(A) General authority.
(1) The Board of Appeals shall hear and decide appeals from any order, requirement, decision, or determination made by the Building Inspector. It shall also hear and decide all matters referred to it or upon which it is required to pass under this chapter.
(2) The Board may reverse or affirm wholly or partly or may modify or amend the order, requirement, decision, or determination appealed from to the extent and in the manner that the Board may decide to be fitting and proper in the premises, and to that end the Board shall also have all the powers of the office from whom the appeal is taken.
(3) The members of the Board of Appeals shall also be deemed members of the Planning Commission and shall hear and decide all matters referred to the Planning Commission in the village code.
(B) Variances. When a property owner shows that a strict application of the terms of this chapter relating to the use, construction, or alteration of buildings or structures or the use of land imposes upon him, her, or them practical difficulties or particular hardship, then the Board may make such variations of the strict application of the terms of this chapter as are in harmony with its general purpose and intent when the Board is satisfied under the evidence heard before it that a granting of such variation will not merely serve as a convenience to the applicant but is necessary to alleviate some demonstrable hardship or difficulty so great as to warrant a variation from the Comprehensive Plan by this chapter created and set forth in the following instances:
(1) To permit the extension of a district where the boundary line of a district divides a lot in single ownership as shown of record;
(2) To permit the reconstruction of a nonconforming building which has been destroyed or partially destroyed by fire or act of God where the Board shall find some compelling public necessity requiring a continuance of the nonconforming use, and in no case shall such a permit be issued if its primary function is to continue a monopoly;
(3) To permit the erection and use of a building or the use of premises in any location for a public service company for public utility purposes which the Board deems necessary for public convenience and public service corporation’s welfare. Electric distribution centers, and gas regulating centers of a public utility company may be located in any E Industrial District, but such facilities may be located in any other districts only after obtaining permission provided for in this section;
(4) To make a variance where, by reason of an exceptional situation, surroundings, or condition of a specific piece of property, or by reason of exceptional narrowness, shallowness, or shape of a specific piece of property of record, or by reason of exceptional topographical conditions the strict application of any provisions of this chapter would result in peculiar and exceptional practical difficulties or particular hardship upon the owner of such property and amount to a practical confiscation of property as distinguished from a mere inconvenience to such owner, providing such relief would be granted without substantial detriment to the public good and without substantially impairing the general purpose and intent of the Comprehensive Plan as established by the regulations and provisions contracted in this chapter;
(5) To interpret the provisions of this chapter where the street layout actually on ground varies from the street layout as shown on the map fixing the several districts which map is made a part of this chapter;
(6) In considering all appeals and all proposed variations to this chapter, the Board shall, before making any variations from this chapter in a specific case, first determine that the proposed variation will not impair an adequate supply of light and air to adjacent property, or unreasonably increase the congestion in public streets, or increase the danger of fire or endanger the public safety, or unreasonably diminish or impair established property values within the surrounding area, or in any other respect impair the public health, safety, comfort, morals, or welfare of the inhabitants of the municipality. The concurring vote of two members of the Board shall be necessary to reverse any order, requirement, decision or determination of the Building Inspector or to decide in favor of the applicant any matter upon which it is authorized by this chapter to render decision, or to effect any variance; and
(7) Nothing herein contained shall be construed to give or grant to the Board the power or authority to alter or change the zoning code, such power and authority being reserved to the Village Board.
(C) Appeals; hearings.
(1) An appeal may be taken to the Board of Appeals by any person or by any officer, department, board, or bureau of the municipality affected by a decision of the Building Inspector. Such appeal shall be taken within such time as shall be prescribed by the Board of Appeals by general rule, by filing with the Building Inspector and with the Board of Appeals a notice of appeal, specifying the grounds thereof. The Building Inspector shall forthwith transmit to the Board all of the papers constituting the record upon which the action appealed from was taken.
(2) An appeal shall stay all proceedings in furtherance of the action appealed from, unless the Building Inspector certifies to the Board of Appeals after the notice of appeal has been filed with him, her, or them that by reason of facts stated in the certificate, a stay would in his, her, or their opinion, cause imminent peril to life or property, in which case the proceedings shall not be stayed otherwise than by a restraining order, which may be granted by the Board of Appeals or by a court of record on application, on notice to the Building Inspector and on due cause shown.
(3) The Board shall select a reasonable time and place for the hearing of the appeal and give due notice thereof to the parties and shall render a decision on the appeal without unreasonable delay. Any person may appear and testify at the hearing, either in person or by duly authorized agent or attorney.
(D) Hearings; notice. The Board shall make no recommendation except in a specific case and after a public hearing conducted by the Board. A notice of the time and place of such public hearing shall be published in a paper of general circulation in the municipality at least once, not more than 30 or less than 15 days previous to the hearing. Such notice shall contain the particular address or location of the property for which the variation or other ruling by the Board is sought as well as a brief description of the nature of the appeal, and of what the proposed variance consists.
(Ord. 94-1, passed 1-17-1994; Ord. 2023-04, passed 6-20-2023)