Any use of land, premises, structure or combination thereof, which was lawfully in operation at the time of the effective date of this ordinance, but is not in conformity with the provisions of this ordinance, shall be considered to be a legal nonconforming development.

All lawful nonconforming development shall be permitted to continue in the manner existing at the time of the passage of the ordinance rendering it nonconforming, until such use or structure is abandoned, demolished or otherwise discontinued by the voluntary action of the owner.

A lawful nonconforming use of any land, premises, structures or combination thereof which has been abandoned shall not thereafter be used except in conformity with the regulations of the district in which it is located. Abandonment, as that term is used in this section, shall mean the discontinuance of the nonconforming use for a period of one year or more, and consisting of some overt act, or failure to act, which would lead one to reasonably believe that the owner of the nonconforming use neither claims nor retains any interest in continuing the nonconforming use. In all such cases, the owner will be presumed to have abandoned the nonconforming use, unless that presumption is rebutted by the presentation of sufficient evidence by the owner of his or her intent not to abandon the use.

a.

If a legal nonconforming structure as to use, or otherwise not conforming to the provisions of this ordinance, is demolished in any lawful manner, such structure shall not be rebuilt unless it conforms with all provisions of this ordinance.

b.

Should a legal nonconforming structure, or nonconforming portion of a structure, be damaged by an accident or act of God to an extent of more than 51 percent of its replacement cost at the time of damage as determined by the zoning officer, it shall be given one year in which to commence rebuilding, repairing or replacing the damaged structure. If such action is not taken within said one-year period, then it shall not be rebuilt, repaired or replaced except in conformity with the provisions of this ordinance.

a.

A legal nonconforming use of any parcel of land shall not be extended beyond that portion of the lot thus used, or otherwise expanded, unless a use variance is granted pursuant to the provisions and standards set forth in article XVII.

b.

Notwithstanding the above, the expansion of quarrying or mining shall be allowed as described in section 6 below. The purpose of allowing such expansion is to balance the public purpose of preventing the loss of natural resources, including wildlife habitat, groundwater quality and scenic value, with the legitimate interests of companies that have made a considerable investment in their business.

c.

A legal nonconforming structure as to use shall not be added to or enlarged unless a use variance is granted pursuant to the provisions and standards set forth in article XVII.

d.

A structure which is nonconforming by dimension only shall not be added to or enlarged unless a dimensional variance is granted pursuant to the provisions and standards set forth in article XVII. However, a structure, which is nonconforming by dimension (but which is conforming by use) and which is used for a single-family or two-family dwelling, may be added to or enlarged as of right if the requested building expansion is independent of the dimensional nonconformity, and otherwise meets the dimensional and area requirements of the district.

e.

A nonconforming building or structure shall not be moved in whole or in part unless such building or structure is made to conform to all of the regulations of the zoning district in which it is to be located.

(Ord. of 6-4-01(9); Ord. of 12-11-06)

a.

When the nonconforming use is the quarrying of or mining for sand, gravel, rocks or mineral, a horizontal expansion to adjacent areas of the land where such use is located is permitted, provided such expansion is limited to 25 percent of the excavated surface as existing at the time of zoning amendments dated June 4, 2001.

b.

At such time no later than three months following the enactment of zoning amendments dated June 4, 2001, the owner of any quarrying or mining operation shall submit a survey of the excavated area to the building official. The survey shall be prepared by a registered land surveyor and show the excavated area as of the date of the zoning amendments, and remain on file in the office of the building official.

c.

Expansion of a quarrying or mining use beyond 25 percent of the excavated area as existing on June 4, 2001, may be allowed as a special use permit pursuant to the provisions and specific standards set forth in article XVI.

(Ord. of 6-4-01(9))

a.

A nonconforming residential use may change only to a use that conforms to the provisions of this ordinance.

b.

A nonconforming agricultural, commercial or industrial use may be changed only to a use that conforms to the provisions of this ordinance unless one of the following occurs:

(1)

A special use permit is issued by the zoning board of review under the provisions of article XVI, for a change to a similar nonconforming use; or

(2)

A use variance is granted by the zoning board of review under the provisions of article XVII, for a change to any other nonconforming use.

In all cases, the zoning board of review must make a determination that the proposed use will have the same or a lesser undesirable impact upon the surrounding area than the former nonconforming use.

c.

When a nonconforming use is changed to a conforming use, it may not thereafter be changed back to a nonconforming use.

(Ord. of 6-4-01(9))

Any use or structure illegally established prior to the effective date of this or any previous ordinance or subsequent amendments thereof shall not become legally established or a legal nonconforming use by virtue of such an enactment or subsequent amendment.

(Ord. of 6-4-01(9))