No building or land shall hereafter be used and no building or part thereof shall be erected, moved or altered, unless for a use expressly permitted by and in conformity with the resolutions herein specified for the district in which it is located, except as hereinafter provided; and except that any structure damaged or destroyed may be restored if such structure does not involve a nonconforming use.

(Ord. No. 11-01, § 2, 1-10-2011)

Any established use of land or structure legally existing at the time of enactment of this Land Development Code (as of December 12, 2005), or subsequent amendment of this ordinance, not in conformity with its permitted use provisions, may be continued with the following limitations:

A.

No structure devoted to a nonconforming use shall hereafter be expanded.

B.

Any structure devoted to a nonconforming use which has been damaged to the extent of 50 percent or more of the cost of its replacement value exclusive of foundations, immediately prior to damage, shall not be repaired or reconstructed except in conformity with the provisions of this ordinance.

C.

No nonconforming use may be re-established after it has been discontinued for six (6) months. Vacating of a premises or building, discontinuance of utility service, or non-operative status, shall be evidence of a discontinued use.

D.

No nonconforming use may be changed to any other use except one, which is a permitted use in the district in which it is located.

E.

All nonconforming signs, billboards, junk yards, lumber yards and similar uses of open land not involving a substantial investment in permanent buildings shall be torn down, altered or otherwise made to conform to the provisions of this ordinance within two years from and after the adoption of this chapter.

F.

Nothing in this ordinance shall prevent the strengthening or restoring to a safe condition of any part of any building or structure declared unsafe by the building inspector of the Town of St. Leo or from complying with the lawful requirements of this ordinance or any other ordinance adopted by the town.

G.

The provisions of paragraph B and C shall not apply to prevent the rebuilding of structures or resale of land which is not in compliance with the 100-foot lake shoreline setback requirements of the permanently open land zoning district.

(Ord. No. 11-01, § 2, 1-10-2011)

A.

Nonconforming building/structure(s), including accessory structures, and/or site characteristics may include by way of illustration but not limitation, inadequate building setbacks and height, floor area ratio, impervious surface area, parking and loading facilities, inappropriate landscaping, lighting, emissions, etc. Such site structure including accessory structures, and/or site characteristic nonconformities may continue provided the use is permitted in the district in which it is located. However, such structures and/or site characteristic nonconformities shall not be expanded, altered, changed or relocated in such a manner as to increase the degree of nonconformity, except as may be permitted in this chapter.

B.

Any addition to a nonconforming structure shall meet zoning district setback requirements provided no other nonconformities are created or there is no increase in the degree of nonconformity to this chapter.

C.

A nonconforming structure or a portion thereof, if destroyed to the extent of 75 percent or more of its current assessed valuation, may only be reconstructed in accordance with the regulations of the district in which it is located.

(Ord. No. 11-01, § 2, 1-10-2011)

No dwelling or principal use shall be erected on a lot which does not abut on at least one street for a distance of not less than 40 feet.

(Ord. No. 11-01, § 2, 1-10-2011)

No building in the rear of a principal building or use on the same lot may be used as a dwelling unit or for residential purposes unless the building has a minimum of 1,300 square feet of floor area exclusive of open porches, open breezeways, carports, garages, or screened areas and the lot area has sufficient acreage to meet the density requirements of the zoning district and the future land use category of the comprehensive plan. No such rear yard dwelling unit and lot may be sold or changed in title unless separate driveway access to a public street as approved by the town commission is made available. No mobile home or travel trailer parked on any property may be connected to any public or semi-public utility or be used for residential purposes, as a dwelling unit, or for other purpose.

(Ord. No. 11-01, § 2, 1-10-2011; Ord. No. 19-01, § 1, 11-5-2018)

In any case where plans and specifications have been filed with the Town of St. Leo prior to January 10, 2011, which plans, and specifications are for a building or structure, which would conform with the zoning regulations effective at the date of such filing, but not with the regulations of this ordinance, a building permit for such building or structure shall be issued; provided, however, that such permit shall be valid only in the event that construction on such building or structure, in accord with said plans and specifications, is begun within 60 days after the date of issuance of said permit and shall be completed within six months of said date.

(Ord. No. 11-01, § 2, 1-10-2011)

No parcel, although it may consist of one or more adjacent platted lots of records, shall be reduced in area to the extent that yards, lot area per family, lot width, building area or other requirements of this ordinance are not maintained. This section shall not apply when a portion of the lot is required for a public purpose.

(Ord. No. 11-01, § 2, 1-10-2011)

The owner of a lot or lot of record which was zoned for single-family use as of December 12, 2005 (the original adoption of the Land Development Code) and met the zoning requirements at that time may be used as a building site for a single-family residence, provided that the yard and other requirements of the district are complied with as closely as is feasible in the opinion of the town commission after a public hearing. Development of the lot shall meet current health department requirements for well and septic.

(Ord. No. 11-01, § 2, 1-10-2011)

Individual mobile homes or factory-built dwelling units containing a minimum of 1,300 square feet of floor area exclusive of open porches, open breezeways, carports, garages, or screened areas may be located in agricultural (A) or medium density residential (MDR) zoning districts, provided they meet requirements of the F.S. ch. 513, Florida Administrative Code 64E-15, this chapter and the building code.

A.

All mobile homes shall be skirted on all sides with a solid material (such as wood or metal) sufficient to prevent animals going under them. Such skirting shall be painted to match the color of the mobile home.

B.

An old mobile home may be replaced with a new mobile home at the same location as the old mobile home even if it is nonconforming to setback requirements.

(Ord. No. 11-01, § 2, 1-10-2011; Ord. No. 19-01, § 1, 11-5-2018)

All single-family dwelling units shall contain a minimum of 1,300 square feet of living area exclusive of open porches, open breezeways, carports, garages, or screened areas.

(Ord. No. 19-01, § 1, 11-5-2018)

In the event of a conflict between the Town of St. Leo Comprehensive Plan and this chapter relative to permitted land uses, density or intensity (floor area ratio) of development permitted on a property, the Town of St. Leo Comprehensive Plan shall govern.

(Ord. No. 11-01, § 2, 1-10-2011; Ord. No. 19-01, § 1, 11-5-2018)

Editor's note— Ord. No. 19-01, § 1, adopted Nov. 5, 2018, renumbered former § 5.10 as 5.11.

New lots created with frontage on Lake Jovita shall have a minimum of 200 feet of lake frontage as measured at the established Southwest Florida Water Management District (SWFWMD) High Minimum Lake Level (HML) mark of Lake Jovita.

(Ord. No. 19-04, § 1, 12-10-2018)