A non-conforming structure may be restored without significant changes subject to the compliance with the standards in this section.

• (a) Building Permit
  • A building permit for reconstruction must be issued within two (2) years of the date of demolition or destruction, whichever occurs first. The Board may approve an extension to the deadline if a development application is submitted and approved according to the procedures and conditions outlined in Secs. 2-20-20 and 2-30-20.
• (b) Conformance with Old Building or Use
  • The proposed building restoration must conform in terms of use, number of dwelling units, configuration and area and bulk to the building that was partly or fully demolished by the owner or that was destroyed. The restoration may include insignificant modifications to the original design if the Community Development Director finds that such modifications are necessary to allow the use or structure to meet basic life, health, and safety standards of the adopted building code.
• (c) Restoration, Repair, Reconstruction, Replacement, Remodel, and Additions to Legal Non-conforming Structures
  • A legal non-conforming structure may be expanded, repaired, restored, reconstructed, replaced, or remodeled as long as the activity does not increase the non-conformity. Prohibited enlargement of the non-conformity shall include, but not be limited to: expansion of the gross floor area where the floor area for the zone district has been exceeded and expansion of the structure in to the setbacks, including an increase in the mass of the existing structure within the setbacks; expansion of the structure into any other area where the development standards or the building codes prohibit development. Expansion of the structure into the setbacks, including an increase in the mass of the existing structure within the setbacks is prohibited, except in riparian/wetland setbacks, in which height and bulk may be added to an existing residential structure with no change to the existing footprint of the structure, subject to compliance with the following criteria:

1. A site specific analysis shall be submitted to prove that there is no area on the property that can be used for expansion/development outside of he one hundred (100) foot setback, without encroachment into the following area(s) prohibited from development in Section 7 of the Land Use Code.
   • (a) Slope;
   • (b) Floodplain
   • (c) Geologic Hazard
   • (d) Severe Wildfire
   • (e) Wildlife Habitat
2. In the event that no developable area exists outside of the 100 foot riparian/wetland setback, expansion of a structure shall be subject to compliance with the following criteria:
   • (a) The Environmental Health/Natural Resources Department finds that the related septic system or other wastewater treatment system may be adequately accommodated without detriment to the wetland/riparian stream habitat:
   • (b) No Transferable Development Rights (TDRs) shall be used on site for any purpose;
   • (c) There shall not be removal of vegetation or other existing visual buffers between the proposed structure and the stream.
   • (d) Expansion shall be limited to one additional floor directly over the existing footprint of the structure (footprint does not include appurtenant decks) (subject to all applicable Code provisions, including standard maximum height restrictions defined in Table 5-1A, “Dimensional Requirements.”); and
   • (e) Expansion shall be limited to above-grade space only.
   • Addition of height and bulk shall be subject to approval of a construction management plan by the Pitkin County Planning Engineer, and any other applicable permits.
3. Notwithstanding paragraphs (1) and (2) above, any residential structure that is legally non-conforming with respect to riparian/wetland setbacks is permitted a one-time total 300 sq. ft. above grade attached expansion without requirement of a demonstration that no developable area exists outside of the 100 foot setback area. This expansion must maintain at least a 50 foot riparian/wetland setback, and there must be demonstration to the satisfaction of the Environmental Health/Natural Resources Department that the expansion can be sited without detriment to the wetland/riparian habitat. A riparian/wetland mitigation plan that outlines improvement and/or restoration of the subject property may be required to be submitted to the Community Development Director for review, approval, and implementation as part of this analysis in order to obtain this exemption.

The Board of County Commissioners may permit modifications to a non-conforming structure or use that does not meet the standards of Sec. 9-50-20, subject to compliance with the standards in this section.

• (a) Adverse Impacts and County Land Use Policies
  • The Board of County Commissioners finds that any adverse impacts of the non-conforming use or structure on the neighborhood or the County as a whole and any inconsistencies with County Land Use Policies in Chapter 1 to be tolerable.
• (b) Consistency with Master Plans
  • The structure or use is generally consistent with adopted master plans for the area and adjacent land uses.

• (c) Building Code Standards, Hardships or Improvements to Function and Appearance
  • The applicant demonstrates that the purpose of the development is to:
  1. Meet practical difficulties and hardships that arise from the existing restrictions upon repair, alteration or restoration; or
  2. Improve the function and appearance of the structure.

Existing, legally-established civic and institutional uses that are non-conforming uses shall be allowed to remain as non-conforming uses and the Board of County Commissioners may permit expansion and redevelopment of such uses by special review, subject to satisfaction of each of the following criteria:

(a) Standards

1. At the time the use of the property was established such use must have been legally created and in substantial conformance with the land use approvals granting such use (if any); and
2. The proposal for expansion of the non-conforming use or re-development of structures associated with the non-conforming use shall be consistent with neighborhood master plans. The proposal shall not change the character of the immediately adjacent neighborhood and shall not, except as otherwise permitted in this Section, increase the impacts of the use on either the surrounding neighborhood or the master plan area; and
3. The applicant has demonstrated that the expansion or re-development is the minimum expansion or re-development necessary to sustain the operation; and
4. In no event shall there be:
   • (a) Any increase in the floor area of more than a cumulative total of 20% of the existing built floor area of the non-conforming use on the property (20% shall be assessed against built, rather than approved, but as of yet un-built floor area;) and
   • (b) Any change in the existing developed use of the property, except that accessory uses may be approved that do not create impacts to the immediately surrounding neighborhood in addition to any impacts created by the existing developed use. For purposes of this subparagraph, one residential unit for an on-site caretaker or property manager (which may include a Caretaker Unit(“CDU”)) shall not be considered a change in use; and
   • (c) Any increase in the number of free market residential dwelling units on the property; and
   • (d) Any increase in traffic impacts to the public roads serving the property that are not satisfactorily mitigated.
5. The applicant shall prepare a site-specific master plan for the property, which shall be subject to approval by the Board after the plan has first been reviewed by P&Z and a recommendation from the P&Z has been received. The master plan shall include plans for the entire property and shall address, at a minimum, the short-term and long-term plans for the following: proposed revisions to the site layout; architectural renderings, including buildings and other structures and landscaping; volume parking limitations (including mitigation of visual impacts) and traffic mitigation; employee limitation; the daily, monthly, yearly and special event volume of activity on the property; accessory uses and structures, if any; agricultural uses and structures, if any; permanent limitations on future development; and other items deemed relevant and requested by the County. All new development shall comply with Development Standards and criteria in Chapter 7 of the Land Use Code.

(b) Additional Review Guidelines.

1. The standards and criteria set forth in this section shall be applied to the actual development on the property as of January 1, 2006, but in no event may the development exceed the floor area permitted under prior approvals.
2. If the development has been undertaken on two or more properties that are not contiguous to each other, then the standards and criteria of this section shall be applied separately to each such property through an individual site impact analysis.