Bills introduced to help Coldstream Homestead Montebello

This evening, I’m introducing two bills - a zoning bill and a parking permit bill.

23-0407 Zoning - Discontinuance or Abandonment of Nonconforming Use. This bill clarifies what is needed to prove that a non-conforming use no longer in use and therefore must expire. Currently the zoning board and administrator uses a vacant building notice to indicate a use is non conforming for 12 months, but not all buildings are designated with a VBN when not in use. There are several non-conforming uses in Coldstream Homestead Montebello and around the city as a result of the comprehensive rezoning that took place in 2016. Non-conforming uses are similar to “grandfathered in” uses. If there was a use on a property that does not fit with the new zoning, those uses can continue. If the use stops for any reason and is discontinued for 12 months, the new zoning takes over. The challenge has been how to know if a use was discontinued for 12 months. Typically if a property has a Vacant Building Notice the use has been discontinued. But not all buildings get a vacant building notice. This legislation allows for other factors like photos, affidavit from residents and additional research to be used to designate a discontinued use.

23-0406 - Residential Permit Parking Area 50 This bill creates a residential parking permit area in Coldstream Homestead Montebello, including the streets of Kirk, Cecil, Garrett, Abbottston, Aisquith, and Gorsuch.