Lessen congestion in the streets;

Secure safety from fire, panic and other dangers;

Promote health and the general welfare;

Provide adequate light and air;

Prevent the overcrowding of land;

Avoid undue concentration of population; and

Facilitate the adequate provision of transportation, water, sewerage, schools, parks and other public requirements.

The character of each district and its peculiar suitability for particular uses;

Conserving the value of buildings; and

Encouraging the most appropriate use of land throughout the Town of Ocean View.

No structure shall be located, no existing structure shall be altered, enlarged, moved or rebuilt, and no open space surrounding any structure shall be encroached upon or reduced in any manner that does not conform to the yard, lot, area, and building location regulations designated for the zoning district in which such building or open space is located, unless otherwise permitted.

A yard or other open space associated with a building on a lot shall not be considered as a required yard or open space for a building on any other lot.

General. No building shall be erected, reconstructed, or structurally altered to exceed the height limits designated for the zone in which such building is located, except as otherwise approved by the Board of Adjustment.

Sloping lot. On any sloping lot, stories in addition to the number permitted in the zone in which such lot is situated shall be permitted on the downhill side of any building erected on such lot, but the building height limit shall not otherwise be increased above the maximum permitted height for the zoning district.

Boundaries indicated as approximately following the center lines of streets, highways, or alleys shall be construed to follow such center lines;

Boundaries indicated as approximately following platted lot lines shall be construed as following such lot lines;

Boundaries indicated as approximately following Town or county limits shall be construed as following Town or county limits;

Boundaries indicated as following railroad lines shall be construed to be midway between the main track(s);

Boundaries indicated as following shorelines shall be construed to follow such shorelines. If the shoreline changes, the boundary shall be construed as moving with the actual low watermark of the shoreline;

Boundaries indicated as approximately following the center lines of streams, lakes, ditches, or other bodies of water shall be construed as following such center lines;

Boundaries indicated as parallel to, or extensions of, features described in this subsection shall be so construed. Distances not specifically indicated on the Zoning Map shall be determined by the scale of the map; and

Where physical or cultural features existing on the ground differ from those shown on the Zoning Map, or in other circumstances not covered by this section, the Board of Adjustment shall interpret the zone boundaries in the event of a dispute.

The use closely resembles and contains the same characteristics as the uses in the zone to which it is to be added.

The use does not create dangers to health and safety and does not create offensive noise, vibrations, dust, heat, smoke, odor, glare, or other objectionable influences to an extent greater than normally resulting from other uses listed in the classification to which it is to be added.

The use does not create traffic to a greater extent than do other uses listed in the classification to which it is to be added.

Where construction has begun in accordance with a building permit validly issued more than six months prior to the adoption of this chapter, such construction may be completed as long as it complies with the zoning or subdivision regulations in effect at the time the permit was issued.

Where a building permit has been validly issued within three months prior to the adoption of this chapter, construction may be completed as long as it complies with the zoning or subdivision regulations in effect at the time the permit was issued and as long as construction begins within three months of the adoption of this chapter.

Construction is begun when excavation and the piers or footings of at least one or more buildings covered by the permit have been completed.

Provision. Any lot, which was legally recorded and was a buildable lot under the zoning or subdivision regulations in effect immediately prior to the effective date of this chapter, is a buildable lot under this chapter and does not require a variance to construct a single-family dwelling.

Applicability.

Any application to the Town of Ocean View (excluding any application for a residential planned community development) that, if approved, would allow the development of land within the Town of Ocean View, and which is validly submitted and accepted prior to the introduction of the ordinance adopting this Land Use and Development Code, including site plan applications, development plan applications, subdivision applications, rezoning applications, special exception applications, or variance applications, shall be processed and reviewed pursuant to the ordinances, regulations, laws, policies, standards, and fee structures in effect immediately before the adoption of this chapter.

Applications for residential planned community developments for which an approving ordinance has been validly adopted by the Ocean View Town Council as of the date of the introduction of the ordinance adopting this Land Use and Development Code shall be reviewed pursuant to the ordinances, regulations, laws, policies, standards, and fee structures in effect immediately before the adoption of this chapter.

Who may file. Any person, entity, owner or equitable owner of property not otherwise exempted from the requirements of this chapter who asserts a vested right to continue the development under the ordinances, regulations, laws, policies, standards, or fee structures in place immediately before the adoption of this chapter or any amendment thereto may seek a vested rights exemption from the Board of Adjustment.

Criteria for approval. The Board of Adjustment may grant a vested-rights exemption and allow the development to proceed under standards in place immediately prior to the adoption of this chapter if the Board finds that the person or entity meets each of the following criteria:

Filing deadline. Any applicant seeking a vested rights exemption must make a written request for a hearing on the exemption by the Board within 90 days after the adoption or amendment of this chapter by the Town Council.

Fee required with application. The fee for Board of Adjustment review must accompany the application for the exemption.

Wherever the regulations contained in this chapter require a greater width or size of yards or courts, or a lower height of building or fewer number of stories, or a greater percentage of lot to be left unoccupied, or impose other higher standards than are required in any other statute or local ordinance or regulation, the regulations in this chapter shall govern; and

Wherever any other statute, local ordinance or regulation requires a greater width or size of yards or courts, or a lower height of building or fewer number of stories, or a greater percentage of lot to be left unoccupied, or imposes other higher standards than are required by the regulations in this chapter, such statute, local ordinance or regulation shall govern.