Any lawfully nonconforming use of building or land which was established prior to September 14, 1960, or in conformance with zoning regulations in effect at the time of establishment or granted by variance may be continued in the same kind and manner and to the same extent as at the time it became lawfully nonconforming. No lot shall be deemed to be a nonconforming lot, nor shall any building or use of a lot or a building be deemed a nonconforming use solely by reason of the lot being one shown upon an approved planned unit development pursuant to division 9 of article IV of this chapter.

(Ord. of 9-21-2009, § 3.2A; Ord. No. 11-03012021, § 4, 3-15-2021)

The following provisions shall govern changes, extensions or enlargements of nonconforming buildings or uses.

(1)

A lawfully nonconforming use shall not be changed to a dissimilar use, extended or enlarged; unless it can meet the criteria listed in this section.

(2)

A lawfully nonconforming residential building may not be enlarged beyond the size permitted by dimensional regulations for buildings in said district except that an existing nonconforming building line may be extended, but in no case shall the yard requirement for said addition be reduced to less than five feet.

(3)

An existing lawfully nonconforming, nonresidential building or structure may be extended or enlarged, provided that it satisfies the following criteria:

a.

No building or structure shall be altered, enlarged, added to or reconstructed (except as may be allowed by subsection (3)h of this section to extend further in a nonconforming manner or in any way which does not satisfy all dimensional regulations required in the district where located;

b.

A building or structure occupied or otherwise used for a nonconforming use shall not be extended or enlarged;

c.

Any enlargement shall only be used to accommodate the needs of the existing use or different conforming use proposed to occupy the entire structure. An enlargement which purpose is to provide for additional floor space as a result of the addition of a new business under separate ownerships shall not be allowed;

d.

Only a commercially used building or structure located in a commercially zoned district and industrially used buildings in an industrial district may be enlarged or extended;

e.

Except as provided in this subsection (3)e, any building or structure enlarged under this section shall conform to all regulations applicable to: access management, parking, landscaping and buffering, signage and environmental regulations.

1.

Upon written request of the property owner, the planning director may authorize a waiver of, or less than, full compliance with access management, parking, landscaping and buffering, signage, and environmental regulations, if is it is determined to be impractical, infeasible or would cause an unnecessary hardship on the property owner;

2.

All owners of abutting properties and property directly across the street from the site shall be notified by mail and given a ten day comment period regarding the requested waiver. The applicant shall be responsible for the postage cost of providing the notice to abutters plus an administrative fee as provided in the city fee schedule;

3.

The planning director shall provide a written decision to the property owner, and to any abutter who responded, within 14 days from the date of the request;

4.

If the property owner or one or more abutters disagrees with the decision of the planning director, regarding the requested waiver, a written request may be submitted to the planning board within 30 days of the decision and the planning board shall determine whether to grant the waiver. Both the applicant and abutters shall be notified of any such meeting by mailed notice not less than 14 days prior to the meeting. The party making such a request shall be responsible for the cost of the notification;

f.

Any building or structure enlarged under this section shall require the removal of nonconforming or obnoxious characteristics such as: excess signage, improper lighting, and/or outside storage;

g.

A commercially used building or structure located in a commercially zoned district may be enlarged up to 2,500 square feet or 25 percent of the occupied floor area that now exists, whichever is greater, to a maximum expansion of 5,000 square feet; an industrially used building in an industrial district may be enlarged by 5,000 square feet or 25 percent of the occupied floor area that now exists, whichever is greater, to a maximum expansion of 10,000 square feet. The expansion limitations in this subsection (3)g may be allowed under this process no more than once during the lifetime of the structure. Expansions proposed to exceed the thresholds as outlined in this subsection (3)g may be allowed by the planning board, pursuant to divisions 2 of article XVI of this chapter and further provided that all applicable criteria herein articulated are satisfied; and

h.

No building or structure which possesses two or more nonconforming violations (lot dimensions, density, yard requirements or height) shall be extended or enlarged if the new construction will increase or extend the nonconforming violations, unless approved by the planning board, pursuant to division 2 of article XVI of this chapter.

