Question

A 100 year old factory is located in an area that has recently been zoned and developed for residential use. Three days after the area had been zoned residential, the old factory caught fire and was destroyed. Which of the following statements best describes the situation?

A. The factory was in a legal conforming state and can be rebuilt.
B. The factory was in a legal non-conforming state and can be rebuilt.
C. The factory was in an illegal non-conforming state and cannot be rebuilt without a special-use variance.
D. The factory was in a legal non-conforming state and cannot be rebuilt without permission from the zoning authority.

Answer 1

The correct answer is that the factory was in a legal non-conforming state due to the recent rezoning to residential use and cannot be rebuilt without permission from the zoning authority. Hence, option (D) is correct.

Step-by-step explanation:

The factory that was destroyed by fire was located in an area that had recently been zoned for residential use, which means that it was now sitting in a zone where its operations were not consistent with the new zoning regulations. Since the factory was operating before the rezoning occurred, it was in a state known as 'legal non-conforming.'

Legal non-conforming properties are those that were previously in compliance with zoning laws but are now inconsistent due to changes in zoning regulations. They are typically allowed to continue operating under the 'grandfather' principle, unless they are damaged or destroyed, at which point they usually cannot be rebuilt without permission.

According to the constraints of zoning regulation, such rebuilding often requires approval from zoning authorities, possibly through a variance or other special approval, since the current use would not conform to the new residential designation.