Which concept describes the legal permission to continue a nonconforming use after a zoning change?

• A. Nonconforming use
• B. Grandfathering
• C. Legal nonconforming use
• D. Special use / public zoning

Answer: (B)

Grandfathering is the legal permission to continue a preexisting, nonconforming use after a zoning change. When a new zoning rule comes in, the use that was legal before the change can keep operating because it already existed under the old rules. This continuation is often subject to limits, like no expansion or relocation, to protect public interests while respecting vested property rights. The idea isn’t just that the use exists in nonconformity, but that the authorities allow it to continue despite not fitting the new zoning. In contrast, a nonconforming use describes the use itself relative to current zoning, and legal nonconforming use is the status that makes its continuation lawful; it doesn’t inherently specify the mechanism by which that permission is granted. Special use, on the other hand, is a separate tool that permits a particular use within a zone under special approval, not the ongoing continuation of an existing nonconforming use.