(a) Membership; Appointment. A Board of Zoning Appeals is established with membership and appointment provided in accordance with the authority conferred by West Virginia Code 8-24-51.
All appointments made to this Board by the City Council of the City of Clarksburg shall be for terms to begin on July 1 of the year of the appointment. The first appointment made to the Board after enactment of the paragraph shall be for a term to begin on June 11 and thereafter the terms shall run on an annual basis beginning on July 1. Additionally, any member of this Board appointed by City Council who has not been present for at least seventy percent (70%) of all regular and special meetings of the Board in any calendar year, excluding absences deemed by the chairperson to be excusable, shall be removed from office upon the affirmative action of the chairperson of the Board and after approval of such removal by Council and a replacement shall be chosen by City Council to serve the remainder of the existing term.
(1969 Code 27-58; 27-68; Ord. 01-12. Passed 10-4-01.)
(b) Election; Chairman and Vice-Chairman. At the first meeting of each year, the Board shall elect a chairman and vice-chairman from its members. The vice-chairman shall have authority to act as chairman during the absence or disability of the chairman.
(c) Quorum. A majority of members of a Board shall constitute a quorum. No action of the Board is official, however, unless authorized by a majority of the Board.
(d) Appointment of Employees. The Board may appoint and fix the compensation of a secretary and such employees as are necessary for the discharge of its duties all in conformity to and compliance with salaries and compensation therefor fixed by the City.
(e) Adoption of Rules. The Board shall adopt such rules concerning the filing of appeals and applications for variances and exceptions, giving of notice and conduct of hearings as shall be necessary to carry out their duties under the provisions of this Zoning ordinance.
(f) Minutes and Records. The Board shall keep minutes of its proceedings, keep records of its examinations and other official actions and shall record the vote on all actions taken. All minutes and records shall be filed in the office of the Board and shall be a public record.
(g) Powers and Duties. The Board shall have the following powers and it shall be its duty to:
(1) Hear and determine appeals from and review any order, requirement, decision or determination made by an administrative official or board charged with the enforcement of this Ordinance.
(2) Permit and authorize exceptions to the district regulations only in the classes of cases or in particular situations as specified in this Ordinance.
(3) Hear and decide special exceptions to the terms of this Ordinance upon which the Board is required to act under this Ordinance.
(4) Authorize upon appeal in specific cases such variance from the terms of this Ordinance as will not be contrary to the public interest, where, owing to special conditions, a literal enforcement of the provisions of the Ordinance will result in unnecessary hardship, and so that the spirit of this Ordinance shall be observed and substantial justice done.
(h) Appeals.
(1) An appeal taken from the requirement, decision or the determination made by an administrative official or board charged with the enforcement of this Ordinance shall be filed with the Board. The appeal shall specify the grounds thereof and shall be filed within such time and in such form as may be prescribed by the Board by general rule. The administrative official or board from whom the appeal is taken shall, upon request of the Board, transmit to it all documents, plans and papers constituting the record of the action from which an appeal was taken.
(2) The Board shall fix a reasonable time for the hearing of an appeal. Public notice shall be given of the hearing and due notice shall be given additionally to the interested parties. The Board may require the party making the appeal to assume the cost of public notice and due notice to interested parties. Upon the hearing, any party may appear in person, by agent or by attorney.
(3) When an appeal from the decision of any official or board has been taken and filed with the Board, all proceedings and work on the premises concerning which the decision was made shall be stayed unless the official or board from whom the appeal was taken shall certify to the Board that, by reason of facts stated in the certificate, a stay would cause imminent peril to life or property. In such case, proceedings or work shall not be stayed except by a restraining order which may be granted by the Circuit Court of Harrison County, on application, on notice to the officer or board from whom the appeal is taken and the owner of the premises affected and on due cause shown.
(4) In exercising its powers, the Board may reverse or affirm, wholly or partly, or may modify the order, requirement, decision or determination appealed from as in its opinion ought to be done in the premises, and to that end shall have all the powers of the officer or board from whom the appeal is taken. (1969 Code 27-58; 27-68)