(A) The Board of Adjustment shall not recommend the granting of any land use variance, and no land use variance shall be granted by the Town Council except upon the basis of a written statement of findings, warranted by the facts, circumstances, and evidence of record, that:
(1) The strict enforcement of this chapter is inappropriate and would cause undue hardship to the applicant; or
(2) The proposed use is in harmony with the general purposes and intent of this chapter.
(B) The use will not adversely affect nearby properties of their occupants by:
(1) Measurably and substantially reducing the value or marketability of such properties;
(2) Substantially increasing traffic, noise, glare, or odor on, or adjacent to, such properties;
(3) Substantially reducing or impairing the full enjoyment of such properties for the uses or purposes to which the same are presently put;
(4) Causing or increasing the likelihood of danger or peril from crime, fire, or other hazard to the public health, safety, or welfare; or
(5) Causing any other quantifiable or demonstrable impact of substantial magnitude.
(C) The proposed use will meet the overall density, coverage, yard, height, and other regulations of the district in which it is to be located, and the appropriate variance and/or conditional use permit will be obtained in regard to the same.
(D) Public hearings have been held by the Board of Adjustment and the Town Council, after the required legal notices have been given, and the public has been given an opportunity to be heard upon the matter.
(E) Furthermore, a variance may be granted only where, because of physical conditions peculiar to the property, such a strict and literal application imposes an undue hardship by making the use or development of the property, for permitted uses or in a required or restricted manner, extremely difficult or impossible. Disadvantage in property value or in income, or potential profit, or economic hardship, or financial disadvantage, rendering a property practically valueless, does not justify granting of a variance. No variance shall be granted where the hardship is self-created, self-inflicted, or results from the actions of the owner, or where the property was purchased with actual or constructive knowledge of restrictions and/or hardship imposed by the chapter. Such factors shall be described in the Town Council statement of findings, warranted by the facts, circumstances, and evidence of record.
(F) If the same appear appropriate, the Board of Adjustment may recommend, and the Town Council may impose such requirements as they deem necessary to protect the surrounding neighborhood from the effects of the granted variance. In such case, the applicant may be required to assure the town of compliance with any conditions set forth in said variance. This assurance may be, at the town’s discretion, in the form of a cashier’s check, a performance bond, acceptable letter of credit, or cash placed in an escrow account in the amount of the estimated value of all physical improvements, required or imposed as conditions for said variance, plus 10%. The value shall be determined by agreement between the Town Council and the applicant, or its representative if it is a corporation. Furthermore, the Town Council shall set forth the time or times by which the conditions are to be met. The applicant shall forfeit the security in the event the conditions are not met by the required deadlines. The applicant shall be advised 20 days before the expiration of the time in which the conditions are to be met.
(G) The recommendations of the Board of Adjustment, and the decision of the Town Council, shall, in each case, be subject to the provisions of MCA § 76-2-305.
(Prior Code, § 11-3-4)