South Jacksonville City Zoning Code
NONCONFORMING SITUATIONS
§ 154.175 APPLICABILITY.
(A) The provisions of this subchapter shall apply to all nonconforming situations as defined herein. Establishment of any use or development of land after the effective date of this chapter or amendment thereto, which does not comply with the regulations contained in this chapter or amendment thereto, shall be considered a violation of this chapter and not a nonconforming situation.
(B) A nonconforming situation shall not be deemed to have existed on the effective date of this chapter or amendment thereto, unless:
(1) At the time of its creation it was valid;
(2) It was in existence on a continuous basis and to its fullest extent on such date; and
(3) If such nonconforming situation is a use, such use had not been discontinued, as herein defined, on such date.
(Ord. 834, passed 2-1-2001)
§ 154.176 DEFINITIONS.
For the purpose of this subchapter, the following definitions shall apply unless the context clearly indicates or requires a different meaning.
DISCONTINUANCE. The nonuse of the nonconforming use for 12 consecutive months.
NONCONFORMING SITUATION. A situation which lawfully existed prior to the effective date of this chapter or any amendment thereto, and which fails to conform to one or more of the applicable regulations of this chapter or such amendment thereto. For purposes of this subchapter, NONCONFORMING SITUATIONS are divided into the following categories.
(1) DIMENSIONAL NONCONFORMITY.
(a) A nonconforming situation that involves any of the following:
1. The height of a structure, or the relationship between an existing building or buildings and other buildings or lot lines, which does not conform to the applicable dimensional regulations (such as, setbacks) contained in this chapter;
2. A lot of record that does not meet the minimum area or dimensional requirements of the district in which the lot is located;
3. Development of property, including buildings and other improvements thereon, which do not comply with regulations governing intensity of use, such as density (such as, dwelling units per acre), and maximum building or site coverage;
5. Any other situation where improvements to land do not comply with any quantitative or dimensional standard applicable to such improvement.
(b) Where such a DIMENSIONAL NONCONFORMITY relates to a building or structure, the term NONCONFORMING STRUCTURE shall be considered synonymous with the term DIMENSIONAL NONCONFORMITY.
(2) NONCONFORMING USE. A nonconforming situation that occurs when property is used for a purpose made unlawful by the regulations of this chapter which govern the use of property, including uses that do not comply with the performance standards established in § 154.062.
(Ord. 834, passed 2-1-2001)
§ 154.177 NONCONFORMING USES.
(A) Authority to continue use. Any nonconforming use of part or all of a structure or any nonconforming use of land, not involving a structure or only involving a structure which is accessory to such use of land, may be continued, so long as otherwise lawful, subject to the following provisions.
(1) Ordinary repair and maintenance.
(a) Normal maintenance and incidental repair or replacement, installation or relocation of nonbearing walls, nonbearing partitions, fixtures, wiring, or plumbing, may be performed on any structure; provided, however, that this division (A)(1) shall not be deemed to authorize any violation of divisions (A)(2) through (A)(5) below, and divisions (B), (C), and (D) below.
(b) Nothing in this subchapter shall be deemed to prevent the strengthening or restoring of a structure to a safe condition in accordance with an order of the Enforcement Officer, and where such restoration will not be in compliance with § 154.179.
(2) Remodeling. Except as provided for in division (F) below, no structure shall be remodeled unless the use thereof shall thereafter conform to all provisions of this chapter. For purposes of this section, the term REMODEL shall mean to reconstruct or relocate exterior walls, bearing walls, or bearing partitions; or to substantially alter the exterior appearance of a building by adding or removing architectural elements.
(3) Expansion of use. Except as provided for in division (F) below, no nonconforming use of a lot or building shall be enlarged, expanded, or extended to occupy a greater area of lot or building than was occupied on the effective date of this chapter, or amendment thereto, and no additional accessory use, building, or structure shall be established thereon.
(4) Enlargement of building or structure. Except as provided for in division (F) below, no building or structure that is devoted in whole or in part to a nonconforming use shall be enlarged or added to in any manner, unless such building or structure addition and the entire use thereof (both existing space and the addition) shall thereafter conform to all of the provisions of this chapter.
(5) Moving. No structure that is devoted in whole or in part to a nonconforming use shall be moved, in whole or in part, to any other location on the same or any other lot, unless the entire structure and use thereof shall thereafter conform to all of the provisions of this chapter after being so moved. No nonconforming use of land shall be moved, in whole or in part, to any other location on the same or any other lot, unless such use shall thereafter conform to all of the provisions this chapter after being so moved.
(6) Compliance with performance standards. Any nonconforming use shall be brought into conformance with the performance standards established in § 154.062 upon the effective date of this chapter, or any applicable amendment thereto.
(B) Change of use. A nonconforming use shall not be changed to any use other than a permitted use in the zoning district in which the property is located. When a nonconforming use has been changed to any permitted use, it shall not thereafter be changed back to a nonconforming use.
(C) Discontinuance of use. When a nonconforming use is discontinued, as defined herein, such use shall not thereafter be reestablished or resumed, and any subsequent use or occupancy of such land or building shall comply with the provisions of this chapter.
(D) Nonconforming accessory uses. No use which is accessory to a principal nonconforming use shall continue after such principal use has been abandoned, as defined herein.
(E) Status of special uses or uses approved under site plan review.
(1) Existing uses which were issued a special use permit and continue to be classified as special uses under the applicable district regulations of this chapter, or amendment thereto, shall not be considered a nonconforming use. Such a use may continue, subject to compliance with the conditions set forth in the special use permit. The same applies to uses approved with conditions of use attached under the site plan review procedure, which under this chapter are classified as a special use.
