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Owners Have No Constitutional Right to Expand Nonconforming Uses

By Stewart E. Sterk
June 01, 2023

Can a municipality's refusal to permit expansion of a pre-existing nonconforming use constitute a federal constitutional violation? In Morris Motel v. DeChance, 2023 WL 26829378, the federal district court for the eastern district of New York faced that question and awarded summary judgment to the municipality, rejecting the landowner's substantive due process and takings claims.

New York zoning codes typically permit the continuation of nonconforming uses and structures in existence at the time zoning restrictions were put in place. The Town of Brookhaven's code is illustrative. Section 85-883(A) permits continuation of nonconforming uses, subject to a number of conditions. Section 85-883(B) generally allows alteration of, and even, in some circumstances, addition to nonconforming structures. Both sections, however, include qualifications designed to limit expansion of the nonconforming use or structure.

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