Nonconforming use

Nonconforming use

A type of zoning variance where a parcel of land may be given an exception from current zoning ordinances due to improvements made by a prior owner or before the current zoning ordinances made the desired use non-conforming under local law.

Secondary suites are commonly permitted as a non-conforming use in the zoning district they are located in because the suite was developed prior to the zoning ordinance coming into effect.

Contents

Discontinuance

Intent

The landowner may explicitly intend to discontinue the use by agreeing to end the use.

Implied intent exists if the landowner fails to exercise the nonconforming use. If the landowner discontinues the nonconforming use after a specified period, commonly 21 years in many jurisdictions but shorter in many others, then the nonconforming use will be terminated and parcel will become subject to the zoning requirements of the area in which it is located. Such a discontinuance of the use implies the intent to abandon the use.

Partial destruction

If the structure exercising the nonconforming use is destroyed beyond a certain percentage (usually 50%) it cannot be rebuilt or repaired. Instead, the parcel becomes subject to the applicable zoning regulations thereby ending the nonconforming use's reprieve from the zoning regulations.

Some states allow amortization of the nonconforming use whereby the nonconforming use's immediate value is amortized over the course of a set period and once the value of the nonconforming reaches zero the nonconforming use ends. Normally such an ordinance is upheld unless it is arbitrary or discriminatory or unreasonable, and it is usually limited to certain uses and outside of those uses it may be an unreasonable exercise of police power.[1] A reasonable exercise of an amortization end of the nonconforming use allows for a complete return on the investment.[2]

See also

References

  1. ^ Akron
  2. ^ Gage

External links


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Look at other dictionaries:

  • nonconforming use — see use 2 Merriam Webster’s Dictionary of Law. Merriam Webster. 1996. nonconforming use n …   Law dictionary

  • nonconforming use — A structure the size, dimension or location of which was lawful prior to the adoption, revision or amendment of a zoning ordinance, but which fails to conform to the requirements of the zoning district in which it is located by reasons of such… …   Black's law dictionary

  • nonconforming use — A structure the size, dimension or location of which was lawful prior to the adoption, revision or amendment of a zoning ordinance, but which fails to conform to the requirements of the zoning district in which it is located by reasons of such… …   Black's law dictionary

  • nonconforming use — A zoning law term; the use of a building or land that does not agree with the regulations applicable to the district in which the building or land is situated. Anno: 114 ALR 991 …   Ballentine's law dictionary

  • nonconforming — non·con·form·ing /ˌnän kən fȯr miŋ/ adj: failing to conform or comply (as with contract requirements or specifications or a law) Merriam Webster’s Dictionary of Law. Merriam Webster. 1996. nonconforming …   Law dictionary

  • use — 1 / yüs/ n 1 a: an arrangement in which property is granted to another with the trust and confidence that the grantor or another is entitled to the beneficial enjoyment of it see also trust; statute of uses in the important laws section ◇ Uses… …   Law dictionary

  • use — verb To make use of; to convert to one s service; to employ; to avail oneself of; to utilize; to carry out a purpose or action by means of; to put into action or service, especially to attain an end. State v. Howard, 221 Kan. 51, 557 P.2d 1280,… …   Black's law dictionary

  • Variance (land use) — A variance is a requested deviation from the set of rules a municipality applies to land use known as a zoning ordinance, building code or municipal code. In today’s land use approval environment a variance request can be a fatal flaw for… …   Wikipedia

  • existing use — A familiar term in zoning ordinances and regulations, usually employed in characterizing a nonconforming use excepted from the application of the ordinance or regulation, and meaning an actual, as distinguished from a mere contemplated, use,… …   Ballentine's law dictionary

  • conforming use — In zoning and land use planning, a use of a structure which is in conformity with those uses permitted by the particular zoning classification of the area Compare nonconforming use …   Black's law dictionary

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