This Ordinance shall be known and cited as the Village of Lexington Zoning Ordinance

The purpose of this Ordinance is to promote, protect, regulate, restrict and provide for the use of land and buildings within the Village of Lexington; to meet the needs of the state’s residents for places of residence, recreation, industry, trade, service, and other uses of land; to ensure that uses of the land shall be situated in appropriate locations and relationships; to limit the inappropriate overcrowding of land and congestion of population and transportation systems and other public facilities; to facilitate adequate and efficient provision for transportation systems, sewage disposal, water, energy, education, recreation, and other public service and facility needs; and to promote public health, safety, and welfare.

In providing for all of these uses, services and infrastructure, the Village of Lexington shall be promoting and approving the development of land and the extension of utilities in a logical and consistent pattern consistent with the continuation of the existing street patterns and the implementation of the traditional town pattern of interconnecting blocks. The Village is divided into districts which include regulations designating land uses or activities that shall be permitted or subjected to special regulations.

It is also the purpose of this Ordinance to provide for the establishment of a Board of Appeals and its powers and duties; to provide for the administration and enforcement hereof and for penalties for its violation; and to provide for the repeal of any and all ordinances inconsistent herewith.

1.3.1.This Ordinance shall be liberally construed in such manner as to best implement its purpose. In interpreting and applying the provisions of this Ordinance, the requirements shall be held to be the minimum for the promotion of the public health, safety, convenience, comfort, prosperity, and general welfare.

1.3.2. No building or structure, or part thereof, shall hereafter be erected, constructed, reconstructed, or altered, and no new use or change of use shall be made of any building, structure, land, or part thereof, except as permitted by the provisions of this Ordinance.

1.3.3. Where a condition imposed by a provision of this Ordinance upon the use of any lot, building, or structure is conflicting with a condition imposed by any other provision of this Ordinance, or by the provision of an ordinance adopted under any other law, the provision which is more restrictive shall govern.

1.3.4. Nothing within this Ordinance shall be construed to prevent compliance with an order by the appropriate authority to correct, improve, strengthen, or restore to a safe or healthy condition, any part of a building or premises declared unsafe or unhealthy.

If a court of competent jurisdiction shall declare any part of this Ordinance to be invalid, such ruling shall not affect any other provisions of this Ordinance not specifically included in said ruling.

If a court of competent jurisdiction shall declare invalid the application of any provision of this Ordinance to a particular land, parcel, lot, district, use, building, or structure, such ruling shall not affect the application of said provision to any other parcel, lot, district, use, building, or structure not specifically included in said ruling.

Where any condition imposed by any provision of this Ordinance upon the use of any lot, building, or structure is either more restrictive or less restrictive than any comparable conditions imposed by any other provision of this Ordinance or by the provision of any Ordinance adopted under any other law, the provision which is more restrictive, or which imposes a higher standard or requirement shall govern.

This Ordinance is not intended to modify or annul any easement, covenant, or other private agreement provided that where any provision of this Ordinance is more restrictive or imposes a higher standard or requirement than such easement, covenant, or other private agreement, the provision of this Ordinance shall govern.

It is hereby expressly declared that nothing in this Ordinance be held or construed to give or grant to any person, firm, or corporation any vested right, license, privilege, or permit.

At the time of adoption of this ordinance, the County of Sanilac Building Department issues, regulates, and enforces building permits on behalf of the Village. The Village of Lexington regulates land uses through the issuance of land use permits. All uses of land regulated by this zoning ordinance must first receive an approved land use permit except as otherwise specified herein. All land use permits expire within one year unless construction or said activity has commenced.

An application for a land use permit under this ordinance shall be made to the zoning administrator or his designated agent on a form provided by the Village and shall contain or have attached thereof the following information:

   1.    Name, address and telephone number of the applicant and the owner if different from the applicant.

   2.    The address of legal description of the lot where the proposed use will occur,

   3.    The applicant must demonstrate proof of legal possession of the land for the proposed use.

   4.    A site plan showing the location of the proposed use and its relationship to all existing and proposed structures and lot lines.

      Plans and specifications for the proposed use including the following information:

      a.   Exact dimensions including height and distance from structures and lot lines.

      b.   The type of use according to the definitions of this zoning ordinance.

      c.   A sketch of the footprint of all buildings and structures and type and amount of paving and landscaping which will appear on the property.

      d.   The materials out of which the proposed construction is to be made.

All applications shall be accompanied by a land use permit application fee as established in the fee schedule which shall be adopted and amended from time to time by the Village Council. The permit application fee shall reimburse the Village for the costs of checking the application for compliance with the ordinance and shall reimburse the Village for the costs of necessary inspections. The land use fee does not include electrical permits or building permit fees which may be required.