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Article: City could bar extension of use to building's ground floor.(Patton v. City of Galax)
- Article from:
- Land Use Law Report
- Article date:
- March 9, 2005
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The legal nonconforming use of a building's second floor for apartments did not give the building owner the right to convert the building's first floor to apartment use, the Virginia Supreme Court has ruled (Patton v. City of Galax, No. 040616, March 3, 2005). The court also held, 4-3, that the city properly denied a conditional use permit for apartments on the building's first floor.
In 1967, Ralph Patton bought a two-story building on South Main Street in Galax, before the city adopted a zoning ordinance. The city's later-adopted zoning ordinance placed the Patton property in the Business General (B-2) district. Use of structures for apartments in the B-2 ...