The lawful use of a building existing at the time of the passage of Ordinance No. 422, dated June 26, 1957, may be continued although such use does not conform to the provisions of this chapter; and such use may be extended throughout the building, provided no structural alterations, except those required by law or ordinance or ordered by an authorized officer to assure the safety of the building, are made therein. No such use shall be extended to occupy any land outside such building. If such nonconforming use of such building is discontinued for a continuous period of not less than 180 days, every future use of such premises shall be in conformity with the provisions of this chapter.

(Code 1957, § 23-27(a))

The lawful use of land existing at the time of the passage of Ordinance No. 422, dated June 26, 1957, although such use does not conform to the provisions of this chapter, may be continued; provided, however, no such nonconforming use shall be enlarged or increased, nor shall any nonconforming use be extended to occupy a greater area of land than that occupied by such use at the time of the passage of Ordinance No. 422, dated June 26, 1957. If such nonconforming use is discontinued for a continuous period of not less than 180 days, any future use of such land shall be in conformity with the provisions of this chapter. Provided, however, where land which is not used for a use excluded from the district in which such land is located and such use is not an accessory to the use of a main building located on the same lot or grounds, such nonconforming use of land shall be discontinued and all material completely removed by its owner not later than three years from the date of the passage of Ordinance No. 422, dated June 26, 1957.

(Code 1957, § 23-27(b))

If no structural alterations are made, a nonconforming use may be changed to a use of the same or higher classification according to the provisions of this chapter. When a district shall hereafter be changed, any then existing nonconforming use in such changed district may be continued or changed to a use of a similar or higher classification, provided all other regulations governing the new use are complied with. Whenever a nonconforming use of a building has been discontinued or changed to a higher classification or to a conforming use, such use shall not thereafter be changed to a nonconforming use of a lower classification.

(Code 1957, § 23-27(c))

(a)

Nothing in this chapter shall be taken to prevent the restoration of a lawfully permitted and constructed building and any accessory structures, including but not limited to garages, swimming pools and decks, which all may be reconstructed with layout and elevation as they existed prior to damage or destruction, by fire, explosion, natural disaster, act of God, or other casualty as long as the following conditions are satisfied.

(1)

In order to be eligible to receive building permit approval for building restorations pursuant to this section, a complete building permit application for restorations must be submitted to the city within 18 months of the date on which the qualifying event occurred.

(2)

All approved restoration construction must be completed and obtain either a certificate of completion or certificate of occupancy within three years from the date the first building permit was issued approving said restoration construction.

(3)

All restorations shall comply with current building and fire codes at the time of reconstruction.

(b)

Nothing in this chapter shall be taken to prevent the continued occupancy or use of such building or part thereof which existed at the time of such damage or destruction unless deemed structurally unsafe by the city's building official.

(Code 1957, § 23-27(d); Ord. No. 4062, § 2, 5-6-15)

To implement the 2010 Riviera Beach Community Redevelopment Plan and Citizens' Master Plan, the City of Riviera Beach established Downtown Zoning Districts and made other modifications to this code. As a result of these changes:

(a)

Certain uses of buildings or land may no longer be permitted in their new zoning districts, and certain existing buildings may no longer comply with all physical standards. Such uses and/or buildings that lawfully existed prior to December 18, 2013, but which do not conform with the new provisions adopted on that date shall be deemed to be legally nonconforming and shall not be required to be altered or conform with the new regulations until redevelopment occurs. Nonconforming uses are governed by the relevant requirements of sections 31-76 through 31-78 above. Nonconforming buildings can be repaired, altered, or enlarged, either laterally or vertically, so long as they remain otherwise lawful and the enlargement is in accordance with this Code.

(b)

Certain existing lots may no longer meet the minimum requirements in their new zoning districts and thus will be considered legally nonconforming lots. Legally nonconforming lots may be built upon as if they conformed to the minimum requirements. Abutting nonconforming lots may be combined to create larger dimension lots as long as such recombination includes all parts of all lots; under these conditions the new lots do not need to meet this code's minimal dimensional requirements for new lots.

(Ord.No. 4038, § 2(Exh. A), 12-18-13)