(A) In order to decide questions involving the interpretation of this ordinance, and to hear and decide certain appeals of decisions or determinations made by the city’s authorized representative, and to grant variances from the strict application of this ordinance in certain limited situations, a Board of Appeals is hereby created.
(1) The Board of Appeals thus created shall consist of the same members who serve on the city’s Building Code Board of Appeals.
(2) The term of the membership in the Board shall also be as set forth for the Building Code Board of Appeals; however, members of this Board of Appeals may be removed by the City Council for nonperformance of duty or misconduct in office upon written charges provided to that member and after a public hearing.
(B) Subject to the following specific provisions, the Board of Appeals shall adopt rules of procedure for conducting its business and shall render all decisions and findings in writing to the appellant with a duplicate copy to the City Council.
(1) A concurring vote of a majority of the members of the Board of Appeals shall be necessary to reverse any decision or determination made by the city’s authorized representative, or to grant any variation in this ordinance.
(2) The City Council shall, by resolution, establish and amend a fee schedule pertaining to such appeals, which fee schedule shall be designed to cause the applicant to pay for all expenses, including professional fees, incurred in the appeals.
(3) When an application or appeal has been filed, the City Clerk shall place the application or appeal on the calendar for hearing at the next meeting of the Board and cause notices stating the time, place, and object of the hearing to be served. These notices shall be served personally or by first class mail within a reasonable time prior to the hearing upon the applicant or appellant, the city’s authorized representative, and the owners of property of record within 300 feet of the premises in question; which notices, if by mail, shall be addressed to the respective property owners of record at the address given in the last assessment roll. In the event any property immediately adjacent to the premises shall be part of a different governmental subdivision, the owner of any such property shall, nevertheless, receive notice and shall be entitled to be heard.
(4) Upon the day for hearing any application or appeal, the Board may adjourn the hearing in order to permit the obtaining of additional information or to cause further notice, as it deems proper, to be served upon those other property owners as it decides may be interested in the application or appeal. In the case of an adjourned hearing, persons previously notified and persons already heard need not be notified of the time of resumption of the hearing.
(5) Upon hearing, any party may be heard in person or by agent or attorney.
(6) Any person having an interest affected by any such decision shall have the right to appeal to the Circuit Court on questions of law and fact.
(C) In authorizing a variance or exception, the Board may, in addition to the conditions of approval called for in this ordinance, attach thereto other conditions regarding the location, character, landscaping, or treatment reasonably necessary to the furtherance of the intent and spirit of this ordinance and the protection of the public interest, including the right to authorize the variance or exception for a limited period of time.
(D) No variance in the provisions or requirements of this ordinance or in any requirement or decision of the Burton City Council shall be effected by the Board of Appeals unless it finds from reasonable evidence that such variance will not be of substantial detriment of adjacent property and will not materially impair the intent and purpose of this ordinance or the public health, safety and welfare and, further, that at least two of the following facts and conditions exist:
(1) That there are exceptional or extraordinary circumstances or conditions applying to the specific property that do not apply generally to other properties in the same zone;
(2) That such variance is necessary for the preservation and enjoyment of a substantial property right similar to that possessed by other properties in the zone, provided that increased financial return shall not be deemed sufficient to warrant a variance; or
(3) That the condition or situation of the specific property or the intended use is not of so general or recurrent a nature as to make reasonably practical a general regulation as part of this zoning ordinance.