A pre-existing situation, sometimes referring to land use or zoning rules, could also be exempt from new legal guidelines if it existed earlier than the regulation’s enactment. For instance, a home-owner is perhaps permitted to keep up a non-conforming construction, like a shed constructed too near the property boundary, if it was constructed earlier than a setback ordinance was established. This exemption applies though the construction would violate the present rules. Such exemptions are essential for understanding how historic land use interacts with fashionable zoning legal guidelines.
These exemptions present stability and defend property house owners from sudden, disruptive adjustments in rules. They acknowledge vested rights and forestall undue hardship on people who complied with earlier rules. Traditionally, these provisions performed a major function in managing transitions between completely different regulatory intervals, permitting communities to modernize their zoning practices with out unfairly penalizing present property house owners. This authorized mechanism promotes equity and ensures a smoother evolution of land use rules.
