily incident to the existing
use;
(2)
Such extension shall not encroach on any of the setback or yard requirements
for the district in which the use is located;
(3)
Such extension shall have a floor area not to exceed 50% of the floor
area of the existing building or portion thereof;
(4)
It will not impair the value of the adjoining property or adversely
affect the character of the neighborhood; and
(5)
Only one extension shall be permitted by the Board of Adjustment
during the life of the nonconforming use.
B.
A building nonconforming only as to height, area, or bulk requirements
may be altered or extended, provided such alteration or extension
does not increase the degree of nonconformity in any respect. A building
which does not conform to the required setbacks in any respect shall
not be expanded either vertically or horizontally in the setback area.
The casual, intermittent, temporary or illegal use of land or
buildings shall not be sufficient to establish the existence of a
nonconforming use, and the existence of a nonconforming use on a part
of a lot or tract shall not be construed to establish a nonconforming
use on the entire lot or tract.
Whether a nonconforming use exists shall be a question of fact
and shall be decided by the Board of Adjustment after public notice
and hearing and in accordance with rules of the Board.
A nonconforming use or building in violation of a provision
of a regulation which this chapter amends or replaces shall not be
validated by adoption of this chapter unless such use complies with
the terms of this chapter.
