A pre-existing scenario, sometimes regarding land use or buildings, could also be exempt from present zoning laws if it predates their enactment. For example, a fence constructed barely over the established boundary earlier than the present laws have been put in place is perhaps allowed to stay as is. This idea supplies a authorized mechanism for honoring established makes use of that may in any other case be non-conforming.
Such exemptions provide stability and predictability for property homeowners by defending established property makes use of from retroactive utility of recent legal guidelines. This precept acknowledges the potential hardship and unfairness that would come up from forcing fast compliance with newly established guidelines. Traditionally, some of these authorized provisions have performed a job in managing the transition between older and newer land use laws, facilitating neighborhood growth whereas respecting current investments.
