(A) Application. Application for a variance to property development standards shall be filed with the office of the Community Development Director upon a form prepared by the Community Development Department pursuant to § 150.023 of this code. The completed application form shall be accompanied by:
(1) Plans. Plans and description sufficient to indicate the nature of the project involved and the proposed use with site plan and elevations of all proposed buildings, together with an estimate of cost.
(2) Period of approval. Evidence satisfactory to the Board of Adjustment of the ability and intention of the applicant to proceed with actual construction work in accordance with the plans within six months after issuance of the variance.
(B) Fee. A filing fee pursuant to the town fee schedule shall accompany each application. If the Board of Adjustment finds that it has no jurisdiction to hear the matter, the filing fee shall not be refunded to the applicant. From the time of filing the application until the time of the hearing, the application and all maps, plans and other accompanying data shall be available for public inspection during office hours at the office of the Town Clerk.
(C) Hearing and notice. Upon receipt in proper form of any application, the Board of Adjustment shall proceed to hold a public hearing upon the application within 45 calender days after the filing at which time all persons shall be given an opportunity to be heard. The Board of Adjustment shall cause one notice of the hearing to be published in a newspaper of general circulation in the area of the municipality and shall cause to be posted three notices of hearing, one of which shall be on the subject property and the other two within 300 feet thereof, giving at least 15-days’ notice of the hearing, and the time and place where the hearing will be held. The notice, both as published and posted, shall also show the nature of the variance or exception requested and state that anyone wanting to be heard may appear in person or by writing.
(D) Findings. A variance from the provisions of this Development Code shall not be authorized unless the Board shall find upon sufficient evidence:
(1) There are special circumstances or conditions applying to the land, building or use referred to in the application which do not apply to other properties in the district;
(2) The special circumstances were not created by the owner or applicant;
(3) The condition or situation of the specific piece of property for which the variance is sought is not of so typical or recurrent a nature as to make reasonably practicable the formulation of a general regulation for the conditions or situations (if, in the Board’s opinion, the formulation of a general regulation is more appropriate than a variance, the Board shall table its consideration of the application and communicate to the Council its recommendation for a general regulation; should the Council not act upon the recommendation within 30 calender days, the Board shall reconsider the application);
(4) The authorizing of the variance is necessary for the preservation and enjoyment of substantial property rights; and
(5) The authorizing of the variance application will not be materially detrimental to persons residing or working in the vicinity, to adjacent property, the neighborhood or the public welfare in general.
(E) Action. The Board shall prescribe in connection with any variance the conditions, as the Board may deem necessary in order to fully carry out the provisions and intent of this Development Code. The conditions may include, among other things, a limitation of the time for which the variance shall be valid. Violation of any condition shall be a violation of this Development Code, and the violation shall render the variance null and void.
(F) Review. Any person aggrieved by a decision of the Board may, within 30 days after the decision of the Board, and not thereafter, petition the Superior Court to review the Board’s decision pursuant to A.R.S. § 9-462.06, as amended, and the Superior Court Rules for Special Actions.
(Prior Code, Ch. 4, Art. I, § 4-9) (Ord. 432-06, passed 6-19-2006; Ord. 689-20, passed 4-6-2020)