A Legal Nonconforming Use

C. A non-compliant building, structure or physical element may be reconstructed, rehabilitated or structurally modified if the new work does not increase the level of non-compliance. Local restrictions generally prevent the expansion of non-compliant uses and structures. Non-compliant uses usually lose their legal status under local regulations if they are discontinued for a certain period of time, such as six months or a year. Non-compliant structures generally lose their legal status when they are destroyed in whole or in part, for example by fire. The owner of a mobile home park did not comply with an order requiring owners of non-compliant uses to submit a site plan to legally pursue their non-compliant uses, and the City informed the owner that the use was no longer permitted. The Court of Appeal held that the city`s order was a valid by-law and not a withdrawal, since the “right” to use the property for a particular purpose was not a fundamental feature of the property. Rather, it is a conditional right that depends on state laws and local regulations such as business licensing requirements and zoning. In some jurisdictions, if the structure exercising the non-compliant use is destroyed on a certain percentage (usually 50%), it cannot be rebuilt or repaired. Instead, the parcel is subject to the applicable zoning by-laws, which terminates the pardon for non-compliant use by the zoning by-laws.

In other cases, it is permitted by law to rebuild within a limited period of time. If apartment, usually allowed to rebuild. G. If a non-compliant use that requires a permit to use in the zoning district and to which no authorization to use has been granted is abandoned, the use may be restored only if there is a permit to use in accordance with Chapter 17.168 or a complete application for authorization to use is submitted within the sixty (60) day period specified in subsection E of this division. If the operation of this type of non-compliant use is substantially altered, the new use must be either an authorized use in the district or a permit to use must first be approved by the Planning Commission to allow for the change in the operation of the same type of business that was previously established. The change in the operation of the business includes, but is not limited to, the expansion of the floor area, a significant change in the nature of the business, a change in the type of goods that leads to a different type of business, a change in business hours that leads to a different type of business (i.e. the use of the restaurant at the discotheque) or changes in the business, which lead to an increase in traffic, effects on water consumption or wastewater production. The limitations of reconstruction can raise interesting questions of interpretation. For example, if one of the two separate apartment buildings operating as a single business is damaged by fire, how can a local order prohibiting reconstruction if the non-compliant use is damaged by 50% or more? If the damage to one of the buildings exceeds the 50% standard, but the damage to the company does not, could the place prohibit the reconstruction of the severely damaged building? New York courts tend to investigate the economic and functional interdependence of properties in such a case and have ruled that the location must allow for reconstruction, in this case because the business has not been damaged by 50% or more. The court upheld a hearing officer`s decision that rejected a landowner`s application for a legal, non-compliant use of his property because the decision was supported by substantial evidence, including aerial photographs provided by a county and testimony from neighbors confirming that the owner`s business was not on the property prior to the zoning laws. A non-compliant use is a legally established use of land that is not permitted in the zoning district in which it is located, or a use that is authorized by a use permit but for which no use permit has been obtained because the use was determined prior to the application of the existing district due to rezoning, annexation or amendment of the provisions of the Land Use Ordinance.

Non-compliant uses established by law are subject to the following regulations: 1. If the Common Law of Nuisance allows neighboring owners to prohibit the continuation of non-compliant use. For example, a gravel pit, car demolition or child-harming landfill in a developing residential area could be ordered as part of a private harassment measure. Similarly, a development ordinance may stipulate by law that such non-conforming use is terminated in an appropriate case. If a repayment provision is challenged, the municipality can prove that the owner`s heritage interest is low because of his susceptibility to harassment proceedings. In this context, however, the term “depreciation” is inappropriate. The grace period, if any, allowed by local law is free of charge if the use by the owner can actually be ordered as harassment. A non-compliant use is a use of a property that was permitted under the zoning by-laws at the time the use was determined, but is no longer a permitted use due to subsequent amendments to those by-laws. A non-compliant work is a work that was in compliance with the zoning and development by-laws at the time of construction, but is no longer fully compliant with those by-laws due to subsequent amendments to the zoning and/or development by-laws.