A pre-existing situation, usually regarding land use or zoning rules, could also be exempt from new legal guidelines if it existed earlier than the legislation’s enactment. For instance, a house owner could be 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 although the construction would violate the present rules. Such exemptions are essential for understanding how historic land use interacts with trendy zoning legal guidelines.
These exemptions present stability and defend property homeowners 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 position in managing transitions between totally different regulatory intervals, permitting communities to modernize their zoning practices with out unfairly penalizing current property homeowners. This authorized mechanism promotes equity and ensures a smoother evolution of land use rules.