(2) Existing uses which were issued a special use permit or site plan review approval prior to effective date of this chapter or amendment thereto, but are no longer permitted as a special use or as a permitted use upon such effective date, shall be considered a nonconforming use, subject to the provisions of this subchapter.
(3) Uses existing prior to the effective date of this chapter, or amendment thereto, which were not classified as a special use, but are so classified upon such effective date, shall be deemed a lawful conforming use. In the event that such existing use is to be altered (other than maintenance and remodeling), expanded, intensified, or otherwise changed, then such use shall be required to obtain a special use permit, pursuant to the procedures set forth in §§ 154.125 through 154.128.
(F) Exceptions. Any structure devoted to a nonconforming dwelling use (such as, a dwelling located in a non-dwelling district where such uses are not permitted), may be remodeled, extended, expanded, and enlarged; provided that after any such remodeling, extension, expansion, or enlargement, such structure shall not be used to accommodate a greater number of dwelling units than such structure accommodated prior to any such work, and provided that such work does not create any dimensional nonconformities, except as may be authorized under § 154.178(C). This paragraph shall not be deemed to authorize any violation of divisions (A)(5), (A)(6), (B), (C), (D), and (E) above.
(Ord. 834, passed 2-1-2001)
§ 154.178 DIMENSIONAL NONCONFORMITIES.
Any existing dimensional nonconformity may be continued, so long as otherwise lawful, subject to the following provisions.
(A) Nonconforming lots of record. Lots of record, established prior to the effective date of this chapter, or amendments thereto, that have any dimensional nonconformities, may be used for purposes allowable by this chapter, subject to the following limitations.
(1) Such lot, when located in a dwelling district, shall comply with the prevailing patterns requirement specified under § 154.053; shall only be used for open space or a detached one-family dwelling and associated accessory uses or structures; and any buildings placed thereon shall meet the required setbacks of the applicable district regulations, subject to setback exceptions established under § 154.055.
(2) Such lot, when located in any non-dwelling district, shall not be less than 5,000 square feet nor less than 40 feet in width; shall only be used for open space or an office building; and any buildings placed thereon shall meet the required setbacks of the applicable district regulations, subject to setback exceptions established under § 154.055.
(3) In any event, a nonconforming lot of record shall not be used for the development of a freestanding principal structure, unless:
(a) Such lot was owned separately and individually from adjoining tracts of land at a time when the creation of a lot of such size and width at such location would not have been prohibited by the zoning ordinance adopted by the village; and
(b) Has remained in separate and individual ownership from adjoining tracts of land continually during the entire time that creation of such lot has been prohibited by the applicable zoning ordinance.
(4) Nothing in this section shall prohibit the combination of a nonconforming lot of record, or portions thereof with another adjoining lot, or lots, so as to create zoning lots, which comply with the requirements of this chapter. Such consolidations may be accomplished under the subdivision procedures.
(B) Nonconforming structures.
(1) Nonconforming structures associated with conforming uses. Any nonconforming structure, which is associated with a conforming use, may remain as a nonconforming structure, subject to the following provisions.
(a) Enlargement, repair, alterations. Any such structure may be enlarged, maintained, repaired, or remodeled; provided, however, that no such enlargement, maintenance, repair, or remodeling shall either create any additional nonconformity or increase the degree of existing nonconformity of all or any part of such structure, except as may be permitted under division (C) below.
(b) Damage or substandard conditions. Any such structure shall be subject to the provisions of § 154.179.
(c) Moving. No such structure shall be moved, in whole or in part, to any other location on the same or any other lot unless the entire structure shall thereafter conform to the provisions of this chapter after being moved.
(C) Exceptions to nonconforming dwellings. A one-family or two-family dwelling, which lawfully existed prior to the effective date of this chapter, or amendment thereto, and which fails to comply with the dimensional requirements of this chapter, may be expanded and such expansion may encroach upon required building setbacks; provided, however, that such addition shall only be permitted to extend to the horizontal or vertical plane of the building’s exterior wall or the building’s height which is in nonconformance with a required setback or building height limitation. In other words, the addition shall not create a dimensional nonconformity that is greater than the existing dimensional nonconformity.
(D) Other dimensional nonconformities. Any other dimensional nonconformities may remain nonconforming, so long as any modification to a building site or the structures thereon, as may be permitted by this subchapter, does not create any increase in the degree of such other dimensional nonconformity and no reduction in required off-street parking shall be permitted, except as may be provided for under § 154.079(A).
(Ord. 834, passed 2-1-2001)
§ 154.179 DAMAGE OR SUBSTANDARD CONDITIONS.
(A) Nothing in this subchapter shall be deemed to prohibit the restoration of any structure and its use where such structure has been damaged, by any means, to an extent less than 50% of its replacement value (excluding the value of the land, the cost of preparation of land, and the value of any foundation associated with such structure) at the time of damage, as determined by the Enforcement Officer; provided, however, that the restoration of such structure and its use in no way increases any former nonconformity, and provided that restoration of such structure is begun within six months of such damage and diligently prosecuted to completion within one year following such damage.
(B) Whenever such structure has been damaged, by any means, to an extent of more than 50% of its replacement value (excluding the value of the land, the cost of preparation of land, and the value of any foundation associated with such structure) at the time of damage, as determined by the Enforcement Officer, the structure and use thereof shall not be restored except in full conformity with the regulations of this chapter.
(C) When a structure is determined by the Enforcement Officer, to be in violation of the Building Code or any applicable health or safety code, and the cost of placing the structure in condition to satisfy the standards under such codes exceeds 50% of the reconstruction cost of the entire structure, as determined by the Enforcement Officer, such nonconforming structure shall not be restored for the purpose of continuing a nonconforming use.
(Ord. 834, passed 2-1-2001)