None of the limitations of this subsection (3) shall apply to a building or structure, which requires it to be altered, extended or enlarged to satisfy life safety codes and/or handicapped accessibility.

(4)

An existing nonconforming use may be authorized by the planning director to be changed to a similar nonconforming use upon application to and a finding that the following criteria are met:

a.

It would not be economically feasible to convert the property to a conforming use;

b.

The use proposed would have the same or less adverse impact on the neighborhood in terms of noise, odor, smoke, traffic, physical appearance and other similar conditions than the existing or lapsed nonconforming use; and

c.

Expenditures for any structural modifications to the property required to accommodate the new nonconforming use shall not exceed 50 percent of the assessed tax value of the property at the time of the change in use.

(5)

The use of any property or building that formerly was used in a lawfully nonconforming manner and which was abandoned (as defined in section 60-81) may be permitted after approval by the planning board in accordance with division 2 of article XVI of this chapter.

(Ord. of 9-21-2009, § 3.2B)

Any nonconforming building or portion thereof or nonconforming use of building or land or portions whether or not granted by action of the board of appeals, may be changed to one conforming with all the zoning provisions of the district in which located, provided it shall thereafter continue to conform.

(Ord. of 9-21-2009, § 3.2C)

If any nonconforming use of a building or portion thereof or of land or portion thereof be discontinued for a period of 12 consecutive months' duration or more or is voluntarily discontinued, it shall be presumed abandoned, such use shall not be resumed, and only a use conforming with zoning provisions in the zoning district in which located shall thereafter be made of such building or land, except as may be permitted otherwise under section 60-79(4) and (5). A use shall be deemed to be discontinued when the principle activity ceases. A use that is voluntarily discontinued shall be deemed to have ceased when a written statement containing the name of the owner of the property, the name of the business or use, the nature of the use being discontinued and the date of the discontinuance is reviewed by the municipal officer charged with enforcement.

(Ord. of 9-21-2009, § 3.2D)

Any nonconforming use of a building or structure, which has the structural members (frame, flooring, roof and exterior walls) above the foundation and the mechanical equipment (plumbing, electrical and heating) destroyed or damaged by fire, lightning, wind or other natural disaster to the extent of 65 percent or more shall not be rebuilt, repaired, reconstructed or altered except in conformance with all provisions of the underlying district's regulations. For the purpose of this section, a residence building on a full foundation in an agriculture and resource protection district which has been destroyed or damaged by natural disaster shall not be deemed nonconforming for a period of one year following the damage and may be rebuilt, repaired and reconstructed in the same nonconforming location. Alterations and expansions of such buildings shall only be in conformance with all the underlying district's regulations. For the purpose of this section, a full foundation is considered to be a permanent concrete or masonry structure used to support a building.

(Ord. of 9-21-2009, § 3.2E)

No nonconforming mobile home may be moved to another lot or parcel in the city and no nonconforming structure may be replaced by another nonconforming structure but shall be replaced with a site-built home or manufactured home that meets the definition of newer mobile home as found in section 60-2.

(Ord. of 9-21-2009, § 3.2F)

Any nonconforming use housed in a building or structure which has the structural members (frame, flooring, roof and exterior walls) and the mechanical equipment (plumbing, electrical and heating) destroyed or damaged by fire, lightning, wind or other natural disaster to the extent of 65 percent or more shall be presumed to be forfeited at the time of such damage. Such use shall not be resumed, and only a use conforming with zoning provisions in the zoning district in which located shall thereafter be made of such building or land.

(Ord. of 9-21-2009, § 3.2G)

A nonconforming building or structure which is being rebuilt, remodeled, reconstructed or otherwise modified shall not have its structural members (frame, flooring, roof and exterior walls) above the existing foundation or frame supports removed by more than 50 percent.

(Ord. of 9-21-2009, § 3.2H)

An existing residential building that is nonconforming in terms of density of units and where the units, either some or all, have been abandoned as defined under section 60-81, shall be allowed to exceed its permitted density by two units or to reestablish the same number of units at the time they were abandoned, whichever is less.

(Ord. of 9-21-2009, § 3.2I)