(A) Adoption. This section is adopted pursuant to provisions of Public Act 278 of 1909, as amended and Public Act 230 of 1972, being M.C.L.A. §§ 125.1501 through 125.1531, as amended for the purpose of creating a Construction Board of Appeals for the Village of Birch Run.
(B) Establishment of Board. The Construction Board of Appeals shall consist of not less than three nor more than seven members. Members appointed to the Construction Board of Appeals shall serve two-year terms. Appointments to the Board shall be made by the Village President and approved by the Village Council. It is recommended that representation is given to each of the codes enforced by the village.
(C) Eligibility to serve on Board. A member of the Board of Appeals shall be qualified by experience or training to perform the duties as so prescribed in this section. Members must have background in construction and a working knowledge of the codes being enforced by the Village of Birch Run in order to process appeals and consider variances.
(D) Procedures.
(1) Failure to grant, in whole or in part, or deny an application for permit within a maximum of 15 days, is deemed a denial of the application for the purpose of authorizing the institution of an appeal.
(2) Applications for an appeal must be submitted to the Zoning Administrator for processing.
(3) Requests for appeals shall be heard and a decision made thereon at a public meeting within 30 days of the filing of same with the Zoning Administrator, unless other mutually agreed upon arrangements have been made.
(4) The business of the Construction Board of Appeals must be conducted at a public meeting which shall be held in compliance with Public Act 267 of 1976, being M.C.L.A. §§ 15.261 through 15.275 (Open Meetings Act).
(5) Notice of meetings shall be posted at least 18 hours prior to a meeting in a visible location accessible by the public.
(6) Minutes must be kept of all meetings of a public body and must contain the date, time and place of the meeting, members present and absent, any decision made and a reference to the substance and disposition of all call votes, including how each member voted.
(7) Drafts of proposed minutes are to be made available for public inspection not more than eight business days after the meeting to which the minutes refer. Approved minutes shall be available for public inspection not later than five business days after the meeting at which the minutes are approved by the public body.
(E) Notice to interested parties.
(1) Public Act 230 of 1972, being M.C.L.A. §§ 125.1501 through 125.1531, as amended, requires the Construction Board of Appeals to hear, render and file its decision with a statement of reasons for the decision with the Village of Birch Run, not more than 30 days after the submission of the appeal.
(2) Interested parties in an appeal or variance proceeding must be properly notified and given reasonable notice of the hearing. The notice shall include:
(a) A statement of the date, hour and place of nature of the hearing;
(b) A statement of the legal authority and jurisdiction under which the hearing is to be held;
(c) A reference to the particular sections of the statutes, rules or codes involved; and
(d) A brief statement of matters asserted.
(3) Notice to interested parties shall be sent by certified mail.
(F) Hearings.
(1) Hearings shall be conducted in an impartial manner.
(2) If a party fails to appear after proper service of notification, the Construction Board of Appeals may proceed with the hearing and make its decision in the absence of the party, or may postpone the hearing, keeping in mind the decision must be rendered within 30 days from the date of the request.
(3) If a quorum of the Board of Appeals is not present, the appellant should be given the right to request a postponement of the hearing.
(4) Interested parties served with a notice of the hearing may file written answers before the date set for the hearing.
(5) Parties shall be given the opportunity to present oral and written arguments on issues of law and police and an opportunity to present evidence and argument on issues of fact.
(6) A party may cross-examine a witness, including the author of a document prepared by, on behalf of or for use of the Village of Birch Run and offered in evidence.
(7) A party may submit rebuttal evidence.
(8) An officer of the Construction Board of Appeals may administer an oath or affirmation to a witness in a matter before the Board.
(9) The Chairperson, or person so designated, should act as the presiding officer and may do all of the following:
(a) Administer oaths and affirmations;
(b) Regulate the course of the hearing; and
(c) Direct parties to confer to consider simplification of the issues by consent of the parties.
(G) Variance from code.
(1) Section 15 of Public Act 230 provides that the Board of Appeals may grant a specific variance to a substantive requirement of the code if the literal application of the substantive requirement would result in an exceptional, practical difficulty to the applicant, and if both the following requirements are satisfied:
(a) The performance of the particular item or part of the building or structure with respect to which the variance is granted shall be adequate for its intended use and shall not substantially deviate from performance required by the code of that particular item or part for the health, safety and welfare of the people of the state; and
(b) The specific condition justifying the variance shall be neither so general nor recurrent in nature as to make an amendment of the code with respect to the condition reasonably practical or desirable.
(2) A Board of Appeals may attach, in writing, any condition in connection with the granting of a variance that, in its judgment, is necessary to protect the health, safety and welfare of the people of the state. In no case shall more than the minimum variance from the code be granted than is necessary to alleviate the exceptional, practical difficulty.
(H) Decisions.
(1) The decision of the Construction Board of Appeals shall be made in writing with a statement of reasons for the decision. The decision should include findings of fact and conclusions of law, which are based on the evidence and on matters officially noticed and be accompanied by a concise and explicit statement of the underlying facts supporting them. Conclusion of law shall be supported by authority or reasoned opinion.
(2) A decision or order shall be delivered by certified mail to all parties concerned.
(3) All records of and material used shall be maintained and made available to the public.
(I) Breach of condition(s). The breach of a condition shall automatically invalidate the variance and any permit, license and certificate granted on the basis of it.
(J) Cost of a filing an appeal. Cost of filing an appeal shall reflect those costs actually incurred by the Village of Birch Run in processing and hearing the appeal.
(1992 Code §§ 113.001–113.008, 113.010) (Ord. 6-96, passed 8-19-1996)