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City of Providence
City of Providence Zoning Ordinance
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§ 2001

NONCONFORMING USE

2001 NONCONFORMING USE

  • A. Definition A nonconforming use is the use of a structure or land that at one time was an allowed use within a zoning district but because of subsequent amendments to the Ordinance is no longer allowed.

  • B. Expansion A nonconforming use of a structure or land cannot be expanded, except as otherwise provided herein. This includes expansion, extension, or relocation of a nonconforming use to any other structure on the lot, additional gross floor area devoted to the nonconforming use, or occupying any land area currently not occupied by such nonconforming use. Notwithstanding the foregoing or anything contained in this Ordinance to the contrary, the gross floor area of a nonconforming use may be expanded by obtaining a special use permit from the Zoning Board of Review. In addition to meeting the requirements for a special use permit pursuant to Section 1901 of this Ordinance, an applicant seeking to expand the gross floor area of a nonconforming use shall also present evidence to the Zoning Board of Review that:

  • 1. The expansion is not an increase in excess of five percent of the total gross floor area of the use;

  • 2. All uses on the property shall be brought into conformance with all applicable standards listed in Article 12;

  • 3. The entire property shall be brought into conformance with the landscaping regulations of Article 15.

    • C. Intensification A nonconforming use of a structure or land cannot be intensified in any manner. Intensification includes, but is not limited to, increasing hours of operation, increasing the number of dwelling units, increasing the number of parking spaces, reducing total lot area to below that which is required for a new subdivision, or increasing the seating or occupancy capacity of any use. However, this does not prohibit the reconfiguration of existing dwelling units within a structure so long as such reconfiguration complies with the requirements of item B above.

    • D. Relocation A nonconforming use cannot be relocated, in whole or in part, to any other location on the same lot. The nonconforming use may only be relocated to another structure or lot if the use conforms to all regulations of the zoning district where it is relocated.

    • E. Change of Use

      1. Residential Districts Within any residential district, a nonconforming use may not be changed to any other nonconforming use. Within residential districts, a portion of a building containing a nonconforming use may be converted to a single dwelling unit, regardless of the maximum number of units permitted by the dimensional regulations in this Ordinance.

  • 2. Non-Residential Districts Within any non-residential district, a nonconforming use may be changed to another nonconforming use by special use permit if the Zoning Board of Review deems the proposed use to be less intensive than the existing use.

    • F. Discontinuation or Abandonment If a nonconforming use is abandoned, it may not be reestablished. Abandonment of a nonconforming use consists of some overt act, or failure to act, which leads one to believe that the owner of the nonconforming use neither claims nor retains any interest in continuing the nonconforming use unless the owner can demonstrate an intent not to abandon the use. An involuntary interruption of nonconforming use, as by fire and natural catastrophe, does not establish the intent to abandon the nonconforming use. However, if any nonconforming use is halted for a period of one year, the owner of the nonconforming use is presumed to have abandoned the nonconforming use, unless that presumption is rebutted by the presentation of sufficient evidence of intent not to abandon the use.

    • G. Damage or Destruction In the event that any structure that is devoted in whole or in part to a nonconforming use is structurally damaged or destroyed through no fault of the property owner or tenant, the nonconforming use may be re-established provided that no new nonconformities are created and the degree of the previous nonconformity is not increased. If the structure containing the nonconforming use is a nonconforming structure, the structure may only be rebuilt, restored, repaired, or reconstructed in accordance with Section 2002. However, if a building permit is not obtained within one year of the date of damage or destruction, then the nonconforming use may not be reestablished.

    • H. Notwithstanding the fact that a Self-Storage Facility is no longer permitted in any zoning district and therefore is a non-conforming use under the definition of item A above, a Self-Storage Facility which obtained a building permit prior to the enactment of Ordinance 2023-16 No. 324 on July 25, 2023 shall be exempt from the restrictive requirements of items B (Expansion), C (Intensification), D (Relocation as pertaining to relocating, in whole or in part, to any other location on the same lot) and may be permitted to expand, intensify, and relocate within the existing Self-Storage facility and/or lots where it is located by special use permit. This subsection shall only apply to those properties located within a M-1 zoning district that are subject to land use restrictions prohibiting residential use. These prohibitions include, but are not limited to, land use restrictions imposed by the Rhode Island Department of Environmental Management.