Clinton Town Dutchess County
City Zoning Code
City Zoning Code
ARTICLE VI
Nonconforming Uses and Structures
§ 250-80 General provisions.
The lawful use of any land, buildings or structures, or a part thereof existing at the time that this chapter or any subsequent amendment becomes effective, may be continued, although such use does not conform with the provisions of this chapter, except as provided herein. The right to continue a nonconforming use is based on pecuniary and economic loss and is inapplicable to an incidental use of property for recreational, amusement or hobby purposes.
The intent of this article is to limit, by not increasing, nonconforming uses and to eliminate such uses as speedily as possible, but at the same time to alleviate economic hardship to an existing nonconforming use by allowing it to continue at its existing level of intensity, in accordance with all other provisions of applicable laws and regulations.
§ 250-81 Nonconforming uses.
Any lawful nonconforming use of buildings or land in existence on the effective date of this chapter, except as disallowed by § 250-80, may be continued indefinitely if maintained in accordance with all other applicable codes, laws, regulations, and other requirements, but:
Shall not be enlarged or extended, or placed on a different portion of the lot or parcel of land occupied by such use on the effective date of this chapter, except as provided in this article. For the purpose of this section:
Any additional commercial accessory uses shall constitute such extension, and are prohibited.
Where no building is involved, the nonconforming use of the land may not be extended to occupy a greater area of land, or to include more intensive use of the same area of land, than occupied on the effective date of this chapter.
Shall not be moved to another location where such use would be nonconforming.
Shall not be changed to another nonconforming use without prior approval by the Zoning Board of Appeals, and then only to a use which, as determined by the Zoning Board of Appeals, maintains or reduces the nonconformity. Such change of nonconforming use approval by the Zoning Board of Appeals shall be prior to any other approvals required by the Planning Board.
Shall not be reestablished if such use has been discontinued for any reason, whether through vacancy or cessation of use, for a period of one year or longer, or has been changed to, or replaced by, a conforming use for any period of time. The intent to resume a nonconforming use does not confer the right to do so.
Shall be subject to all administration and enforcement provisions of this chapter, including but not limited to inspections, issuance of orders to remedy, stop orders and appearance tickets.
§ 250-82 Nonconforming lots.
§ 250-83 Nonconforming buildings or structures.
All alterations or extensions to a nonconforming building or structure shall comply with provisions of this chapter with respect to Article IV, Area and Bulk Regulations.
Nothing contained herein shall prohibit the extension of a permitted use to any portion of a nonconforming building or structure which existed prior to the effective date of this chapter.
Nothing herein shall prohibit normal repair and maintenance or structural alteration of a nonconforming building, provided such action does not increase or create any new nonconformity. Further, any nonconforming building or structure declared unsafe by the Building Inspector or other proper authority may be restored to a proper condition within the time period provided by such authority.
§ 250-84 Alterations permitted to nonconforming buildings.
A building which is nonconforming under the previous zoning ordinance and nonconforming under this chapter shall be permitted to expand to an amount not exceeding 50% of the aggregate building area as it existed on the effective date of the 1974 Zoning Ordinance, established as October 2, 1974, except that no nonconforming building shall be permitted to violate any other provisions of this chapter relative to the district in which it is located.
A building which became a nonconforming building as a result of this chapter shall be permitted to expand to an amount not exceeding 50% of the aggregate building area as it existed on the effective date of this chapter, except that no nonconforming building shall be permitted to violate any other provisions of this chapter relative to the district in which it is located.
§ 250-85 Restoration after damage.
Nothing contained in this article shall be deemed to prevent the restoration of a lawful nonconforming use after damage by any cause, provided that the bulk, height, and area shall not be in excess of that which existed prior to the damage, that all applicable New York State Uniform Fire Prevention and Building Code provisions are fully complied with, and that the restoration is commenced within one year of the damage and is fully completed within 18 months of such damage.
Nothing herein shall prohibit the restoration of a dwelling unit which is nonconforming only with respect to bulk and area regulations for the district in which it is located, except no dwelling unit shall be altered, added to, or reconstructed to extend further into an already deficient yard or to reduce an already deficient amount of land area per dwelling unit.
§ 250-86 Completion of nonconforming building construction.
Any building, the construction of which has been started pursuant to a validly issued building permit before the effective date of this chapter or any amendment thereto, may be completed in accordance with approved plans on file with the Building Inspector, provided that all other required permits and approvals have been issued prior to the effective date and such construction is diligently pursued and the building is completed within two years of the effective date of this chapter or subsequent amendment.
§ 250-87 Appeal jurisdiction.
All appeals for relief under this article shall be heard by the Zoning Board of Appeals, in accordance with the provisions of § 250-98 of this chapter, except where another local law specifically requires permit application or renewal by the Town Board or the Planning Board for a particular use, whether permitted or nonconforming, in which case all questions shall be decided by the board so designated in such local law.