Within the districts established by this ordinance, or amendments that may later be adopted, there exist lots, structures, uses of land and structures and characteristics of use which were lawful before this ordinance was passed or amended, but which would be prohibited, regulated, or restricted under the terms of this ordinance or future amendments.

It is the intent of this ordinance to permit these nonconformities to continue until they are removed, but not to encourage their continuation. Such uses are declared by this ordinance to be incompatible with permitted uses in the districts involved. It is further the intent of this ordinance that nonconformities shall not be enlarged upon, expanded or extended, nor be used as grounds for adding other structures or uses prohibited elsewhere in the same district.

A nonconforming use of a structure, a nonconforming use of land, or a nonconforming use of a structure and land shall not be extended or enlarged after passage of this ordinance by attachment on a building or premises of additional signs intended to be seen from off the premises, or by the addition of other uses of a nature which would be prohibited generally in the district involved.

To avoid undue hardship, nothing in this ordinance shall be deemed to require a change in the plans, construction, or designated use of any building on which actual construction was lawfully begun prior to the effective date of adoption or amendment of this ordinance and upon which actual building construction has been diligently carried on.

Actual construction is hereby defined to include the placing of construction materials in permanent position and fastened in a permanent manner. Where excavation or demolition or removal of an existing building has been substantially begun preparatory to rebuilding, such excavation or demolition or removal shall be deemed to be actual construction, provided that work shall be diligently carried on until completion of the building involved. In no event shall the time of such construction exceed a period of two (2) years except for a demonstrated cause approved by the board of adjustment.

In any district in which single-family dwellings are permitted, notwithstanding limitations imposed by other provisions of this ordinance, a single-family dwelling and customary accessory buildings may be erected on any single lot which is of record at the effective date of adoption or amendment of this ordinance. This provision shall apply only where yard dimensions and requirements other than area, width, and/or depth conform in all other respects with the land development regulations for the applicable zoning district. Such lot shall be in separate ownership and not of continuous frontage with other lots in the same ownership.

If two (2) or more lots or combinations of lots and portions of lots with continuous frontage in single ownership are of record at the time of passage or amendment of this ordinance, and if all or part of the lots do not meet the requirements for lot width and area as established by this ordinance, the lands involved shall be considered to be an undivided parcel for the purposes of this ordinance. No portion of said parcel shall hereafter be created and used as a separate parcel or sold or otherwise subdivided which does not meet lot width and area requirements established by this ordinance, unless the portion which in excess of the lot width requirements is sold in order to create a lot meeting the requirements of the ordinance, or as an addition to the zoning parcel, nor shall any division of the parcel be made which leaves remaining lot with width or area below the requirements of this ordinance. Notwithstanding this aggregation of land requirement, a single-family dwelling and customary accessory buildings may be erected on any such single lot of record in a residential zoning district providing the land density requirements of the comprehensive plan are satisfied and the proposed single-family dwelling and any customary accessory building are compatible to the surrounding neighborhood with respect to property values and building size. For purposes of this paragraph, compatible shall mean substantially similar to or exceeds the property values and building size of other single-family dwellings and customary accessory buildings in the surrounding neighborhood.

On any property zoned Core-Commercial (CC), Commercial Parkway (CP or CBD Central Business District) which at the time of the effective date of Ordinance 7-88 lawfully exists pursuant to the provisions of this section, article, and Appendix A, then notwithstanding the minimum lot area limitations imposed on such property by said Ordinance 7-88, such property may as a matter of right be used for any permitted use allowed in the zoning district which such property is designated pursuant to Ordinance 7-88 so long as, and only if, such property can meet the "minimum yard" and parking requirements established for said zoning district, and other lots may apply for variances from the provisions of said districts.

(Ord. No. 5-89, § 2, 5-9-89; Ord. No. 17-89, § 3, 12-22-89; Ord. No. 5-98, § 1, 2-10-98; Ord. No. 05-2018, § 2, 8-14-2018)

Where, at the effective date of adoption or amendment of this ordinance, lawful use of land exists that is made no longer permissible under the terms of this ordinance as enacted or amended, such use may be continued, so long as it remains otherwise lawful, subject to the following provisions:

(A)

No such nonconforming use shall be enlarged or increased, nor extended to occupy a greater area of land than was occupied at the effective date of adoption or amendment of this ordinance; unless such use is changed to a use permitted in the district in which such use is located;

(B)

No such nonconforming use shall be moved in whole or in part to any other portion of the lot or parcel occupied by such use at the effective date of adoption or amendment of this ordinance;

(C)

If any such nonconforming use of land ceases for any reason for a period of more than one hundred eighty (180) consecutive days, any subsequent use of such land shall conform to the regulations specified by this ordinance for the district which such land is located;

(D)

No additional structure which does not conform to the requirements of this ordinance shall be erected in connection with such nonconforming use of land.

(Ord. No. 5-98, § 1, 2-10-98)

Where a lawful structure exists at the effective date of adoption or amendment of this ordinance that could not be built under the terms of this ordinance by reason of restrictions on area, lot coverage, height, yards, or other characteristics of the structure or its location on the lot, such structure may be continued so long as it remains otherwise lawful, subject to the following provisions:

(A)

No such structure may be enlarged or altered in a way which increases its nonconformity;

(B)

Any structure or portion thereof may be altered to decrease its nonconformity;

(C)

Should such structure be destroyed by any means to any extent of more than fifty percent (50%) of its replacement cost at the time of destruction, it shall not be reconstructed except in conformity with provisions of this ordinance, provided, however that uses on existing lots of record in the Central Business District, Cocoa Village Overlay area shall be permitted to reconstruct on the existing lot of record subject to site plan approval by the city council in accordance with the requirements of article XIII, section 1(B) for construction of units on three (3) acres or more;

(D)

Should such structure be moved for any reason for any distance whatever, it shall thereafter conform to the regulations of the district in which it is located after it is moved.

