A. Board Established; Membership; Terms: A board of adjustment is hereby established which shall consist of five (5) members. The terms of office of the members of the board and the manner of their appointment and of filling vacancies shall be as provided by statute.
B. Rules Of Procedure; Meetings:
1. Rules: The board shall adopt its own rules of procedure not in conflict with this title nor with the Iowa statutes in such case made and provided.
2. Meetings: All meetings of the board shall be held at the call of the chairman and at such times as such board may determine. The chairman, or in their absence the acting chairman, may administer oaths and compel the attendance of witnesses. All meetings of the board shall be open to the public. The board shall keep minutes of its proceedings, showing the vote of each member upon each question, or if absent or failing to vote, indicating such fact and shall also keep records of its examinations, hearings, and other official actions. Findings of fact shall be included in the minutes of each case of a requested variation, and the reasons for recommending or denying such variation shall be specified. Every rule or regulation, and every amendment or repeal thereof, every order, requirement, decision, or determination of the board shall be filed immediately in the office of the board and shall be a public record.
C. Appeals; Hearings; Fees:
1. Right To Appeal: An appeal may be taken to the board by any person, firm, or corporation aggrieved, or by an officer, department, board, or bureau of the city affected by any decision of the building inspector. Such appeal shall be taken within a reasonable time as shall be prescribed by the board of adjustment by general rule, by filing with the building inspector and with the board a notice of appeal, specifying the grounds thereof. The building inspector shall forthwith transmit to the board all of the papers constituting the record upon which the action appealed from was taken.
2. Time And Place For Hearing: The board shall select a reasonable time and place for the hearing of the appeal and give notice thereof in the manner provided in Subsection 11-15-12 G. of this section. Following the conclusion of the hearing, a decision on the appeal shall be rendered without unreasonable delay. Any person may appear and testify at any hearing, either in person or by counsel.
3. Fees: A fee of fifty dollars ($50.00) shall be paid to the city for all variances and appeals for detached, single-family residences. A fee of one hundred dollars ($100.00) shall be paid to the city for all other applications to the board of adjustment. The fee shall be paid at the time the notice of appeal is filed and no part of such fee shall be returnable to any appellant.
D. Powers And Duties: The board shall have the following powers and it shall be its duty:
1. Hear And Decide Appeals From Administrative Decisions: The board shall hear appeals from administrative decisions made by administrative official(s) who interpret or enforce this title. Appeals shall be filed within thirty (30) days of such decisions on a form provided thereto. The board may grant appropriate relief to persons aggrieved.
a. An appeal shall stay all proceedings in the matter appealed from, unless the office from whom the appeal is taken certifies to the board that, by reason of the fact stated in the certificate, the stay would in the administrative official's opinion cause imminent peril to life or property. In such case, proceedings shall not be stayed, except by a restraining order granted by the board or by a court of record, on application and notice to the office from which the appeal is taken. The board shall fix a reasonable time for hearing the appeal and give notice thereof to the parties in interest and to the public.
b. The concurring vote of three (3) members of the board shall be necessary to reverse any order or decision of an administrative official, or to pass or to affect any variations from the terms and conditions of this ordinance.
2. Granting Exceptions: To hear and decide by granting or denying an exception to the provisions of this title including, but not limited to, the following instances:
a. A request for the extension of a district where the boundary line of a district divides a lot or tract held in single ownership at the time of the effective date hereof.
b. Interpret the provisions of this title in such a way as to carry out the intent and purpose of the zoning plan, as shown upon the maps fixing the several districts, accompanying and made a part of this title, where the street layout actually existing on the ground varies from the street layout as shown on the said map or maps.
c. Permit the erection and use of a building or structure or the use of premises for railroad or public utility purposes.
d. Permit the reconstruction of a nonconforming building which has been damaged by fire or other causes to the extent of more than sixty percent (60%) of its actual value, where the board finds that the public interest will best be served by permitting a continuance of the nonconforming use.
e. Waive or reduce the parking and loading requirements in any of the districts whenever the character or use of the building is such as to make unnecessary the full provision of parking or loading facilities, or whenever such regulations would impose an unreasonable hardship upon granting an advantage or a convenience.
