[Amended 6-15-1988 by Ord. No. 1-1988]
The provisions of this article shall apply to nonconformities in the manner set forth in § 163-224 hereof.
The following provisions shall apply to all buildings and uses
existing on the effective date of this article, which buildings and
uses do not conform to the requirements set forth in this chapter;
to all buildings and uses that became nonconforming by reason of any
subsequent amendment to this chapter and the Zoning Map which is a
part thereof; and to all conforming uses:
A.
Except as provided in Subsection E hereinafter, any type of nonconforming use of buildings or open land may be continued indefinitely, but:
(1)
Shall not be enlarged, extended or placed on a different portion
of the lot or parcel of land occupied by such use on the effective
date of this article or of any applicable amendment thereof, nor shall
any external evidence of such use be increased by any means whatsoever;
except whereby through such alteration it is changed to a conforming
use.
(2)
Shall not be changed to another nonconforming use without a
special permit from the Board of Adjustment.
(3)
Shall not be reestablished after the physical operation thereof
has ceased and discontinued, based upon a finding by the Land Use
Administrator of intentional abandonment.
C.
Any building which houses a nonconforming use and which is damaged,
from any cause, may be repaired or restored but not enlarged, and
the nonconforming use reinstated within 12 months of such damage;
if the restoration of such building is not completed within said twelve-month
period, the physical operation of the nonconforming use of such building
shall be deemed to have ceased, unless such nonconforming use shall
have been carried on without interruption in the undamaged portion
of such building. Should a nonconforming structure or nonconforming
portion of a structure be destroyed by any means to an extent of more
than 80% of its replacement cost at the time of destruction, it shall
not be reconstructed except in conformity with the provisions of this
chapter.
D.
Any building housing a conforming use but which does not conform
to other than use regulations as set forth in this chapter may be
rebuilt, if damaged or partially destroyed, but shall not be altered
or enlarged so as to increase the degree of nonconformity thereof.
E.
Where nonconforming use status applies to a structure and premises
in combination, removal or destruction of the structure shall eliminate
the nonconforming status of the land. "Destruction" for the purpose
of this subsection is defined as damage to an extent of more than
80% of the replacement cost at the time of destruction.
F.
Nothing in this article shall be deemed to prevent normal maintenance
and repair of any building, or the carrying out, upon issuance of
a building permit, of major structural alterations or demotions necessary
in the interest of public safety. In granting such a permit the Superintendent
of Buildings shall state the precise reason(s) to the Board of Adjustment
why such alterations were deemed necessary.
G.
Nonconforming lots of record. In any district in which single-family
dwellings are permitted, a single-family dwelling and customary accessory
buildings may be erected on any single lot of record at the effective
date of adoption or amendment of this article, notwithstanding limitations
imposed by other provisions of this chapter. Such lots must be in
separate ownership and not of contiguous frontage with other lots
in the same ownership. This provision shall apply even though such
lot fails to meet the requirements for area or width, or both, that
are generally applicable in the district, provided that yard dimensions
and requirements other than these applying to area and width shall
conform to the regulations for the district in which such lot is located.
Variance of yard requirements shall be obtained only through action
of the Board of Adjustment. If two or more lots or combinations of
lots and portions of lots with continuous frontage in single ownership
are of record at the time of passage or amendment of this article
and if all or part of the lots do not meet the requirements established
for lot width and area, the lands involved shall be considered to
be an undivided parcel for the purposes of this chapter, and no portion
of said parcel shall be used or sold in a manner which diminishes
compliance with lot width and area requirements established by this
chapter, nor shall any division of any parcel be made which creates
a lot with width of area below the requirements stated in this chapter.
[Added 9-14-1994 by Ord. No. 64-1994; amended 11-25-2008 by Ord. No.
104-2008]
The following provisions shall apply to the practices and procedures
for the identification of illegal nonconforming residential uses and
the deconversion of such uses:
A.
No residential building shall be sold, transferred, altered, renovated
or reconstructed without a certificate of land use compliance. While
this provision is in no way intended to limit the uses of a certificate
of land use compliance, as more fully set forth in this Municipal
Land Use Ordinance of the City of Atlantic City, the purpose of this
requirement is to ensure compliance with the Land Use Code as it currently
exists.
B.
Any City employee vested with the responsibility of making inspections,
whether they be building inspections, construction inspections, mercantile
inspections, land use inspections or any other type of inspection,
is required to report, in writing, any activity or situation which
in his or her judgment may be in violation of the Zoning Ordinance.[1] The Land Use Administrator shall notify all employees
subject to this section.
[1]
Editor's Note: See Part 4, Zoning.
C.
Any designated representative of the City who makes an inspection
in order to issue a certificate of land use compliance shall determine
the appropriate zone where the property is located and shall refuse
to issue any report or document, or cause to be issued a certificate
of land use compliance, if the property use(s) does not conform with
the zoning designation of the particular district. Any nonconforming
use shall be referred to the Land Use Administrator or his designated
representative, whereupon one of the following determinations shall
be made:
(1)
In those cases where City records support lawful preexistence
of the current nonconforming use a letter will be sent to the property
owner advising him or her of the necessity of obtaining a certificate
of nonconformity from the Zoning Board of Adjustment.
(2)
In those cases where City records do not support the existence
of the current nonconforming use a letter will be sent by certified
mail to the property owner advising him or her to take one of the
following three steps:
D.
Any individual and/or entity who receives written notice from the Land Use Administrator and does not file an appropriate application with the Zoning Board of Adjustment as per Subsection C(2)(a) or (b) within 30 days of receipt of that letter must commence the deconversion of the nonconforming dwelling unit(s).
E.
Deconversion process.
(1)
The following rules shall apply to the process of deconversion:
(a)
The Land Use Administrator shall forward a letter advising the
property owner that the nonconforming use(s) must be deconverted.
The letter will specifically state that the kitchen in any illegal
unit shall be completely removed and the original room configuration
must be returned. All dead bolts on all interior entry doors must
be removed, holes filled in and doors painted or finished. All separate
doorbells, mailboxes, doorknockers and separate utility meters must
be removed.
(b)
Said letter shall provide that the deconversion shall be completed
within 90 days.
(c)
At the termination of the ninety-day period the Land Use Administrator
shall cause to be made an inspection of the property.
(2)
If the steps of deconversion are not followed precisely, then
a summons shall be issued along with a certified letter advising the
property owner that a penalty of $2,000 per violation will be sought
by the City in Municipal Court in the event that the owner is found
guilty.
(3)
If the deconversion is successfully completed, the Land Use
Administrator shall note that fact in a ledger to be maintained by
him/her and shall diary a follow-up inspection one year from the date
of the conversion. The Land Use Administrator shall also issue a form
letter to all utilities advising said utilities of:
(4)
If multiple units in excess of three are to be deconverted,
the Land Use Administrator may extend for an additional 60 days the
period of time to deconvert.
