Article 1. General Provisions

§11-101   Falls City Code   §11-103

Article 1. General Provisions
[Editors Note: Chapter 11 was passed in its entirety by Ordinance
No. 2002-108 on 10/21/2002]
§11-101 GENERAL PROVISIONS; PURPOSE. The regulations for the
zoning districts as set forth in this Chapter are made in
accordance with a Comprehensive Plan for the purpose of setting
minimum standards to promote the public health, safety, morals,
convenience, order, prosperity, and general welfare of the
community. They are designed to lessen congestion in the streets;
to secure safety from fire, panic, and other dangers; to provide
adequate light and air; to prevent the overcrowding of land; to
avoid undue concentration of population; and to facilitate the
adequate provision of transportation, water, sewerage, schools,
parks, and other public requirements. They are made with
responsible consideration, among other things, as to the character
of each district and its peculiar suitability for particular uses
and with a view of conserving the value of buildings and
encouraging the most appropriate use of land throughout the
Municipality. (Ref. 19-901 RS Neb.)
§11-102 GENERAL PROVISIONS; JURISDICTION. The provisions of this
Chapter shall apply within the corporate limits of the Municipality
and within the territory beyond said corporate limits as now or
hereafter fixed, for a distance of one (1) mile in all directions.
(Ref. 17-1001 RS Neb.)
§11-103 GENERAL PROVISIONS; NONCONFORMING USE. After adoption of
these regulations, land or structures or the uses of land or
structures that would be prohibited under the regulations for the
district in which they are located, but are otherwise lawful, shall
be considered as nonconforming. It is the intent of this Chapter
to permit these nonconforming uses to continue provided they
conform to the following provisions:
1. No existing structure devoted to a use not permitted by
this Chapter in the district in which it is located shall be
enlarged, extended, constructed, reconstructed, moved or
structurally altered except in changing the use of the structure to
a use permitted in the district in which it is located.
2. No existing structure devoted to a use not permitted by
this Chapter in the district in which it is located shall be
enlarged, extended, constructed, reconstructed, moved or
structurally altered except for minor maintenance and additions not
to exceed 5% of the total existing floor area without 2/3 approval
of the Governing Body.
3. If no structural alterations are made, any nonconforming
use of a structure, or structure and premise, may be changed to
another nonconforming use; Provided, that the Board of Adjustment,
either by general rule, or by making findings in the specific case,
finds that the proposed use is equally appropriate or more
appropriate to the district than the existing nonconforming use.
In permitting such change, the Board of Adjustment may require
appropriate conditions and safeguards in accord with the provisions
herein.
4. When a nonconforming use of a structure, or structure and
premise in combination, is, in fact, discontinued or abandoned for
six (6) consecutive months or for eighteen (18) months during any
three (3) year period, the structure, or structure and premise in
combination, shall not thereafter be used except in conformance
with the regulations of the district in which it is located.
5. No structure, or structure and premise in combination,
which is used for a nonconforming use and which has been damaged to
the extent of more than fifty percent (50%) of its fair market
value immediately prior to damage, shall be rebuilt, altered, or
repaired, except in conformity with the district regulations.
6. Any use which has become nonconforming by reason of
restrictions on area, lot coverage, height, yards, or other
characteristics of the structure or its location on the lot, may be
continued so long as it remains otherwise lawful, subject to the
provisions of this section.
(Ref. 19-904.01 RS Neb.)