Chapter 18.44
NONCONFORMING (GRANDFATHERED) USES AND LOTS
Sections:
18.44.020 Authority to continue.
18.44.025 Nonconforming uses—Material sites.
18.44.010 Purpose.
The purpose of this chapter is to provide for the regulation of nonconforming buildings, structures, uses and lots, and to specify the circumstances and conditions under which they shall be allowed to continue as legal nonconforming uses and lots. (Ord. 92-21 § 4 (part), 1992.)
18.44.020 Authority to continue.
A. Any nonconforming building, structure, use or lot that existed lawfully prior to the effective date of the ordinance codified in this title may be continued.
B. Any lawful building, structure, use or lot that has become nonconforming upon the adoption of said ordinance or any subsequent amendment thereto, may be continued.
C. Any building, structure or use with an approved land use permit, which became nonconforming upon the adoption of said ordinance, may be continued.
D. Any change in ownership of such a building, structure, use or lot does not void grandfathered rights. Nonconforming (grandfathered) rights run with the land, not with the owner. (Ord. 92-21 § 4 (part), 1992.)
18.44.025 Nonconforming uses—Material sites.
A. All operating material sites with operation and reclamation permits approved by the state of Alaska and with approved general land use permits issued by the city of Dillingham at the time of adoption of Ordinance No. 2014-06 on May 1, 2014, shall be deemed legal nonconforming uses. This nonconforming status enables operators to continue the extraction of material without the requirement of acquiring a material site permit as specified in this section. Compliance with provisions found in Sections 18.44.020 and 18.44.030 and the following standards is required:
1. All active material sites, or those that have filed for a state permit by the date of adoption of Ordinance No. 2014-06, shall register their operation with the city of Dillingham. This registration shall provide a record for the operation’s scope, including the type of mining operation to occur, and a copy of any approved state permits;
2. All operations must comply with Section 18.42.080, Reclamation plan;
3. Operations that expand the magnitude and/or the potential impacts of the operation, as specified below, are required to submit and receive approval for continued operation under the administrative or conditional use permit specified in this section. The permit process shall occur and conclude prior to the operation completing the expansion:
a. Any nonconforming material site whose growth or expansion causes the operation to cross one permit level to another, as defined in Section 18.42.030, Types of material site permits and review authority;
b. All operations extracting material within the high water table, shall comply with Section 18.42.090, Water table monitoring plan;
c. Expansion by more than five acres of the cumulative area affected by the operation, or expansion by more than ten percent in the annual volume of material extracted, as compared to the area of operation and volume of material extracted during the summer season in the year prior to the adoption of this code;
4. After ten years of operation from the date of approval of the ordinance codified in this section, the operation shall be required to conform to all requirements of this code.
B. It is the operator’s responsibility to report any changes at a material site that would require compliance with the standards in subsection A of this section. Failure to report such changes may result in fines and/or the revocation of the nonconforming status. (Ord. 14-06 § 3, 2014.)
18.44.030 Restrictions.
A. A nonconforming building or structure shall not be enlarged or altered in a manner that increases or contributes to the nonconformity.
B. If a nonconforming building, structure or use is damaged or destroyed by fire or other casualty so that it cannot be repaired or put back into use, no part of the structure shall be reconstructed except in conformity with this title.
C. If any nonconforming use of land ceases for any reason for a period of more than one year, the use is considered abandoned and any subsequent use of the land shall conform to the land use district in which it is located. The planning commission may approve an extension of one year to this period to allow relief from emergencies or other extenuating circumstances that are outside the control of the landowner.
D. Nothing in this chapter shall be deemed to prevent the strengthening or restoring of a structure to a safe condition. (Ord. 92-21 § 4 (part), 1992.)