"Grandfathered" Uses: What Can Stay, Expand, Rebuild, or Change

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What Kind of "Grandfathered" Is It? 1. Nonconforming use (the activity is no longer allowed) → watch abandonment and expansion limits. 2. Nonconforming lot (the parcel is undersized) → may still be buildable, often with conditions. 3. Nonconforming structure (setbacks/height don’t match today) → additions can be limited and may trigger extra approvals.

If you’ve heard someone say a property is “grandfathered,” what they usually mean is: It was legal when it started, but today it doesn’t meet the current rules.

Durham’s Unified Development Ordinance calls those situations nonconformities. And the key takeaway is this:

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