Maryland Maryland-National Capital Park and Planning Commission Section 8-109

      (a)      No clerk of the Circuit Court of Montgomery County or of Prince George's County, no administrative official, no licensing body or board, and no person whatever may issue a license or permit for any commercial or industrial purpose or for the conducting of any commercial or industrial enterprise or business whatsoever in a residential zone, that is, in any district designated on the zone maps as residential within the regional district, unless the purpose, enterprise, or business is allowed by the applicable zoning ordinance under permitted uses or special exceptions granted by the board of appeals.

      (b)      However, in the case of a lawful nonconforming use existing at the time of the enactment of the respective zoning ordinances within that portion of the regional district in Montgomery and Prince George's Counties comprising the Maryland-Washington Metropolitan District, created by Chapter 448 of the Acts of the General Assembly of Maryland of 1927, as amended, the particular use may be continued, and appropriate licenses may be issued, limited, however, to the particular use already existing in each case.

      (c)      In addition, the board of license commissioners of Montgomery County, within its discretion, may issue and renew alcoholic beverage licenses as have been heretofore issued by the board for premises on which lawful nonconforming uses exist. No license may be issued which is less restrictive than any which has been issued for the premises heretofore.

      (d)      In addition, in the case of a lawful nonconforming use existing at the time of the enactment of zoning ordinances under the provisions of this title in that portion of the regional district in Montgomery and Prince George's Counties, respectively, outside the metropolitan district, the particular use which existed at the effective date of the zoning ordinances, adopted under the authority of this title, may be continued, and appropriate licenses may be issued, limited, however, to the particular use in each case.

      (e)      For the purpose of carrying out the provisions of this section, the Commission shall supply every clerk, administrative official, licensing body or board, and every other official or body empowered to issue any license or permit, with a copy of the map or maps showing the residential, commercial, industrial, and other zones or districts in the regional district.

      (f)      Every license or permit issued in violation of this section is invalid; and the issuance of the license or permit is a misdemeanor and punishable under the general penalty provisions of this article.