1.6.F Nonconforming Site Features | Sedona Land Development Code

F. Nonconforming Site Features

a. For purposes of this subsection, the term “nonconforming site feature” includes, but is not limited to, any driveway, off-street parking or loading area, buffer, landscaping, screening, or exterior lighting element that lawfully existed per regulations in place prior to the effective date of this Code, as well as the lack of any such feature required by subsequently enacted City regulations.

b. A nonconforming site feature may continue to exist even though it does not conform to current applicable standards of this Code, subject to the requirements of this subsection.

c. No action shall be taken that increases the degree of the nonconformity of a site feature.

Any parking spaces or access to public rights-of-way lawfully existing on the effective date of this Code that are made nonconforming by virtue of enactment of this Code shall be allowed to continue; provided, that:

1. Any change or expansion of any use or structure shall only be permitted if the additional number of parking spaces required by such change or expansion is provided in accordance with Section 5.5, Off-Street Parking and Loading. For purposes of this provision, a change of use shall include reversion to a use that previously existed on a site but has not operated in more than one year.

2. Nonconforming parking areas shall not be expanded, except pursuant to subsection F(2)(b) below.

Nonconforming off-street parking facilities shall be upgraded to comply with this Code’s minimum parking lot design requirements in Section 5.5.F, Off-Street Parking Layout and Design, and landscaping requirements in Section 5.6.C(2)b, Parking Lot Landscaping, when any development occurs that would result in an addition to or expansion of one or more buildings or structures that would increase the total gross floor area of the buildings or structures by more than 50 percent.

Prior to the issuance of a Certificate of Occupancy, nonconforming buffers, landscaping, screening elements, and exterior lighting shall be upgraded to comply with this Code’s applicable standards for such features if any of the following development activities are proposed for the site containing the nonconforming site feature:

a. An increase in the total square footage of the vehicular use area, including parking, loading, circulation, and driveway areas;

b. A structural addition that increases the combined total gross floor area of all existing structures by more than 500 square feet or 20 percent, whichever is less;

c. Building elevation changes involving 50 percent or more of the exterior walls of a roofed structure on the property within a two-year period, excluding minor cosmetic maintenance such as painting, replacing lighting fixtures, or replacing awnings or signs;

d. Any tenant change of a stand-alone nonresidential structure that also involves substantial building elevation changes as determined by the Director, excluding minor cosmetic maintenance such as painting, replacing lighting fixtures, or replacing awnings or signs;

e. Any tenant change of a nonresidential structure that is the anchor tenant of the property that also involves substantial building elevation changes as determined by the Director, excluding minor cosmetic maintenance such as painting, replacing lighting fixtures, or replacing awnings or signs;

f. On a site containing nonconforming buffers or screening, expansion of outdoor operations, storage, or display that increases the gross square footage of such areas by a certain percentage, shall require upgrading to offset a corresponding percentage of the buffer or screening nonconformity.