3. Variances: The board shall have authority to grant a variance in the regulations of this chapter that will not be contrary to the public interest, where owing to special conditions a literal enforcement of the regulations will result in unnecessary hardship, and so that the spirit of this chapter shall be observed and substantial justice done. To establish unnecessary hardship, a property owner must show all of the following elements:
a. The land in question cannot yield a reasonable return from any use permitted by the regulations of the district in which the land is located. Failure to yield a reasonable return may only be shown by proof that the owner has been deprived of all beneficial or productive use of the land in question. It is not sufficient merely to show that the value of the land has been depreciated by the regulations or that a variance would permit the owner to maintain a more profitable use.
b. The plight of the owner is due to unique circumstances not of the owner's own making, which unique circumstances must relate specifically to the land in question and not to general conditions in the neighborhood.
c. The use to be authorized by the variance will not alter the essential character of the locality of the land in question. In granting any variance, the board may prescribe appropriate conditions and safeguards in conformity with this chapter. Violation of such conditions and safeguards, when made a part of the terms under which the variance is granted, shall be deemed a violation of this chapter subject to enforcement under Section 11-15-1 of this chapter. No appeal for a use variance shall be considered by the board unless a proposed amendment to rezone the subject property to a district classification permitting such use has been considered and denied by the city council within the preceding year, provided that this requirement shall not apply to appeals for area variances.
4. Special Uses: The board shall have authority to authorize the granting of a special use in accord with the conditions of this title.
5. External Additions, Expansions, And Improvements: The board shall have the authority to decide upon the correctness and appropriateness of all external additions, expansions, and improvements to areas developed under development plans mandated by this title which have been completed as certified by a final resolution of the city council. This authority shall obligate the board to review the intent of the original concept so that improvements, beyond routine good maintenance, do not detract from, either directly or incrementally over a period of time, the concept which makes the development desirable and practical.
6. Considerations: In its consideration of a specific case, the board must determine that the granting of a variance from the terms of this title will not be contrary to the public interest, where owing to special conditions, fully demonstrated on the basis of the facts presented, a literal enforcement of the provisions of this title will result in unnecessary hardship, and that the spirit of this title shall be observed and substantial justice done.
E. Board Determinations: In considering all appeals and any proposed exception or variance to this title, the board, before making any exception or variance in a specific case, shall first determine:
1. That the granting of exception will not permit any use in any district which would be in conflict with the permitted uses of such district under the terms of this title.
2. That it will not impair an adequate supply of light and air to adjacent property.
3. That it will not unreasonably increase the congestion in public streets.
4. That it will not increase the danger of fire or of the public safety.
5. That it will not unreasonably diminish or impair established property values within the surrounding area.
6. That it will not in any other respect impair the public health, comfort, safety, morals, or welfare of the inhabitants of the city.
F. Reversing Or Affirming An Order Or Decision:
1. The concurring vote of three (3) members of the board shall be necessary to reverse any order, requirement, decision, or determination of the building inspector or to decide in favor of the applicant any matter upon which the board is authorized by this title to render a decision.
2. In exercising its powers, the board may, in conformity with the provision of this title, reverse or affirm, wholly or in part, or may modify the order, requirement, or decision or determination appealed from and make such order, requirement, decision, or determination as ought to be made and to that end shall have all the powers of the officer from whom the appeal is taken. Nothing herein contained shall be construed to give or grant to the board the power or authority to alter or change this title or the district map, such power and authority being reserved to the city council in the manner hereinafter provided in Section 11-15-13 of this chapter.
G. Public Hearing; Notice: The board shall make no finding except in a specific case and after a public hearing conducted by the board. Notice of the time and place of such public hearing shall be published at least once not less than six (6) days before the date of the hearing, in a Scott County publication having a general circulation within the city. Such notice shall contain the address and location of the property for which the variance or other ruling by the board is sought as well as a brief description of the nature of the appeal.
H. Recourse Of Aggrieved Persons: Any person jointly or severally aggrieved by any decision of the board under the provision of this title or any taxpayers or any officer, department, board, or bureau of the city shall have recourse to such relief as is provided by the statutes of the state of Iowa, including review by certiorari.
I. Abandonment of Variances, Exceptions, And Special-Use Permits:
1. Uses of land, structures, and uses of structures which would otherwise be prohibited under this chapter but have been allowed by the granting of a special-use permit lapses as provided in this section.
2. If the event the construction of any such structure is not commenced within two (2) years of the issuance of the special-use permit for such structure, whichever is later, and diligently pursued to completion, such variance, exception, or special-use permit shall lapse, and any subsequent use of such land shall conform to the district regulations for the district in which such land is located. The zoning administrator or his/her designee is authorized to grant up to a one-year extension of this time limit, upon a show of good cause by the applicant. If any such structure is destroyed by any means to an extent of sixty percent (60%) or more of its replacement cost at the time of destruction, it shall not be reconstructed unless a variance for said structure is granted or any subsequent use of such land shall conform to the district regulations for the district in which such land is located. (Ord. 35-17, 10-17-2017)