Any use of land or structure, or any combination thereof, which was in lawful operation at the time of adoption of this ordinance, or any subsequent amendment, but is not in conformity with all applicable provisions of this ordinance, shall be deemed to be a lawful nonconforming development. A development may be nonconforming by either use or by dimension.

All lawful nonconforming development shall be permitted to continue in the manner existing at the time of the adoption of this ordinance, until such use or structure is discontinued, destroyed, demolished or changed. A nonconforming building or structure may continue to be used, maintained and repaired, except as otherwise provided in this article.

A lawful nonconforming use of land or structure, or any combination thereof, which has been discontinued or abandoned shall not be allowed to resume, and any future use of such land or structure shall be in conformity with the applicable provisions of this ordinance. Abandonment of a nonconforming use shall consist of some overt act, or failure to act, which would lead one to believe that the owner of the nonconforming use neither claims nor retains any interest in continuing the nonconforming use. An involuntary interruption of nonconforming use, such as by fire or natural catastrophe, does not establish the intent to abandon the nonconforming use. However, if any nonconforming use is halted for a period of one (1) year, the owner of the nonconforming use will be presumed to have abandoned the nonconforming use, unless that presumption is rebutted by the presentation of sufficient evidence of intent not to abandon the use.

A lawful nonconforming use or structure which is damaged or destroyed by fire, storm or other act of God, may be reconstructed or re-established in the same location and to the same size, extent or intensity as that existing prior to such damage or destruction, provided that such reconstruction or re-establishment shall be commenced within one (1) year after said damage or destruction, and a diligent effort is made to complete the necessary work. If such action is not taken within a one-year period, then the owner will be presumed to have abandoned the nonconforming use or structure, unless that presumption is rebutted by the presentation of sufficient evidence of intent not to abandon the use.

No nonconforming use shall hereafter be made of any land, building or structure which otherwise conforms to the provisions of this ordinance, nor shall any nonconforming use be expanded or extended into other conforming land, building or structure or portion thereof, except as hereafter provided. The zoning board of review may grant, as a special use permit under the provisions of article V, permission for the extension or enlargement of a nonconforming use up to twenty-five (25) percent of the size of the building or structure thus used. Such an extension or enlargement shall be granted only once, and shall be subject to any safeguards or restrictions deemed appropriate by the board. Any other legal nonconforming use of any parcel of land shall not be extended beyond that portion of the lot thus used unless a use variance is granted by the board under the provisions of article IV.

No nonconforming use shall be made of any land, building or structure which shall be substantially different in character from the nonconforming use made of such land, building or structure at the time of passage of this amendment or any subsequent amendment. A nonconforming use shall be considered substantially different in character if it is not specifically mentioned as a line item under the "use classifications" of article VIII of this ordinance with the existing nonconforming use. The zoning board of review may grant, as a special use permit under the provisions of article V, permission for a change of a nonconforming use to another nonconforming use of a more restrictive character. Such a change shall be subject to any safeguards or restrictions deemed appropriate by the board.

A.

A building or structure nonconforming as to side yard regulations shall not be added to or enlarged in any manner, except for roof dormers which shall not project beyond the existing building alignment, unless such addition or enlargement conforms to all regulations of the district in which it is located, or a special use permit is granted by the zoning board of review.

B.

A nonconforming commercial or industrial use lacking sufficient off-street parking or loading space as required in this ordinance, may, consistent with other provisions of this ordinance, be altered to provide additional parking or loading space to meet the requirements of this ordinance.

C.

No nonconforming building or structure shall be moved in whole or in part to any other location on the same lot or any other lot, unless every portion of such building or structure is made to conform to all regulations of the district in which it is located, or proposed to be relocated.

A.

When calculating the number of residential, commercial or industrial building lots or units permitted on any parcel, land included in all of the following categories shall be considered unsuitable for development and shall be deducted from the minimum building acreage of the parcel:

1.

Fresh water wetlands, except that area of perimeter wetland within fifty (50) feet of the edge of any bog, marsh, swamp or pond and any applicable one hundred (100) foot or two hundred (200) foot river bank wetlands, as defined by Rhode Island General Laws Section 2-1-20 (1987), as amended, whichever is greater.

2.

Coastal wetlands, as defined by Rhode Island General Laws Section 46-23-6(B) (3) (1990), as amended.

3.

Areas with slopes in excess of twenty-five (25) percent.

B.

Land described in subsection A 1—3, above, may be included as part of any lot in any subdivision or land development project; provided, however, that land unsuitable for development shall not be counted toward the minimum lot size required in article XIII of this ordinance. This requirement does not apply to existing lots of record.

The maximum number of units in a residential cluster development, as provided in article XVI of this ordinance, and in a conventional subdivision or land development project shall be determined by the following method:

A.

Land unsuitable for development as the term is defined in section 32-76.1 of this ordinance and in article I, section 14(A) of the planning board regulations, shall be subtracted from the total acreage of the parcel. In addition, the area of any street rights-of-way actually designed for the proposed subdivision shall be subtracted from the total acreage.

B.

The remaining acreage of the parcel shall be divided by the minimum lot size for standard subdivision lots for the zoning district in which the parcel is located.

C.

A conventional subdivision concept plan establishing a base number of units is required with the submission of any cluster alternative. For density purposes, lots in an unsewered area that are not likely to support an individual sewage disposal system (ISDS) must be removed from the density calculation.

D.

In no case shall the number of dwelling units for a residential cluster development exceed that which would be allowed under a conventional subdivision. The resulting figure is the maximum number of dwelling units permitted.