The provisions of this bylaw shall be interpreted to be the minimum requirements adopted for the promotion of the health, safety or the general welfare of the Town of Whitman, Massachusetts. Whenever the regulations made under the authority hereof differ from those prescribed by any bylaw or other regulations, that provision which imposes the greater restriction or the higher standard shall govern.

Except as herein provided, or as specifically exempted by the Zoning Act, the provisions of this bylaw shall apply to the erection, construction, reconstruction, alteration or use of buildings and structures or use of land. Except as herein provided, any existing conforming use, structure or lot shall not by any action become nonconforming, and any existing nonconforming use, structure or lot shall not become further nonconforming.

When a lot is situated in part of the Town of Whitman and in part in an adjacent municipality, the provisions of this bylaw shall be applied to the portion of such lot in the Town of Whitman in the same manner as if the entire lot were situated in the Town of Whitman.

No principal building shall be built except on a lot fronting on a street, and there shall be not more than one principal building on any lot.

This bylaw shall not apply to existing buildings, structures or recorded lots, nor to the existing use of any building, structure or land to the extent to which it is used at the adoption of this bylaw. It shall apply to any change of use thereof and to any alteration of a building or structure when the same would amount to reconstruction, extension or structural change, and to any alteration of a building or structure to provide for its use for a purpose or in a manner substantially different from the use to which it was put before alteration or for its use for the same purpose to a substantially greater extent.

In cases of mixed occupancy, the regulation for each use shall apply to the portion of the building or land so used.