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A. Procedure for Filing an Appeal. Appeals to the Board of Zoning Appeals shall be filed and hearings conducted in accordance with Ind. Code §§ 36-7-4-919 and 920. All appeals shall be filed within such time and in such form as may be prescribed by the by rules adopted by the Board of Zoning Appeals. The notice of appeal shall specify the grounds for such appeal. Upon receipt of a notice of appeal, the administrative official or staff member from whom the appeal is taken shall at the request of the Board of Zoning Appeals transmit to the Board all of the documents, plans, and papers constituting the record of the action from which an appeal was taken.
B. Board Hearing and Notice. The Board of Zoning Appeals shall select a reasonable time and place for the hearing of an appeal and give at least ten (10) days written notice thereof to the interested parties. The party taking the appeal may be required to assume the cost of public notice and due notice to interested parties. At the hearing, each party may appear and be heard at the hearing in person, by agent, or by attorney.
C. Interested Parties to Appeal. The Board of Zoning Appeals shall, by rule, determine who are interested parties, how notice is to be given them and who is required to give that notice.
D. Publication of Notice. In addition, public notice of such hearings as to the time, place, date and subject of the hearing, shall be published one (1) time, at least ten (10) days prior to the date of the hearing.
E. Board Action. Upon appeal, the Board of Zoning Appeals may reverse, affirm or modify the order, requirement, decision or determination appealed from. The Board of Zoning Appeals shall have all the powers of the official, officer, board or body from which the appeal is taken with respect to such decision. The Board of Zoning Appeals shall make a decision on an appeal either:
1. At the meeting at which the matter is first presented; or
2. At the conclusion of the hearing on that matter, if it is continued.
F. Filing of Decision. Within five (5) days after the Board of Zoning Appeals’ decision, the Board shall file a copy of the decision in the Board’s office.
(Ord. 20-29, § 2, 9-21-20)
A. Civil Zoning Violation. Any person who uses property in violation of this Ordinance shall be deemed to have committed a civil zoning violation and may be issued a citation by the designated enforcement entity.
B. Citations for Civil Zoning Violations.
1. The Planning Director or his/her designee(s) may issue a civil zoning violation to a person who commits a civil zoning violation, the legal owner, the contract vendee, or any person or entity with a possessory interest in the real estate upon which the violation occurs, The citation may be served by personal service, by certified mail, or by placement in a conspicuous place on the property where the violation occurs and which shall serve as notice to a person that he or she has committed a civil zoning violation.
2. No citation shall be issued for the first offense unless the person who commits a civil zoning violation, or the legal owner, the contract vendee, or any person or entity with a possessory interest in the real estate upon which the violation occurs has been issued a warning ticket before the issuance of the citation to allow said person to correct the violation to come into compliance with the prescribed zoning Ordinance or regulations.
3. If the violation is determined by the Planning Director or his/her designee to be a threat to public health or safety, the Planning Director or his/her designee shall order the land use or activity to cease and desist immediately, regardless of whether a warning ticket or citation has been issued.
4. The warning ticket shall be in the form prescribed and approved by the Plan Commission.
5. The citation shall appear on serialized, designated form and be in the form prescribed by the Plan Commission.
C. Curing a Violation.
1. A person who receives a warning ticket or a citation may either choose to abate or deny the violation or file a petition for a variance, special exception, rezoning, or other means provided by this Ordinance to correct the violation, as prescribed herein.
2. A person who elects to file such a petition shall indicate this intent in writing to the issuing agency. A person shall have ten (10) working days after issuance of the warning ticket to file the petition, and additional monetary fines as prescribed herein shall be stayed upon the filing of such petition, as long as the violation does not continue. A person who files the petition within said time period shall pursue the petition in an expedited fashion.
3. If the petition is denied, withdrawn, or dismissed for want of prosecution, and the civil zoning violation continues at the real estate, then a lawsuit may be commenced by the designated enforcement entity in a court of competent jurisdiction in Johnson County, Indiana.
D. Appealing a Violation.
1. If a person believes that the warning ticket or citation received results from an incorrect interpretation of the Ordinance by a municipal official, the aggrieved person may file an administrative appeal of the decision for a hearing by the Board of Zoning Appeals. Said appeal shall be conducted in accordance with this Ordinance.
2. A person who elects to file such an appeal shall indicate this intent in writing to the issuing agency. A person shall have ten (10) working days after issuance of the warning ticket to file the appeal, and additional monetary fines as prescribed above shall be stayed upon the filing of such appeal, as long as the violation does not continue at the real estate.
3. A person who files the appeal within said time period shall pursue the appeal in an expedited fashion. If the Board of Zoning Appeals affirms the interpretation of this Ordinance which led to issuance of the warning ticket or citation, and the civil zoning violation continues at the real estate, then a lawsuit may be commenced by the designated enforcement entity in a court of competent jurisdiction in Johnson County, Indiana.
E. Failure to Cure Violations.
1. A person who received a citation may elect to stand trial for the offence by indicating on the citation his/her intent to stand trial and returning a copy of the citation to the Planning Director. The returned copy of the citation shall serve as notice of the person’s intent to stand trial, and the additional monetary fines prescribed herein shall be stayed upon receipt of the notice. On receipt of the notice of intention to stand trial, a lawsuit will be commenced by the City’s legal department in a court of competent jurisdiction in Johnson County, Indiana.
