§ 18.132.050. Certificate of present extent of legal nonconformity—Application—Procedure.

A.

The owner of a legal nonconformity:

1.

At any time may apply for a certificate determining the present extent of the legal nonconformity; or

2.

Upon notification by the director in the event of a dispute over voluntary abandonment, entitlement to issuance of a building or other permit, or intensity and/or scope of the nonconformity, shall apply for a certificate determining the present extent of the legal nonconformity.

B.

Such application shall be filed with the department in the form prescribed by the department, and shall be accompanied by that fee adopted by resolution of the board of supervisors.

C.

In the capacity as zoning administrator, the director shall hold a public hearing to determine the present extent of the legal nonconformity. Such hearing shall be held in accordance with the procedures set forth in Section 18.124.040. The owner shall have the burden of proof to establish the original legal nonconforming status of the use, structure or combination thereof; the extent of any repair, maintenance, restoration, rebuilding, rehabilitation, remodeling, redesign or rearrangement which has occurred which conforms to the standards set forth in Section 18.132.030; and the extent of any voluntary abandonment of the legal nonconformity since originally established.

1.

For residential projects, the public hearing may be waived and the director is authorized to render an administrative decision if, after providing notice of the intended decision and right to request a public hearing to property owners within one thousand feet of the project parcel, the director finds that no member of the public has requested said hearing, and that no additional information is required to render a decision.

2.

For residential projects, where the sole question raised is the existence of a residential structure within required yards, road setbacks, or stream setbacks, the director is authorized to render an administrative decision without notice or public hearing if the director finds that no additional information is required to render a decision.

D.

At the conclusion of the hearing, the zoning administrator shall determine the present extent of the legal nonconformity and issue a certificate setting forth such determination.

E.

The determination of the zoning administrator may be appealed to the board of supervisors in accordance with the procedures set forth in Chapter 2.88.

F.

Within thirty calendar days of issuance of the certificate or, in the event of appeal, within thirty calendar days of the final decision of the board of supervisors on appeal, the zoning administrator shall file a true and correct copy of the certificate with the Napa County assessor.

G.

The procedure set forth in this section shall also be used to determine the present extent of those certain winery and winery-related uses permitted without a use permit pursuant to subsection (G) of Section 18.16.020 or subsection (H) of Section 18.20.020. For purposes of such determination, all references in this section to "legal nonconformity" shall be replaced by the term "uses permitted pursuant to subsection (G) of Section 18.16.020 or subsection (H) of Section 18.20.020.

(Ord. 1260 § 6, 2005: Ord. 981 § 55, 1991; Ord. 943 § 3 (part), 1990: prior code § 12854)

(Ord. No. 1370, § 57, 3-20-2012; Ord. No. 1395, § 6, 12-16-2014)