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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2021-02-08 21-086 ORDINANCETitle, Ordinance 21-086 02/08/2021 CITY COUNCIL ACTION Council Meeting Date: February 8, 2021 Item No: 21-086 Responsible Dept: Planning/Legal Action Requested: Ordinance Map/Lot: N/A Amending Chapter 165, Land Development Code, Section 165-17 to eliminate conflicts with Section 165-18. Summary This Ordinance would eliminate the conflict between two provisions in the Land Development Code's nonconformitics chapter. Section 165-18 of the Code allows a property owner to rebuild a nonconforming residential structure in URD -1 and URD -2 within three years after the building was demolished. This provision helps to ensure that the Code is not forcing a reduction in the amount of available housing. Section 165-17 appears to prohibit the same replacement that 165-18 allows if the demolished structure was vacant. Such a provision may make property owners less willing to demolish dilapidated buildings, knowing that the buildings will lose their nonconforming status. This amendment changes Section 165-17 to allow replacing a building as authorized by Section 165-18, provided that the building was not vacant for more than seven years prior to the application for a building permit that is then granted. Committee Action Committee: Business and Economic Development Action Staff Comments & Approvals Meeting Date: February 2, 2021 For: 5 Against: 0 As this is an amendment to the Land Development Code, this is also scheduled for the Planning Board meeting of February 16, 2021. City Manager City Solicitor Finance Director Introduced for: First Reading and Referral CITY COUNCIL ORDINANCE Date: February 8, 2021 Assigned to Councilor: Dubay 21-086 02/08/2021 ORDINANCE, Amending Chapter 165, Land Development Code, Section 165-17 to correspond with Section 165-18, by allowing an abandoned structures three years to rebuild if it was abandoned for less than seven years and then destroyed. WHEREAS, at present, the requirement is so long as a property has been vacant for a period of seven years or longer, changed to another use, or destroyed. WHEREAS, in order to have Section 165-17 correspond with Section 165-18 and allow for structures that were abandoned less than seven years and destroyed to have three years to rebuild. BE IT ORDAINED BY THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF BANGOR AS FOLLOWS, THAT Chapter 165 of the Code of the City of Bangor is amended as follows: § 165-17 Discontinuance. A. If any nonconforming use is discontinued for 12 consecutive months it shall be deemed abandoned, and the right to continue it shall terminate; provided, however, that even after such discontinuance a conforming or conditional use may be established in accordance with § 165-20 below. B. Notwithstanding Subsection A above, a nonconforming residential unit otherwise in compliance with this Code of Ordinances may, upon application for and receipt of a certificate of occupancy, retain its nonconforming residential use so long as it has not been vacant for a period of seven years or longer, changed to another use, or destroyed. Provided, however, that if Subsection B of Section 165-18 would allow reconstruction of a destroved residential unit and that unit was not vacant for more than seven years prior to the application for a building permit for said reconstruction, then this Section will not prohibit reconstruction of that unit if the building permit is in fact granted by the Code Enforcement Office. Additions are underlined, deletions st, uek thfough. Planning Division Memorandum To: Honorable Bangor City council Cathy Conlow, City Manager CC: Tanya Emery, Director of Community & Economic Development Jeff Wallace, Code Enforcement Officer From: Anne Krieg AICP, Planning Officer Josh Saucier, Assistant City Solicitor Date: March 3, 2021 Regarding: Amending Chapter 165, Land Development Code, by Eliminating Conflicts with Section 165-18, Non -Conformities Please accept this memorandum as the recording and explanation of the Planning Board action on the above noted item at their requisite public hearing dated March 7, 2021. Assistant City Solicitor Saucier provided the staff report to the Board, points included the following: A. The City's Code of Ordinances contains a chapter on nonconformities. This is a chapter of the Code that City Staff have an interest in rewriting in its entirety, and staff are working on that rewrite. In the meantime, there are two provisions that are in conflict with one another, and are prohibiting the redevelopment of a tax acquired property that the City recently sold, and possibly others. B. Those two provisions are Section 165-17 and Section 165-18. Section 165-18 allows nonconforming residential structures to be rebuilt on the same footprint within three years of their destruction. Section 165-17 appears to prohibit the same replacement that 165-18 allows if the demolished structure was vacant. This conflict may make property owners less willing to demolish dilapidated buildings, knowing that the buildings will lose their nonconforming status. C. This amendment changes Section 165-17 to allow replacing a building as authorized by Section 165-18, provided that the building was not vacant for more than seven years prior to the application for a building permit that is then granted. D. Staff recommend approval of this change, which resolves a conflict in the City's Code of Ordinances. City of Bangor Planning Division Planning Board action summary Amending Chapter 165, Land Development Code, by Eliminating Conflicts with Section 165-18, Non - Conformities Upon answering minor clarifications questions, the Board unanimously passed a motion to recommend to the City Council that the amendment ought to pass. The motion was made by Meagher and seconded by Shaw. P age 2 12 IN CITY COUNCIL FEBRUARY 8,2021 Cord 21-086 Motion made and seconded for First Reading and Referral to Planning Board Meeting of February 16,2021 Vote: 9—0 Councilors Voting Yes: Davitt,Dubay, Fournier,Hawes,Nichols, Okafor, Schaefer, Sprague, Tremble Councilors Voting No: None Passed �ee-j d CITY CLE IN CITY COUNCIL MARCH 8,2021 Cord 21-086 Motion made and seconded for Passage Vote: 9 -0 Councilors Voting Yes: Davitt,Dubay,Fournier,Hawes,Nichols, Okafor, Schaefer, Sprague,Tremble Councilors Voting No: None Passed CITY LE