The provisions of this bylaw shall be interpreted to be the minimum requirements adopted for the promotion of the health, safety, morals, or the general welfare of the Town of Marshfield, Massachusetts, and except for the Zoning Bylaw of the Town of Marshfield dated 1959 and all amendments thereto, the provisions of this bylaw are not intended to repeal or in any way impair or interfere with any lawfully adopted bylaw, regulations, or rules. Whenever the regulations made under the authority hereof differ from those prescribed by any bylaw or other regulations, that provision which imposes the greater restriction or the higher standard shall govern.

Except as herein provided, or as specifically exempted by the Zoning Enabling Act,[1] the provisions of this bylaw shall apply to the erection, construction, reconstruction, alteration or use of buildings and structures or use of land. Except as herein provided, any existing conforming use, structure or lot shall not by any action become nonconforming and any existing nonconforming use, structure, or lot shall not become further nonconforming.

Except as herein provided, this bylaw shall not apply to existing buildings or structures, nor to the existing use of any building or structure or of land, to the extent to which it is legally used at the time of adoption of this bylaw, but it shall apply to any change of use thereof and to any alteration of a building or structure when the same would amount to reconstruction, extension or structural change, and to any alteration of a building or structure to provide for its use for a purpose or in a manner substantially different from the use to which it was put before alteration, or for its use for the same purpose to a substantially greater extent.

In cases of mixed occupancy, the regulation for each use shall apply to the portion of the building or land so used. Allowable residential densities and nonresidential square footage requirements shall apply to each use individually per lot; provided, however, that building bulk, height, setbacks and other dimensional characteristics shall comply with the standards set forth in § 305-6.02, Table of Dimensional and Density Regulations.