The Zoning Board of Appeals shall have the following powers and duties.
(A) General duties. It shall be its duty:
(1) To hear and decide all matters specifically referred to it in the zoning regulations of the village;
(2) To determine and vary the application in harmony with the general purpose and intent of the zoning regulations’ where there are practical difficulties or particular hardship in the way of carrying out the strict letter of any of the regulations relating to the use, construction or alteration of buildings or structures or the use of land; and
(3) Nothing herein contained shall be construed to give or grant to the Board the power or authority to alter or change the zoning regulations’ or the Zoning Map, the power and authority being reserved to the Village Mayor and the Board of Trustees in the manner provided by law.
(B) Appeals.
(1) To hear and decide appeals from and review any order, requirement, decision or determination made by the Building Commissioner in the enforcement of the zoning regulations;
(2) On appeal or upon its own motion, interpret any provision of the zoning regulations where there is doubt as to its meaning or application; and
(3) In exercising the above powers, the Board may reverse or affirm, wholly or partly, or may modify the order, requirement, decision or determination appealed from and may make an order, requirement, decision or determination as ought to be made, and to that end, shall have all the powers of the Building Commissioner from whom the appeal is taken.
(C) Variations.
(1) (a) In its consideration of the standards of practical difficulties or particular hardship, the Zoning Board of Appeals shall require evidence that:
1. The property in question cannot yield a reasonable return, or undue hardship would be caused, if permitted to be used only under the conditions allowed by the regulations in that zone;
2. The plight of the owner is due to unique circumstances; and/or
3. The variation, if granted, will not alter the essential character of the locality.
(b) A variation shall be permitted only if the evidence, in the judgment of the Zoning Board of Appeals, sustains each of the three conditions enumerated above.
(2) The Board shall prescribe, in connection with any variation, conditions as the Board may deem necessary in order to duly carry out the provisions and intent of the zoning regulations.
(3) The concurring vote of four members of the Board is necessary to reverse any order, requirement, decision or determination of an administrative official or to decide in favor of the applicant any matter upon which it is required to pass under the zoning regulations or to effect any variation therein or modification thereto to the appropriate authorities.
(4) Upon the report of the Zoning Board of Appeals, the Village Board may, without further public hearing, adopt by ordinance any proposed variation or may refer it back to the Board of Appeals for further consideration, and any proposed variation which fails to receive the approval of the Zoning Board of Appeals shall not be passed, except by the favorable vote of two-thirds of the Village Board.
(5) The variations as are granted by the Village Board shall be void if the use is not commenced or if a building permit has not been obtained within 60 days of the granting or within the time stipulated by the Village Board.
(6) Every variation made by ordinance, after a hearing by the Board of Appeals, shall be accompanied by findings of facts specifying the reason or reasons for making the variation.
(D) Amendments. It shall be its duty, on appeal or on its own motion, to determine the location of any district boundary line shown upon the Zoning Map of the village adopted as a part of the zoning regulations, when the location is in doubt.
(Prior Code, § 2-2-4)