(A)
A Zoning Board of Appeals is hereby established having the powers, duties, and membership which are set forth in Act 110 of Michigan Public Acts of 2006, as amended, and in accordance with the City Charter.
(B) The Zoning Board of Appeals shall consist of seven members appointed by the City Commission who are electors residing in the city, one of whom shall be a member of the Planning Commission, and one of whom shall be a member of the City Commission, plus two alternate members.
(C) Members shall be appointed for terms of three years, except that the terms for the Planning Commission or City Commission members shall be the same as that for their office. Members can be reappointed. Terms shall be staggered so that at least two members are up for appointment every year. Of the initial members, some shall be appointed for a one-year term, some for a two-year term, and some for a three-year term so that the terms of approximately one-third of the members will expire each year. All vacancies for unexpired terms shall be filled for the remainder of the term.
(D) The City Commission shall appoint two alternate members to serve on the Zoning Board of Appeals, who shall also serve for three- year terms. The alternate members shall have the same voting rights as a regular member and shall sit as regular members of the Zoning Board of Appeals in the absence of a regular member, or for the purpose of reaching a decision on a case in which the regular member has abstained for reasons of conflict of interest. Once an alternate has been called to serve in a particular case, the alternate shall continue to participate in that case until a decision has been rendered.
(E) Members of the Zoning Board of Appeals or alternates shall be removable by the City Commission for malfeasance, misfeasance, or nonfeasance in office upon filing of written charges and following a public hearing.
(F) A member shall disqualify themselves from a vote in which the member has a conflict of interest. Failure of a member to disqualify themselves from a vote in which the member has a conflict of interest constitutes malfeasance in office. Any Planning Commission or City Commission member on the Zoning Board of Appeals shall abstain from any vote on an issue which they had previously voted upon as a member of the Planning Commission or the City Commission.
(Ord. effective 11-29-2013; Ord. effective 1-1-2022)