Within the districts established by this chapter or amendments that may later be adopted there exists:

A.

Lots,

B.

Structures, and

C.

Uses of land and structures which were lawful before this chapter was passed or amended, but which would be prohibited, regulated, or restricted under the terms of this chapter or future amendment. It is the intent of this chapter to permit these non-conformities to continue until they are removed, but not to encourage their survival. Further, the intent of this chapter is that non-conformities 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.

To avoid undue hardship, nothing in this chapter shall be deemed to require a change in the plans, construction, or designated use of any building on which actual construction or preparatory excavation or demolition was lawfully begun prior to the effective date of adoption or amendment of this chapter.

It is the specific intention of this ordinance to bring nonconforming signs into compliance with the terms of this ordinance within five (5) years after the adoption of this ordinance, and to bring non-conforming home occupations into compliance with the terms of this ordinance within one (1) year after the adoption of this ordinance, and therefore the terms of this section shall not apply in those instances.

In any district the authorized uses may be continued on any single lot of record at the effective date of adoption or amendment of this ordinance, even though such lot fails to meet the requirements for area or width, or both, that are generally applicable in the district and provided that lot dimensions for the district can be met. Such lot must be in separate ownership and not of continuous frontage with other lots in the same ownership. Variance of lot requirements shall be obtained only through action of the Board of Adjustment.

If two or more lots or combination of lots with continuous frontage in single ownership are of record at the time of passage or amendment of this ordinance, and if any of the lots do not meet the requirements established for lot width and area, the lands involved shall be considered to be an undivided parcel for the purposes of this ordinance, and no portion of said parcel shall be used or sold in a manner which diminishes compliance with lot width and area requirements established by this ordinance, nor shall any division of any parcel be made which creates a lot with width or area below the requirements stated in this ordinance.

(Ord. No. 2097, § 1, 1/5/21)

Where, at the time of passage of this ordinance a lawful use of land or a structure exists which would not be permitted by the regulations imposed by this ordinance, the use may be continued where it remains otherwise lawful, provided:

1.

No such non-conforming use shall be enlarged or increased, nor extended to occupy a greater area of land or structure than was occupied at the effective date of adoption or amendment of this ordinance.

2.

No such non-conforming use shall be moved in whole or in part to any portion of the lot or parcel other than that occupied by such use at the effective date of adoption or amendment of this ordinance.

3.

If any such non-conforming use ceases for any reason for a period of more than one (1) year, any subsequent use of such land or structure shall conform to the regulations specified by this chapter for the district in which such land is located. If a building used for commercial purposes is not open to the public for a period of one (1) year, its use shall subsequently conform to the regulations of this chapter. This subsection shall not apply to structures which come into the possession of financial institutions or other lien holders to include the Veterans Administration, Federal Housing Administration, and Farmer's Home Administration through the process of foreclosure or default.

4.

No additional structure not conforming to the requirements of this ordinance shall be erected in connection with such non-conforming use of land or structure.

5.

One (1) non-conforming use may not be converted to another non-conforming use.

(Ord. 1763, 4/4/94)

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

1.

No such non-conforming structure may be enlarged or altered in a way which increases its non-conformity, but any structure or portion thereof may be altered to decrease its non-conformity.

2.

Should such non-conforming structure or non-conforming portion of structure be destroyed by any means to an extent of more than seventy (70) percent of its replacement cost at time of destruction, it shall not be reconstructed except in conformity with the provisions of this chapter.

Nothing in this chapter 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.

(Ord. No. 2097, § 1, 1/5/21; Ord. No. 3005, § 2, 4/20/21)

The reconstruction of existing non-conforming residential dwelling units is allowed, in compliance with applicable fire and building codes, including expansion of up to twenty (20) percent of the existing dwelling unit, as long as the number of dwelling units on the parcel is not increased.

Further, it is the intent of this section to allow non-conforming residential dwelling units to be reconstructed even though the lot or parcel on which they exist fails to meet the size requirements for that zone type. The lot dimension and setback requirements for the district in which the piece of land is located may be reduced by the smallest amount that will permit reconstruction or the allowed twenty (20) percent expansion. Such reduction shall be determined by the Board of Adjustment.

(Ord. 1782, 9/6/94; Ord. 1814, 9/18/95)