The following rules shall govern the practice in zoning cases before the Board of Trustees and Board of Appeals whenever a variation in the application of the regulations contained in this title or amendments thereto is proposed.
(A) Only the owner of record of a lot or the holder of a contract to purchase a lot may apply for a variation respecting such lot. If the applicant is a holder of a valid contract, a copy of the contract shall be included with the variance application.
(B) The applicant for a variation shall file in triplicate with the village officer or employee designated to handle the administration of zoning cases, Zoning Administrator, a petition describing the variation sought to be made. The petition shall be on a form prescribed by the Zoning Administrator and shall include a map drawn to scale showing ail setbacks, locations, and dimensions of buildings on the lot, including but not limited to the variation in question.
(C) The Zoning Administrator shall refer one copy of the application for variation to the Board of Trustees and one copy to the Zoning Board of Appeals.
(D) The Zoning Board of Appeals shall conduct a public hearing regarding the application for a variation. The Zoning Board of Appeals shall hear evidence; it shall electronically record the proceedings, although any applicant may provide and pay for a certified shorthand reporter and a transcript thereof: all evidence shall be under oath; and the Zoning Board of Appeals shall make its recommendation to the Village Board regarding the application. The recommendation shall be in writing and it shall include specific factual findings supporting specific factual conclusions that:
(1) The property in question cannot yield a reasonable return of permitted to be used only under the conditions allowed by this title;
(2) The plight of the owner is due to unique circumstances; and
(3) The variation, if granted, will not alter the essential character of the locality. At any such hearing, the zoning applicant and any citizen of the village may appear and be heard; however, the Zoning Board of Appeals may, if there are numerous opponents, limit the presentation of cumulative testimony by multiple opponents.
(E) The Zoning Board of Appeals shall, within 21 days after the public hearing, transmit to the Village Board a copy of the application, the transcript and the Zoning Board of Appeals’ findings and conclusions, together with the Zoning Board’s recommendation, to the Village Board. The Village Board shall act upon the application at its next regularly-scheduled meeting which is at least five days after the Zoning Board of Appeals transmits its findings and recommendations to the Village Board. The Village Board is not bound in any way by the findings and recommendations of the Zoning Board and is free to examine the minutes, the tape recording, or the transcript of the hearing, if any, and the application and all exhibits thereto, for itself in determining whether or not to grant the variation. Variations shall be granted by the Village Board only by ordinance.
(F) Notice of the time and place of the public hearing of the Zoning Board of Appeals shall be given in each case by publishing a notice thereof in a newspaper of general circulation within the village not more than 30 days nor fewer than 15 days before the hearing thereon. The notice shall contain the particular location for which the variation is requested as well as a brief description of the proposed variation. The Zoning Administrator shall be responsible for causing such notice to be published.
(G) The applicant shall be responsible for paying an application fee of $350 and the cost of publication. The application fee shall accompany the application, and the cost of publication shall be paid to the village prior to action on the variance application by the Village Board.
(H) A variation shall lapse if a building permit incorporating the variation is not submitted and granted, and in the case of a use variance, if the use is not commenced, within six months of the date the variation is granted by the Village Board. A variation shall lapse immediately if the variation is discontinued.
(I) The Zoning Board of Appeals, in making its recommendation to the Village Board, and the Village Board, in acting on the variance application, may take into consideration the extent to which the applicant has established the following by the evidence:
(1) The particular physical surroundings, shape, or topographical conditions of the specific property involved would bring a particular hardship upon the owner as distinguished from a mere inconvenience if the strict letter of regulations were to be carried out;
(2) The conditions upon which the petition for variance is based would not be applicable generally to other property within the same zoning classification;
(3) The purpose of the variation is not based exclusively on a desire to make more money out of the property;
(4) The alleged difficulty or hardship is not being created by any person presently having an interest in the property;
(5) The granting of the variance will not be detrimental to the public welfare or injurious to other property or improvements in the neighborhood in which the property is located; and
(6) The proposed variance will not impair an adequate supply of light and air to adjacent property, or substantially decrease the danger of fire, or otherwise endanger the public safety or substantially diminish or impair property values within the neighborhood.
(J) The Village Board may require such conditions and restrictions upon the premises benefitted by a variance as may be necessary to comply with the standards set forth in this section to reduce or minimize the injurious effect of such variance upon other property in the neighborhood, and to implement the general purpose and intent of this title.
(Ord. 15-13, passed 7-7-2015)