1. Board Created. A Board of Adjustment is hereby established which shall consist of five members to be appointed by the Mayor. No more than two members shall be involved in the business of purchasing or selling of real estate. Members of the Board shall be appointed for staggered terms of five years each.
2. Meetings. The meetings of the Board shall be held at the call of the Chairperson, and at such other times as the Board may determine. Such Chairperson or, in the absence of the Chairperson, the acting Chairperson may administer oaths and compel the attendance of witnesses. The Board shall keep minutes of its proceedings, showing the vote of each member on each question, or if absent or failing to vote, indicating such fact, and shall keep records of its examinations and other official actions, all of which shall be immediately filed in the office of the Board and shall be a public record. The presence of three (3) members shall be necessary to constitute a quorum.
3. Appeals. Appeals to the Board may be taken by any person aggrieved or by any officer, department, board or bureau of the City affected by any decision of the Building Official. Such appeal shall be made within ten (10) days by filing with the Building Official and with the Board a notice of appeal specifying the grounds thereof. The Building Official shall forthwith transmit to the Board all papers constituting the record upon which the action appealed from is taken. An appeal stays all proceedings in furtherance of the action appealed from unless the Building Official certifies to the Board, after notice of appeal shall have been filed with said official, that by reason of the facts stated in the certificate a stay would, in the opinion of the Building Official, cause imminent peril to life or property. In such cases, proceedings shall not be stayed otherwise than by a restraining order which may be granted by the Board or by a court of record on application on notice to the Building Official, and on due cause shown. The Board shall fix a reasonable time for the hearing on the appeal, give public notice thereof as well as due notice to the parties in interest, and decide the same within a reasonable time. At the hearing any party may appear in person or by agent, or by attorney. Before an appeal is filed with the Board of Adjustment, the appellant shall pay a fee as listed in the Schedule of Fees to be credited to the General Fund of the City.
4. Powers and Duties. The Board shall have the following powers and duties:
A. To hear and decide appeals where it is alleged there is an error in any order, requirements, decision, or determination made by the Building Official in the enforcement of this chapter.
B. To grant a variance in the regulations when a property owner can show that his or her property was acquired in good faith and where by reason of exceptional narrowness, shallowness, or shape of a specific piece of property, or where by reason of exceptional topographical conditions or other extraordinary or exceptional situations the strict application of the terms of this chapter actually prohibits the use of such property in a manner reasonably similar to that of other property in the District, or where the Board is satisfied under the evidence before it, that the granting of such variances under this clause shall be in harmony with the purposes of this chapter.
C. To permit the following exceptions to the district standards set forth in this chapter, provided all exceptions shall by their design, construction and operation adequately safeguard the health, safety and welfare of the occupants of adjoining and surrounding property, shall not impair an adequate supply of light and air to adjacent property, shall not increase congestion in the public streets, shall not increase public danger of fire and safety, and shall not diminish or impair established property values in surrounding areas.
D. To permit the extension of a district where the boundary line of a district divides a lot in a single ownership as shown on record or by existing contract or purchase at the time of the passage of the ordinance codified in this chapter, but in no case shall such extension of the district boundary line exceed 50 feet in any direction.
In exercising the above-mentioned powers, the Board may, in conformity with the provisions of law, reverse or affirm wholly or partly, or modify the order, requirement, decision or determination. The concurring vote of four of the members of the Board shall be necessary to reverse any order, requirement, decision or determination of the Building Official or to decide in favor of the applicant on any matter upon which it is required to pass under this chapter, provided however, that the action of the Board shall not become effective until after the resolution of the Board is filed in the office of the City Clerk and shall be open to public inspection.
5. Decisions. Every variance and exception granted or denied by the Board shall be supported by a written record of the procedures in connection therewith. Any taxpayer, or any officer, department, board or bureau of the City or any person aggrieved by any decision of the Board may present to a court of record a petition, duly verified, setting forth that such decision is illegal, in whole or in part, specifying the grounds of the illegality. Such petition shall be presented to the court within 30 days after the filing of the decision in the office of the Board. The Council may provide for its review of variances granted by the Board of Adjustment before their effective date. The Council may remand a decision to grant a variance to the Board of Adjustment for further study. The effective date of the variance is, in such case, delayed for 30 days from the date of the remand.