| KAUP & SHULTZ Attorneys at Law, LC The Library |
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Kaup & Shultz,
Attorneys at Law, LC
901 Kentucky
Suite 305
Lawrence, KS 66044
785-838-4300 phone
785-838-4302 fax
A law firm dedicated to
serving the interests of
Kansas local governments
with offices located in
Lawrence and Johnson
County, Kansas. No matter
where you are located in the
State of Kansas, we can
work with you. If your
local government needs legal
assistance, you deserve
Kansas attorneys who know
and practice Kansas local
government law on a daily
basis.
Attorneys at Law, LC
901 Kentucky
Suite 305
Lawrence, KS 66044
785-838-4300 phone
785-838-4302 fax
A law firm dedicated to
serving the interests of
Kansas local governments
with offices located in
Lawrence and Johnson
County, Kansas. No matter
where you are located in the
State of Kansas, we can
work with you. If your
local government needs legal
assistance, you deserve
Kansas attorneys who know
and practice Kansas local
government law on a daily
basis.
On this page is an article about the Nonconforming Use
Doctrine in Kansas. If you would like to download a copy
of the entire article, click where indicated.
Doctrine in Kansas. If you would like to download a copy
of the entire article, click where indicated.
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THE LAW OF NONCONFORMING USES
THE LAW OF NONCONFORMING USE IN KANSAS
INTRODUCTION (A SUMMARY) (click for whole article)
Lawful nonconforming use principles are the
"grandfather" principles of land use law. Basically, if
property is rezoned with the result that its pre-existing
use or improvements are not in conformance with
zoning regulations applicable to the property’s new
zoning classification, then the prior lawful use and
improvements are protected, or "grandfathered," as a
"lawful nonconformance." With few exceptions,
zoning laws apply to future uses of property, not to the
current use (assuming that use is lawful at the time).
Otherwise, a rezoning would often amount to a
compensable taking of property.
Lawful nonconformance status is a mixed bag for the
property owner. It can be economically valuable
since zoning laws generally become more restrictive
over time. Properties having fewer zoning restrictions
can be more valuable to their owners. On the other
hand, lawful nonconformance status is not favored in
the law, and can be lost due to regulations and legal
principles based upon abandonment, change of use,
extension, expansion, enlargement, destruction or
amortization.
To a large degree lawful nonconformance is an
accommodation to protect the constitutionality of
zoning laws. Part of the thinking at the time zoning
laws were being adopted in the early 20th Century
was that lawful nonconforming uses and structures
gradually would "go away" as these properties
deteriorated over time, were destroyed by fire or lost
protected status by changes in use. However, it has
not always worked that way. Events may play out so
that nonconforming properties perpetuate
themselves, and do so oftentimes without being
maintained. Because a lawful nonconformance can
increase a property's value but updating and other
improvements to the properties can, by operation of
local laws, result in loss of protected status, owners
sometimes have little incentive to improve their
nonconforming properties.
Therefore, nonconformance laws are a product of
tension between communities' conflicting desires to
force nonconforming properties out of existence but
at the same time to encourage maintenance, if not
improvement. As a consequence, some regulations
and legal principles focus on eliminating
nonconformance based on abandonment, change of
use and physical destruction while others focus on
incremental improvement by permitting modest
expansions of nonconforming uses or changes to less
offensive nonconforming uses, without loss of
protected status.
FOR THE FULL ARTICLE CLICK HERE
THE LAW OF NONCONFORMING USE IN KANSAS
INTRODUCTION (A SUMMARY) (click for whole article)
Lawful nonconforming use principles are the
"grandfather" principles of land use law. Basically, if
property is rezoned with the result that its pre-existing
use or improvements are not in conformance with
zoning regulations applicable to the property’s new
zoning classification, then the prior lawful use and
improvements are protected, or "grandfathered," as a
"lawful nonconformance." With few exceptions,
zoning laws apply to future uses of property, not to the
current use (assuming that use is lawful at the time).
Otherwise, a rezoning would often amount to a
compensable taking of property.
Lawful nonconformance status is a mixed bag for the
property owner. It can be economically valuable
since zoning laws generally become more restrictive
over time. Properties having fewer zoning restrictions
can be more valuable to their owners. On the other
hand, lawful nonconformance status is not favored in
the law, and can be lost due to regulations and legal
principles based upon abandonment, change of use,
extension, expansion, enlargement, destruction or
amortization.
To a large degree lawful nonconformance is an
accommodation to protect the constitutionality of
zoning laws. Part of the thinking at the time zoning
laws were being adopted in the early 20th Century
was that lawful nonconforming uses and structures
gradually would "go away" as these properties
deteriorated over time, were destroyed by fire or lost
protected status by changes in use. However, it has
not always worked that way. Events may play out so
that nonconforming properties perpetuate
themselves, and do so oftentimes without being
maintained. Because a lawful nonconformance can
increase a property's value but updating and other
improvements to the properties can, by operation of
local laws, result in loss of protected status, owners
sometimes have little incentive to improve their
nonconforming properties.
Therefore, nonconformance laws are a product of
tension between communities' conflicting desires to
force nonconforming properties out of existence but
at the same time to encourage maintenance, if not
improvement. As a consequence, some regulations
and legal principles focus on eliminating
nonconformance based on abandonment, change of
use and physical destruction while others focus on
incremental improvement by permitting modest
expansions of nonconforming uses or changes to less
offensive nonconforming uses, without loss of
protected status.
FOR THE FULL ARTICLE CLICK HERE
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