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CITY OF MARION, A South Dakota Municipality, Plaintiff and Appellee v. GLEN RAPP, Defendant and Appellant, [2002 SD 146] South Dakota Supreme Court Appeal from the Circuit Court of The First Judicial Circuit Turner County, South Dakota Hon. Boyd L. McMurchie, Judge JAMES McCULLOCH Vermillion, South Dakota Attorney for plaintiff and appellee ROBIN JACOBSON HOUWMAN of Danforth, Meierhenry & Meierhenry Sioux Falls, South Dakota Attorneys for defendant and appellant Considered on Briefs October 7, 2002 Opinion Filed 11/26/2002 #22355 KONENKAMP, Justice [¶1.] Under South Dakota law, the lawful use of land existing at the time of the adoption of a zoning ordinance may continue as a nonconforming use, even though the use is prohibited by the zoning ordinance. Here, the owner of a house trailer, constituting a nonconforming use in an area not zoned for trailers, replaced his trailer with a larger one. He was found guilty of violating a city zoning regulation and appeals. Can an owner who removes a house trailer and replaces it with a larger one continue the nonconforming use of the property as a house trailer site? Because the city regulations clearly prohibit either moving or enlarging a nonconforming structure, and state law neither overrides nor contradicts the city

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South Dakota Law