The Board of Zoning and Building Appeals shall have the power to vary the application of any provisions of this Zoning Code in terms of the following standards so that public health, safety, morals and general welfare may be safeguarded and substantial justice done:
(a) Where the literal application of the provisions of the Zoning Code would result in unnecessary hardships. Hardships which are unavoidable if the purpose and intent of the Zoning Code are to be realized, such as a theoretical loss or limiting possibilities of economic advantage, are general hardships, not unnecessary hardships. Likewise, an unnecessary hardship cannot be based on conditions created by the owner. It shall be found that there are peculiar and special hardships applicable to the property involved which are separate and distinct from any general hardship prevailing in the use district; or
(b) Where unusual or exceptional circumstances or conditions (practical difficulty) inhere in and apply only to the property involved or sought to be built upon or used, and do not apply to other property within the same use district. The mere fact that the owner of one parcel might apply prior to the owners of other parcels in the same area would not give the owner a right to a variance and thus grant a special privilege to an individual, when such variance would be necessarily denied to others. It must be found, on the other hand, that there are unusual or exceptional circumstances or conditions (practical difficulty) justifying a variance on one lot, such as topographical or geological conditions, and that a variance would be justified on any lot where the same circumstances prevail; and
(c) Where granting of a variance will not be injurious to the property or improvements in the neighborhood in which the property is located or be detrimental to the public welfare. The mere existence of an unnecessary hardship or of an unusual or exceptional circumstance or condition (practical difficulty) is not ipso facto a basis for granting a variance. The existence of such hardships or of unusual or exceptional circumstances or conditions (practical difficulty) shall be balanced against the present conditions and extent to which such a variance would interfere with the proper development and rights of nearby property; and
(d) The granting of a variance will not be contrary to the purpose, intent and objectives of the Zoning Code and the Plan of the City. A variance merely permits that which is contemplated in the Zoning Code, and particularly in this chapter, for unnecessary hardships and for unusual or exceptional circumstances or conditions (practical difficulty). On the other hand, that which was not contemplated in the Zoning Code, and particularly this chapter, although deemed desirable, shall be effected by ordinance amendments or Zone Map changes.
(Ord. 94-88. Passed 12-5-94.)