Port Jervis City Zoning Code
ARTICLE XIV
Nonconforming Uses and Noncomplying Buildings
§ 535-74 Nonconforming uses.
The following provisions shall apply to all buildings and uses existing on the effective date of this chapter which do not conform to the requirements set forth in this chapter and to all buildings and uses that become nonconforming by reason of any subsequent amendment to this chapter. Any nonconforming use of buildings or open land may be continued indefinitely but:
A.
Shall not be enlarged, altered, extended, reconstructed, or restored (except as provided below), or placed on a different portion of the lot or parcel of land occupied by such use on the effective date of the chapter, if such enlargement, alteration, extension, reconstruction or restoration exceeds 25% of the area of the use. Such permitted expansion is not intended to nullify or make inapplicable any bulk requirements otherwise required by this chapter. The above-referenced 25% expansion is intended to permit only a one-time expansion and shall not be interpreted to permit cumulative expansions which would exceed 25% of the original area of use.
B.
Shall not be moved to another location where such use would be nonconforming.
C.
Shall be allowed to be changed to another nonconforming use provided that it is of the same or of a more restricted nature or lesser density in terms of traffic, noise, odor or other impact on neighborhood character as determined by the Building Official.
D.
Shall not be reestablished if such use has been discontinued by reason of vacancy for any reason or no reason at all for a continuous period of 240 days or more or has been changed to, or replaced by, a conforming use. If vacancy is caused by the loss of a certificate of occupancy due to unaddressed and uncorrected building and zoning code violations, the time of such vacancy shall count toward the two-hundred-forty-day period in this Code section. Intent to resume a nonconforming use shall not confer the right to do so. Such time period shall apply to properties whose nonconforming use was discontinued after the enactment of this statute. Properties whose nonconforming use was discontinued prior to the enactment of this statute shall not reestablish or resume the nonconforming use after a period of 240 days. The Building Official of the City of Port Jervis must send a notice to the owner of the real property advising the owner of the Code sections that exist relating to potential loss of use and discontinuance, the date of potential loss of use or discontinuance, the proof that is required, and the ability to appeal to the Zoning Board of Appeals after a determination by the Building Official. The Building Official or Assistant Building Official may direct that water service be denied or terminated at any time at a property where the certificate of occupancy for that property/structure has been revoked or denied for a violation of any local, county, state or federal statute or regulation.
E.
Restoration and reconstruction.
(1)
Shall not be restored for other than a conforming use after damage for any reason exceeding 75% of its assessed value or its bulk (such determination to be made solely by the City Assessor). If the restoration of a building whose damage does not exceed 75% of its assessed value or of its bulk is not commenced and substantially completed within a one-year period, the nonconforming use of such building shall be deemed to have been discontinued.
(2)
Where a catastrophic fire or disaster has occurred and a structure/building housing a nonconforming use has been demolished by direction of officials of the City of Port Jervis or has been voluntarily demolished by the property owner in order to protect the health and safety of the citizens of Port Jervis and adjacent properties, the Port Jervis Common Council may permit the reconstruction of a structure/building on the site of the demolished structure/building and may authorize continuation of the nonconforming use after conducting a public hearing on the question of whether or not to grant said waiver.
(3)
Once the Common Council has agreed to permit the reconstruction of a structure/building on the site of a demolished structure/building and/or continuation of the nonconforming use housed in that structure/building, a site redevelopment plan must be submitted to and approved by the Planning Board of the City of Port Jervis prior to the issuance of a building permit or certificate of occupancy/compliance. The site development plan rules and regulations set forth in § 535-80 of this Code must be adhered to.
(4)
Removal of additional kitchens or kitchenettes in nonconforming dwellings. If any nonconforming multiple dwelling or two-family detached dwelling as such items are defined in the Port Jervis City Code shall, as result of noncompliance with any subsections of § 535-74, lose its use or uses as a multiple dwelling or two-family detached dwelling, then in addition to not reestablishing such nonconforming use, such dwellings shall have removed, prior to the reoccupancy of the entire premises, all additional kitchens or kitchenettes that were previously permissible when the allowable nonconforming use existed. Removal shall include, but not be limited to, the removal of all structures and appliances for the cooking or preparation of food as well as all plumbing and gas lines feeding said kitchen or kitchenette back to their source of origin, multiple gas manifolds to a single manifold and meter, multiple electrical meters and boxes to a single box, and wall openings allowing for a through way in the interior of the structure. No nonconforming multiple dwelling or two-family detached dwelling that shall lose its use or uses as a multiple dwelling or two-family detached dwelling shall be able to establish a new use, including a use as a single-family dwelling, without a full inspection by the Code Enforcement Officer to confirm removal of all additional kitchens or kitchenettes.
§ 535-75 Noncomplying buildings.
Nothing in this chapter shall be deemed to prevent normal maintenance and repair, structural alteration in, or the reconstruction of a noncomplying building, provided that such action does not increase the degree of nonconformity by more than 25% or create any new nonconformity with regard to the regulations pertaining to such buildings.