2. If a person who received a citation fails to pay the assessed fine within seventy-two (72) hours and fails to give notice of his/her intention to either file a petition as prescribed herein, file an appeal as prescribed herein, or stand trial as prescribed herein, the City’s legal department may file a civil lawsuit as prescribed by applicable laws and ordinances, and seek penalties as prescribed in this section.
3. A person adjudged to have committed a civil zoning violation is liable for the court costs and fees. No costs shall be assessed against the enforcement agency in any such action.
4. In proceeding before the court for a civil zoning violation, the Indiana Rules of Trial Procedure shall govern. The designated enforcement entity has the burden of proving the civil zoning violation by a preponderance of the evidence.
5. Seeking a civil penalty as authorized by this section does not preclude the City from seeking alternative relief from the court in the same action, or from seeking injunctive relief or other remedy in a separate action for the enforcement of this Ordinance.
6. A change of venue from Johnson County shall not be granted in such a case, as provided in Ind. Code § 36-7-4-1014.
F. Remedies and Penalties.
1. Each day a violation remains uncorrected is a distinct and separate civil zoning violation subject to an additional citation and fine in the amount approved by Common Council from time to time, provided a warning ticket has first been issued.
2. The monetary fine for each civil zoning violation shall be $50.00, except that for repeated civil zoning violation, the following fines shall apply:
Second citation: $ 75.00
Each Citation in Excess of Two: $100.00
3. All fines prescribed by this section for civil zoning violations shall be paid within seventy-two (72) hours to the Violations Clerk or his/her designee of the Ordinance Violations Bureau, who shall render to the person making payment a receipt stating the amount and purpose for which the fine has been paid and duplicate of which shall be made a part of the records of the Plan Commission. All fines thus received shall be deposited in accordance with law.
Sec. 10-04-10 through Sec. 10-04-35 Reserved for Future Use.
A. This Division governs lots, structures, and uses that were either:
1. lawful and conforming before the adoption of this Ordinance and any amendments thereto, and that are no longer lawful under this Ordinance; or
2. lawfully nonconforming under the previous Zoning Ordinance and remain lawfully non-conforming under this Ordinance and any amendments thereto.
B. It is the intent of this Ordinance to permit lawfully existing nonconformities to continue until they are discontinued or removed, but not to encourage their survival. It is further the intent of this Ordinance that nonconformities shall not be enlarged, expanded or extended, nor used as grounds for adding other structures or uses prohibited elsewhere in the same district or zone.
C. To avoid undue hardship, nothing in this Ordinance shall be deemed to require a change in the plans, construction, or designated use of any structure on which actual construction lawfully began prior to the effective date of adoption or amendment of this Ordinance and upon which actual building construction has been carried on diligently since. Actual construction is hereby defined to include the placement of construction materials in permanent position and their fastening in a permanent manner, and shall include any excavation, demolition or removal that has substantially begun in preparation for building.
(Ord. 20-29, § 2, 9-21-20)
A. Except as hereinafter specified, the lawful use of a building or lot, or the lawful existence of a structure at the time of the effective date of adoption or amendment of this Ordinance, which would render the use or the structure non-conforming, may be continued as a lawfully existing nonconformity.
B. A use or structure can at any time be brought into conformance with the regulations in this Ordinance. Upon bringing the use or structure into conformance with this Ordinance, the use or structure shall be considered conforming and shall thereafter conform to the regulations for the district or zone, the nonconforming use not thereafter be resumed, and the terms and provisions of this Division shall no longer apply unless the use or structure becomes non-conforming as a result of an amendment to this Ordinance.
C. In any district or zone in which single-family dwellings are permitted, a single-family dwelling and permitted accessory structures may be erected on any lot of record lawfully existing as of the effective date of adoption or amendment of this Ordinance so long as the lot is not adjacent to lots with the same ownership.
D. If two or more adjacent lots under the same ownership are lawfully existing at the time of passage or amendment of this Ordinance, they shall be considered to be an undivided parcel for purposes of this Ordinance. No portion of said lots shall be used or sold in a manner which diminishes compliance with the applicable requirements of this Ordinance.
(Ord. 20-29, § 2, 9-21-20)
A. No nonconformity shall be enlarged, extended, reconstructed, substituted, or altered to increase its nonconformity beyond an amount equal to twenty percent (20%) of the GFA of the building or twenty percent (20%) of the property. Should a property be modified beyond 20%, the building may retain a legal, non-conforming status but the entire property must then meet current standards. Should a building be modified beyond twenty percent (20%) of the GFA, the property can retain legal, non-conforming status.
B. A nonconforming use may be extended throughout any part of a building which was manifestly arranged or designed for such use at the time of adoption or amendment of this Ordinance, but no such use shall be extended to occupy any area outside of such building.
C. No nonconforming use shall be moved in whole or in part to any portion of the lot other than that occupied by such use as of the effective date of adoption or amendment of this Ordinance.
D. No additional structure not conforming to the requirements of this Division shall be erected in connection with any nonconforming uses of property.
E. A nonconforming use can only be substituted with a permitted use or an approved use by special exception.
(Ord. 20-29, § 2, 9-21-20)
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