Opinion ID: 1834363
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: Voluntary Interruption of Use

Text: Given that the plaintiffs established the quarry as an existing use prior to the enactment of the amendments and continued that use through 1980, we must next determine whether the plaintiffs ever voluntarily interrupted that use. The county asserts that in determining whether the plaintiffs interrupted the use of the site, we should not look to the plaintiffs' intent. While we agree that we should not look to the intent of the parties in determining whether they originally established the nonconforming use, the plain language of the ordinance at issue demonstrates that we must look to their intent when determining whether they interrupted the nonconforming use. As noted above, section 8:1.34(G) requires parties to acquire conditional use permits if the use is  voluntarily interrupted for a period of one (1) year after it is properly established. (Emphasis added.) Black's Law Dictionary 1412 (6th ed. 1990) defines voluntarily as [d]one by design or intention, intentional, proposed, intended, or not accidental. Intentionally and without coercion. (Emphasis added.) Therefore, in order for the ordinance to require the plaintiffs to acquire a conditional use permit, the plaintiffs must not only have interrupted the use but the express language of the ordinance requires the existence of evidence that they intentionally interrupted the use. See Hartley v. City of Colorado Springs, 764 P.2d 1216, 1225 (Colo.1988). The plaintiffs have maintained all requisite leases, permits, and licenses without interruption since before the conditional use permit amendments were enacted. They have also engaged in minimal activity at the site and have not demonstrated any intention of interrupting the quarry use of the site. See South County Sand & Gravel Co. v. Town of Charlestown, 446 A.2d 1045, 1047 (R.I.1982). Due to the nature of the quarrying business, maintenance of the required permits and licenses in combination with minimal activity demonstrates an uninterrupted operation following an initial establishment of the nonconforming use. Periods of discontinuance which are caused by circumstances beyond the control of a property owner will not cause the loss of a nonconforming use. Smith v. Board of Adjustment of the City of Cedar Rapids, 460 N.W.2d 854, 857 (Iowa 1990); City of Minot v. Fisher, 212 N.W.2d 837, 842 (N.D.1973). Therefore, even if section 8:1.34(G) did not expressly contain an intent element and the plaintiffs have interrupted the operations of the quarry, an interruption caused by decreased demand would not cause the plaintiffs to lose their nonconforming use. A decrease in demand is clearly beyond a quarry operator's control. The record does not demonstrate that the plaintiffs voluntarily interrupted the nonconforming use of the quarry since they have continuously maintained all required permits and licenses since the original establishment of the quarry. The decision of the district court is affirmed. AFFIRMED.