Notwithstanding any of the above, upon any nonconforming lot of record as described in article X, section 3, that is improved with a single-family dwelling as of the date of the adoption of this ordinance, a single-family dwelling may be rebuilt within the original footprint of the dwelling structure existing as of the date of the adoption of this ordinance, without regard to area, width, yard, or setback requirements.

(Ord. No. 22-90, § 6, 9-24-90)

If a lawful use involving individual structures, or of structure and premises in combination, exists at the effective date of adoption or amendment of this ordinance, that would not be allowed in the district under the terms of this ordinance, the lawful use may be continued so long as it remains otherwise lawful, subject to the following provisions:

(A)

No existing structure devoted to a use not permitted by this ordinance in the district in which it is located shall be enlarged, extended, constructed, reconstructed, moved or structurally altered except in changing the use of the district in which it is located;

(B)

Any nonconforming use may be extended throughout any parts of a building which were manifestly arranged or designed for such use at the time of adoption or amendment of this ordinance but no such use shall be extended to occupy any land outside such building;

(C)

Any structure, or structure and land in combination, in or on which a nonconforming use is superseded by a permitted use, shall thereafter conform to the regulations for the district in which such structure is located, and the nonconforming use may not thereafter be resumed;

(D)

Where nonconforming use status applies to a structure and premises in combination, removal or destruction of the structure shall eliminate the nonconforming status of the land. Destruction for the purpose of this ordinance is defined as damage to an extent of more than fifty percent (50%) of the replacement cost at time of destruction;

(E)

All nonconforming use of structures or of structures and premises in combination, except for residential uses, shall be discontinued according to the following provisions: For each five hundred dollars ($500.00) of its assessed value of land and building on date of issuance of a certificate of nonconforming use such nonconformity shall be permitted to continue for a period of one (1) year. In no event, however, shall any such nonconformity involving a structure be required to discontinue before a period of three (3) years; nor shall any nonconformity be permitted to continue for a period longer than fifty (50) years, regardless of its assessed value.

Nonconformities not involving the use of a principal structure, e.g., open storage, building supplies, vehicle, mobile home, implement and machinery storage, junkyards, commercial animal yards, and the like, shall be discontinued within two (2) years of the effective date of this ordinance or amendment.

A nonconforming use of a building or premises which has been abandoned shall not thereafter be returned to such nonconforming use. A nonconforming use shall be considered abandoned:

(A)

When the intent of the owner to discontinue the use is apparent; or,

(B)

When the characteristic equipment and the furnishings of the nonconforming use have been removed from the premises and have not been replaced by similar equipment within six (6) months, unless other facts show intention to resume the nonconforming use, or when it has been replaced by a conforming use, or where the use is discontinued or abandoned six (6) consecutive months or for eighteen (18) months during any three-year period.

On any building devoted in whole or in part to any nonconforming use, ordinary repairs, or repair or replacement of nonbearing walls, fixtures, wiring or plumbing may be done provided that the cubic content of the building as it existed at the time of passage or amendment of this ordinance shall not be increased.

Nothing in this ordinance shall be deemed to prevent the strengthening or restoring to a safe condition of any building or part thereof declared to be unsafe by any official charged with protecting the public safety, upon order of such official.

Any special exception provided in this ordinance shall not be deemed a nonconforming use, but shall without further action be deemed a conforming use in such district; provided, however, that such special exception shall not be extended or expanded unless and until a special ordinance granting permission for such expansion or extension has been passed and adopted by the city council as required by the terms of this ordinance in connection with the special exception procedure.

The casual, intermittent, temporary or illegal use of land or structures shall not be sufficient to establish the existence of a nonconforming use. Such use shall not be validated by the adoption of this ordinance unless it complies with the terms of this ordinance.

Upon written request of a property owner to the community services department, the community services director may issue a zoning verification letter confirming the existence of a legally nonconforming use of land for any use which does not conform to the provisions of the zoning district in which the property is located. The letter issued by the community services director shall be based on the applicable provisions of the City Code, including but not limited to Appendix A Zoning, Article X Nonconformities, and law, and shall be reviewed for legal sufficiency by the city attorney.

(A)

If a letter is issued in accordance with the provisions of this section, no use of land, buildings or structures shall be made other than that specified on the letter, unless said use shall be in conformity with the provisions of the zoning district in which the property is located.

(B)

A copy of each letter of nonconforming use shall be filed with the office of the city clerk. No permit or local business tax receipt shall be issued to any property for which a zoning verification letter of nonconforming use has been issued unless said permit or license has been approved by the city.

(C)

The issuance of a letter under this section shall be for the benefit of the property owner only, and shall not be construed or interpreted to exempt the subject property from the provisions of the City Code or other applicable law. The intent of a letter is to memorialize, for the benefit of the property owner, the existence of a legally non-conforming use as of the date the letter was issued by the community services director and shall not be relied upon by the property owner if laws, facts or circumstances change after the date the letter has issued.

(D)

The city reserves the right, upon receipt of a written request or on the city's own initiative, to update and/or rescind any letter issued under this section if laws, facts or circumstances change after the date the letter is issued.

(Ord. No. 16-2008, § 8, 7-22-08; Ord. No. 03-2017, § 2, 3-14-2017)

Whenever the boundaries of a district shall be changed so as to transfer an area from one (1) district to another district of a different classification, the foregoing provision shall also apply to any nonconforming uses existing therein.