ACTION REQUESTED:
Title
Communication from the City Manager and Director of Community Development with a Request to Concur with the Recommendation from the Planning & Zoning Commission and Staff to ADOPT an ORDINANCE Amending Appendix A, the Unified Development Code, Relating to ZONING REVIEW AND NONCONFORMITIES.
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BACKGROUND:
The ordinance amendment in this recommendation does not make any significant changes to the nonconforming section of the Unified Development Code (zoning ordinance). The purpose of this amendment is to clarify and simplify the existing rules to provide a set of regulations that are more easily understood by the public.
Nonconformities are created when regulations change after a structure or use has already been established. Following are some common examples of nonconformities.
* Nonconforming structure:
o A house was built in 1912, before the adoption of a zoning code and only has 2 feet between the house and the side lot line.
o In 1937 the property was zoned, and a minimum 4-foot side yard setback was required.
o The building is now nonconforming because it does not meet the zoning district setback requirements.
* Nonconforming use:
o An auto repair shop is legally established in a Commercial zoning district.
o Several years later, the zoning is changed to an Office district.
o Auto repair is not permitted in Office districts.
o The existing auto repair business is now nonconforming.
* Nonconforming sign:
o A local restaurant built a 40-foot tall 100 square foot sign as allowed in 1952.
o The sign regulations were changed in 1989 to set a maximum height of 25 feet and a maximum face size of 70 square feet.
o The existing sign is now nonconforming.
It is important to remember that for a use, structure, or sign to be nonconforming, it must have been legally established. Someone who establishes a use or builds a structure that was not legal at the time cannot later claim nonconforming status.
The City is presented with numerou...
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