(A) A Board of Appeals is hereby created. Such Board shall consist of five members to be appointed by the Mayor. At least one of these members shall be a member of the Planning Commission of the village. One shall be appointed for one year; one for two years; one for three years; one for four years; and one for five years, and their successors for five years. The terms of the member of the Planning Commission shall expire at the same time as his term on such Commission. A member appointed to fill a vacancy shall serve for the unexpired term.
(B) The Board shall adopt from time to time such rules and regulations as it may deem necessary to carry into effect the provisions of this chapter.
(C) Meetings of the Board shall be held at the call of the chairman and at such other times as the Board may determine. Such chairman, or, in his absence, the acting chairman, may administer oaths and compile the attendance of witnesses. All meetings of the Board shall be open to the public. The Board shall keep minutes of its proceedings, showing the vote of each member upon each question, or, if absent or failing to vote, indicating such fact, and shall keep records of its examinations and other official actions, all of which shall be immediately filed in the office of the Board and shall be a public record.
(D) Appeals:
(1) Appeals to the Board may be taken by any persons aggrieved or by any officers, department, or bureau of the village affected by any decisions of the Building Commissioner. Such appeal shall be taken in the manner prescribed by the Board by General Rule, by filing with the Building Commissioner and with the Board not later than ten days after the date of the Building Commissioner's decision, which is appealed from, a notice of appeal specifying the grounds thereof. The Building Commissioner shall forthwith transmit to the Board all the papers constituting the record upon which the action appealed from is taken. A basic data package shall accompany each appeal.
(2) An appeal stays all proceedings in furtherance of the action appealed from, unless the Building Commissioner certified to the Board after the notice of appeal shall have been filed with him that, by reason of facts stated in the certificate, a stay would, in his opinion, cause imminent peril to life or property. In such case, proceedings shall not be stayed otherwise than by an order which may be granted by the Board, or by a court of record on application or notice to the Building Commissioner on good cause shown.
(3) The Board shall fix a reasonable time for the hearing of the appeal, give not less than 15 days' public notice thereof in a newspaper of general circulation, as well as due notice to the parties in the interest, and decide the same within a reasonable time. Upon the hearing, any party may appear in person or by agent or by attorney.
(E) The Board of Appeals shall have the following powers and it shall be its duty:
(1) To hear and decide appeals where it is alleged there is error in any order, requirement, decision or determination made by the Building Commissioner in the enforcement of this chapter.
(2) To permit the extension of a district where the boundary line of a district divides a lot held in a single ownership at the time of the passage of this chapter.
(3) To permit the following exceptions to the district regulations set forth in this chapter by issuance of a permit containing conditions governing design, construction, or operation of the exception so as to adequately safeguard the health, safety, and welfare of the occupants of adjoining and surrounding property.
(a) The erection or use of a building or the use of a premises for public utility purposes only, which the Board finds to be reasonably necessary for the public convenience or welfare.
(b) Temporary use of land in a commercial district by circuses, sales for charitable purposes, fairs, or carnivals upon compliance with police regulations of the village.
(4) Determine the front, side, and rear yards on corner lots formed by one or more curved streets; provided, however, that the sum of rear and side yards not be less than the sum of the required rear and side yards and no yard reduced to less than one- third of the required yard.
(5) To grant a variation in the regulations when a property owner can show that his property was acquired in good faith and where by reason of exceptional narrowness, shallowness of shape of a specific piece of property at the time of the effective date of this chapter, or where by reason of exceptional topographical conditions or other extraordinary or exceptional situation that the strict application of the terms of this chapter actually prohibit the use of his property in a manner similar to that which other property in the district is used and where the Board is satisfied, under the evidence heard before it, the granting of such variation will alleviate a clearly demonstrable hardship approaching confiscation, as distinguished from a special privilege or convenience sought by the owner; provided, however, that all variations granted under this clause shall be in harmony with the intended spirit and purpose of this chapter and shall not constitute a direct and obvious amendment of any district regulations or district boundaries.
(a) In exercising the above powers, the Board may reverse or affirm wholly or partly, or may modify the order, requirements, decision, or determination appealed from and may make such order, requirement, decision, or determination as ought to be made, and to that end shall have all powers of the Building Commissioner from whom the appeal is taken.
(b) Every variation granted or denied by the Board shall be accompanied by a written finding of fact, based on testimony and evidence and specifying the reason for granting or denying the variation.