(A) Membership. The Board of Adjustment shall consist of five members (also concurrent members of the Planning Board) and two alternates. Four members and the alternates shall be residents of the town and shall be appointed by the Town Board of Commissioners; provided, however, one of the alternates may reside in the extraterritorial jurisdiction (ETJ). One member shall be appointed by the County Board of Commissioners and shall be a resident of the ETJ. The county representation must be proportional based on the population for residents of the ETJ area. The population estimates for this calculation must be updated following each decennial census. The initial terms for members appointed by the Town Board of Commissioners shall be three years for two members and the two alternates, and two years for the remaining two members. The term of the member appointed by the County Commissioners shall also be three years. All terms shall be three years thereafter. All members of the Board of Adjustment, and alternates (when sitting in the absence of a member), shall have equal voting rights in all matters being considered by the Board of Adjustment. Members of the Board of Adjustment and alternates serving at the time of adoption of this Unified Development Ordinance shall continue in office until such time as the terms of their office expire or action is taken to remove as described in division (A)(2) below. Vacancies occurring for reasons other than expiration of terms shall be filled by the Board of Commissioners (in the case of the ETJ member, by the County Board of Commissioners), as such may occur and for the period of the unexpired term. All appointed members shall, before entering their duties, qualify by taking an oath of office.
(1) Conditions. All members wishing to sit on the Board of Adjustment shall attend a scheduled seminar on the statutory powers and duties of the Zoning Board of Adjustment.
(2) Removal. Members may be removed from office by the Board of Commissioners for just cause, including neglect of duty. A written statement of the reasons for removal shall be filed with the Town Clerk at the time of removal.
(3) Officers. The Board of Adjustment shall elect a Chairperson and a Vice Chairperson from its membership and such other officers as the Board of Adjustment deems best.
(4) Meetings. Meetings of the Board of Adjustment shall be held at the call of the Chairperson and at such other times as the majority of the Board of Adjustment may determine. All meetings of the Board of Adjustment shall be open to the public. The Board of Adjustment shall keep minutes of its procedures, showing the vote of each member upon each question, or, if absent or failing to vote, an indication of such fact; and final disposition of appeals shall be taken, all of which shall be of public record.
(B) Powers and duties. The Board of Adjustment shall have the following powers and duties:
(1) To hear and decide requests for variances and appeals of decisions of administrative officials charged with enforcement of this Unified Development Ordinance. As used in this section, the term DECISION includes any final and binding order, requirement or determination. The Board of Adjustment shall follow quasi-judicial procedures when deciding appeals and requests for variances. The Board shall hear and decide all matters upon which it is required to pass under any statute or ordinance that regulates land use or development. If any Board other than the Board of Adjustment is assigned decision-making authority for any quasi-judicial matter, that Board shall comply with all of the procedures and the process applicable to a Board of Adjustment in making quasi-judicial decisions;
(2) To make interpretations of the Official Zoning Map and to pass upon disputed questions of lot lines or district boundary lines and similar questions as arise in the administration of the Unified Development Ordinance; and
(3) Any other matter the Board is required to act upon by any other city ordinance.
(C) Rules of procedure. The Board of Adjustment shall adopt rules of procedure for the conduct of its affairs and in keeping with the provisions of this Unified Development Ordinance. Such rules of procedure shall not be effective until approved by the Board of Commissioners. All meetings held by the Board of Adjustment shall be held in accordance with G.S. Chapter 143A, Article 33 B, or as may be amended. The Board shall keep minutes of its proceedings suitable for review in court showing:
(1) The factual evidence presented to the Board of Adjustment by all parties concerned;
(2) The findings of fact and the reasons for the determinations by the Board of Adjustment; and
(3) The vote of each member, or if absent or failing to vote, indicating such fact, all of which shall be public record and be filed with the office of the Town Clerk.
(D) Quorum and voting. The concurring vote of four-fifths of the members of the Board of Adjustment shall be necessary to grant a variance. A majority of the members shall be required to decide any other quasi-judicial matter or to determine an appeal made in the nature of certiorari. For the purposes of this section, vacant positions on the Board of Adjustment and members who are disqualified from voting on a quasi-judicial matter shall not be considered members of the Board of Adjustment for calculation of the requisite majority if there are no qualified alternates available to take the place of such members.
(Ord. eff. 9-6-2012, § 3.4; Am. Ord. 21-1, passed 9-17-2020)