10-26-2016 Council Packet - Laserfiche WebLink

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was located or maintained shall, from and after the date of said destruction, be subject to all the regulations specified by these zoning regulations for the district in which such land and buildings are located. Any building which is damaged to an extent of less than fifty (50) percent of its value may be restored to its former extent. Estimate of the extent of damage or destruction shall be made by the Building Official. This 25% provision that Mr. Erdmanis references in his appeal to allow the outdoor storage area expansion is not applicable to the issue at hand. Mr. Erdmanis’s comments in 1988, reference that the 25% is to rebuild the legally non-conforming building and not the use of the property. Furthermore, the city code states that “Any non-conforming structure or use lawfully existing upon the effective date of this Ordinance shall not be enlarged, but may be continued at the size and in the manner of operation existing upon such date except as hereinafter specified or subsequently amended.” Again, City Code 903.010.G allows for the non-conforming structure to be expanded. The grandfathered non-conforming use of the site is to continue without any expansion or change in use(s) (unless conforming to current code provisions). There is no provision that allows for a grandfathered non-conforming use to be expanded or for uses not legally established to become “grandfathered”. Dealing with the historic use of the site, Mr. Erdmanis states that Buck Blacktop has operated out of this property since the 1960’s. In reviewing city records, there have been no other documented tenants of the building or outdoor storage area. The City previously had a General Business License in the 1980’s and those were issued to Buck Blacktop only. In 1993, communication began with Mr. Erdmanis after it was discovered that Buck Blacktop had begun the operation of recycling and stockpiling of aggregate materials at 32 S. Owasso Blvd. At that time, Mr. Erdmanis was informed that this was an expansion of the grandfathering use in violation and that this type of operation was not a permitted use in the I-P Zoning District. Mr. Erdmanis responded in several letters referencing only Buck Blacktop operations occurring from the property. More recently, the City had discovered in 2007, a portion of the building was being used for residential purposes and issued an order to discontinue said occupancy. The City worked with Mr. Erdmanis at that time and the renter moved out. The building as last verified by city staff was being used for storage and business operations associated with Buck Blacktop. In 2010, the City adopted an Outdoor Storage License which applies to this zoning district. As part of the inspection in 2013, city staff had observed chain-link fence materials in the outdoor storage area. Mr. Erdmanis had indicated that they were from another contractor working on a street project of his. At that time, he agreed to have this items removed from the storage area and staff verified this was completed. In 2014, tree trimming and semi-trucks appeared in the outdoor storage area. City staff explained that these uses were not allowed since they were not occupants of the building and were not part of the grandfathered outdoor storage. At that time, Mr. Erdmanis agreed to notify the contractors and semi-trucks that they could not keep their vehicles on this property. However, during the last two annual inspections these trucks have been present at the time of the inspection. Since that time, city staff has been working with Mr. Erdmanis on corrective action given this was an expansion of the grandfathering use of the property and neither use occupies the building. Enforcement action from city staff to Mr. Erdmanis that corrective action must take place is what has led to this point. In July, city staff notified Mr. Erdmanis that he had three options: (1) Appeal staff’s interpretation of the “grandfathering” status to the City Council