29. A municipality adopts a zoning ordinance that restricts a neighborhood to single family residences only. A person owns a two-family house in the same neighborhood at the time the ordinance is adopted. Which of the following must this owner do?
Answer: B
The owner must do nothing as no action is required.
Since the owner already possesses a two-family house prior to the adoption of the zoning ordinance, they are typically allowed to continue using their property as is, without needing to take any action.
A) Appeal for a variance
This option is incorrect because a variance is a request to deviate from the current zoning requirements. Since the owner already has a two-family home, they do not need to appeal for a variance to continue using their property as it was prior to the ordinance.
B) Do nothing as no action is required
This option is correct because the owner of the two-family house is considered a pre-existing nonconforming use. As long as they do not expand or significantly alter the property, they can continue to operate it as before without any required action.
C) Convert to single family housing
This option is incorrect as there is no legal obligation for the owner to convert their two-family house into a single-family residence. The owner can maintain the current use of their property as it was established before the zoning restriction was enacted.
D) Apply for an exercise of eminent domain
This option is incorrect because eminent domain is a legal process where the government takes private property for public use, typically with compensation. The owner does not need to pursue this action since they are not being forced to give up their property.
Conclusion
The correct answer is that the owner must do nothing because they are allowed to keep their existing two-family house as a nonconforming use under the new zoning ordinance. All other options involve unnecessary actions or misunderstandings of property rights under zoning laws, making them inappropriate for this scenario.