§ 535-76 Buildings, structures or lots with nonconforming bulk.
A.
Residential buildings or structures. Any existing one- or two- or multiple-family residential building or structure, or building accessory thereto, made noncomplying as to bulk by this chapter or any amendment thereof shall be permitted to comply with the yard and setback requirements as specified for the highest residential district having the same or less lot width. In no event, however, shall the yard and setback requirements of any be less than the requirements for the R-2 Zone. No front setback may, in any event, be closer to the designated street line than the existing established setback.
B.
Nonresidential buildings and structures. Normal maintenance and repair of, structural alteration in, or reconstruction of a building or structure with noncomplying bulk is permitted if the same does not increase the degree of noncomplying bulk in such building or structure by more than the above-referenced 25%, in such building or structure.
C.
Adjoining lots. Two or more adjoining nonconforming subdivision lots, regardless of ownership, in a subdivision approved by the Planning Board shall have three years from the date of filing with the office of the County Clerk to obtain a building permit. Any noncomplying lot in a subdivision approved by the Planning Board and filed with the office of the County Clerk more than three years prior to the effective date of this chapter and in the same ownership shall not be eligible to receive a building permit. Said subdivision or part thereof shall be resubmitted to the Planning Board for approval in accordance with the applicable provisions of this chapter. Any lot in a subdivision approved by the Planning Board after the effective date of this chapter but which is made nonconforming as to bulk by any future amendments of this chapter shall have three years from the date of filing to obtain a building permit.
D.
Noncomplying lots. A residential lot separated from any other land in the same ownership and noncomplying as to bulk, whether or not located in and part of a subdivision plat approved by the Planning Board and filed in the office of the County Clerk, and which has a minimum lot width of 60 feet, may be used for a one-family detached residence, provided that such use shall comply with the bulk requirements as specified in the highest residential district having the same or less lot width.
§ 535-77 Termination of nonconforming uses.
Each of the nonconforming uses specified in this section is deemed sufficiently objectionable, undesirable, and out of character in the district in which such use is located as to depreciate the value of other property and uses permitted in the district and blight the proper and orderly development and general welfare of such district and the community, to a point that each such nonconforming use must be, and shall be, terminated on or before the expiration of the specified period of time after the effective date of this chapter, which period of time is specified for the purpose of permitting the amortization of the remaining value, if any, of such use:
A.
Open land. In any residence district, any nonconforming use of open land, including but not limited to such uses as a parking lot, manufactured home, junkyard, or open storage yard for materials or equipment, may be continued for three years after the effective date of this chapter, provided that, after the expiration of that period, such nonconforming use shall be terminated.
B.
Sign. Any sign not of a type permitted, or of a permitted type but of a size exceeding the maximum permitted size by more than 10%, may be continued for one year following the effective date of this chapter, provided that, after the expiration of that period, such nonconforming use shall be terminated. Any sign that is now nonconforming by reason of a previous chapter shall be terminated upon the adoption of this chapter.
§ 535-78 Required modification of nonconforming uses.
Each of the nonconforming uses specified in this section is deemed sufficiently objectionable, undesirable, and out of character in the district in which such use is located as to depreciate the value of other property and uses permitted in such district and blight the proper and orderly development and general welfare of such district and the City, to a point requiring that each of such nonconforming uses be modified to the extent possible within a specified period of time as set forth below:
A.
Open land. In any residence district, any nonconforming use of open land, including such uses as parking lots, junkyards, fuel tanks, or open storage yards for material or equipment, regardless of the presence of any building thereon, may be continued as is for one year after the enactment of this chapter, during which time the Building Official shall notify each property owner that the use of such property is to be terminated, unless within 60 days the owner applies to the Planning Board for a conditional use permit. On or before the expiration of said one-year period such nonconforming use shall be modified in accordance with such reasonable conditions as shall be imposed by the Planning Board when issuing a conditional use permit, which conditions shall be designed to minimize any detrimental effect that such use of open land may have on adjoining or nearby lots in a residence district.
B.
Building not fully enclosed. In any district, other than as residence district, any use which is nonconforming because it is not located within a building fully enclosed on all sides may be continued for three years after the effective date of this chapter, provided that, after the expiration of that period, such nonconforming use shall be terminated. Any other provision to the contrary notwithstanding, however, no such use will be required to terminate if, within said period, such use shall be located within a completely enclosed building complying with the requirements of the district in which it is located or if, within said period, such use shall be surrounded with a solid fence, of material and design acceptable to the Planning Board, which fence shall be one foot higher than any material stored outdoors, provided that such fence shall be maintained in good condition at all times.
§ 535-79 Repairs and maintenance.
Notwithstanding any of the foregoing regulations, nothing in this article shall be deemed to prevent normal maintenance and repair of any use or building, or the carrying out upon the issuance of a building permit of major structural alterations or demolitions necessary in the interest of public safety. In granting such a building permit, the Building Official shall state the precise reason why such alterations were deemed necessary.