(dissenting):
I respectfully dissent. I concur in the findings and conclusions of the trial judge that Friarsgate satisfied the test prescribed by the Supreme Court in City Ice Delivery Co. v. Zoning Board of Adjustment for the County of Charleston, 262 S.C. 161, 203 S. E. (2d) 381 (1974), for determining whether an owner may complete the construction of a project that constitutes a nonconforming use where the construction began before a zoning ordinance took effect.
Here, the Town of Irmo admitted it “was aware of and had knowledge of [Friarsgate’s] planned development of London-way Condominiums prior to [its] enactment of [the] zoning ordinance.” Moreover, Friarsgate, before the effective date of the zoning ordinance, spent substantial funds in the planning, engineering, and construction of the project and obtained the permits required to begin the construction of the first phase of the project. Under these circumstances, Friarsgate’s failure to obtain the permits required to construct all fourteen buildings did not prevent it from acquiring a vested right to complete the entire project.
I would affirm.