(A) Creation and membership.
(1) The Board of Adjustment of the town is hereby created consisting of five appointive members, each of whom shall be a town resident and shall represent the interests of the town as a whole.
(2) Members of the Board shall serve terms of three years.
(3) All vacancies shall be filled by appointment of the Town Board of Trustees. A member’s seat on the Board shall be vacant when the member ceases to reside in the town.
(B) Organization and meetings.
(1) The Board shall meet at least once a month, provided there is business to be brought before the Board.
(2) The concurring vote of at least three members of the Board shall be necessary to reverse any order, requirement, decision or determination being appealed from, to decide in favor of the applicant or to decide any matter which may properly come before it.
(C) Powers and duties.
(1) Except as otherwise provided by this code, ordinance, rule, policy or regulation of the Town Board of Trustees, the Board of Adjustment shall be governed by 11 O.S. § 11-44-104.
(2) The Board shall have the power to:
(a) Hear and decide appeals;
(b) Hear and decide special requests to the chapter;
(c) Authorize in specific cases a variance from the terms, standards and criteria that pertain to an allowed use category within a zoning district;
(e) Variances to the landscape, buffering and screening requirements; and
(f) Hear and decide variances to any provision of this code not otherwise assigned to another review body.
(D) Applicants to the Board.
(1) (a) Any aggrieved person, officer or unit of government may make application to the Board requesting relief for the purposes stated in division (C) of this section.
(b) The application must be submitted to the Board, along with all required documents and fees, at least 30 days prior to the next scheduled Board meeting in order to be considered at that meeting.
(2) Applications for an appeal shall be made as follows.
(a) The appeal shall be taken within 30 days from the date of the decision of the administrative official; and
(b) The application shall be filed in writing with the official and the Town Clerk. The application shall specify the grounds for the appeal.
(3) Applications for a variance shall be made as follows:
(a) The application shall be filed in writing with the Town Clerk. The application shall indicate how the subject property meets the requirements of division (G) of this section.
(b) The applicant shall submit with each application a list of names and addresses of all record property owners within a 300-foot radius of the exterior boundary of the subject property.
(c) Where the applicant requests a minor variance, he or she shall submit a list of names and addresses of only those owners of property adjacent to the subject property.
(d) The lists shall be current and certified by a bonded abstractor or the County Assessor of Kingfisher County.
(4) The applicant shall deposit with the Town Clerk a fee as may be established by resolution of the Town Board of Trustees. Upon receipt of a properly filed application, it shall be placed on the Board agenda for hearing within 60 days, and an administrative official shall transmit to the Board all papers constituting the record upon which the application is made.
(E) Stay of proceedings on appeal.
(1) An appeal to the Board from a decision of an administrative official stays all proceedings in furtherance of the action appealed from unless the officer from whom the appeal is taken certifies to the Board, after the notice of appeal is filed with him or her, that by reason of facts stated in the certificate, a stay would, in his or her opinion, cause imminent peril to life or property.
(2) In such case, proceedings shall not be stayed other than by a restraining order, which may be granted by the Board or by a court of competent jurisdiction upon application, upon notice to the officer from whom the appeal is taken, and upon due cause being shown.
(F) Time and notice of hearings.
(1) Not less than ten days before the meeting of the Board, notice of public hearing of the Board shall be given as follows:
(a) By publication in a newspaper of general circulation in the town; and
(b) By mail in writing to all owners of property within a 300-foot radius of the exterior boundary of the subject property; provided, that on hearings involving minor variances, the notice shall be mailed to only those owners of property adjacent to the subject property.
(2) Required notices shall contain:
(a) Legal description of the property and the street address or approximate location in the town;
(b) Present zoning classification of the property and the nature of the application requested; and
(c) Date, time and place of hearing.
(G) Rules of decision.
(1) In order to grant any variance from the terms hereof, the Board must find that all the following conditions are met:
(a) Special conditions and circumstances exist which are peculiar to the land, structure or building in the same zoning district;
(b) The special conditions and circumstances do not result from the actions of the applicant;
(c) Granting the variance requested will not convey on the applicant any special privilege that is denied by ordinance to other lands, buildings or structures in the same zoning district;
(d) Literal interpretation of the provisions of the code would deprive the applicant of rights commonly enjoyed by other properties in the same zoning district under the terms hereof and would work unnecessary and undue hardship on the applicant;
(e) The variance granted is the minimum variance that will make possible the reasonable use of the land, building or structure;
(f) The grant of the variance will be in harmony with the general intent and purpose hereof; and
(g) In granting any variance, the Board may prescribe appropriate conditions and safeguards in conformity herewith.
(2) Violation of the conditions and safeguards, when made a part of the terms under which the variance is granted, shall be deemed a violation hereof.
(H) Hearing procedures.
(1) All deliberations of the Board shall be conducted, and all of its decisions shall be made, at a meeting that is open to the public.
(2) At the time of the hearing, any person may appear in his or her own behalf or be represented by agent or attorney.
(a) All decisions of the Board shall be made after motion has been made and seconded.
(b) The motion which decides the issue shall be in the form of findings of fact and shall state the reasons for the findings by the Board.
(c) If conditions are imposed in the granting of a variance, the conditions shall be included in the motion.
(3) (a) In reaching a decision on any motion, the Board shall record the vote of each member or the absence or failure to vote.
(b) The minutes of all deliberations by the Board shall be acknowledged as to accuracy by the Chairperson and shall be a part of the public record of the Board. The minutes of the meeting at which a variance was granted shall show that each element of a variance was established at the public hearing on the questions.
(I) Appeals to the District Court.
(1) An appeal from any action, decision, ruling, judgment or order of the Board may be taken by any person or persons, jointly or severally, or any taxpayer or any officer, department, board or bureau of the municipality to the District Court by filing a notice of appeal with the Town Clerk and with the Board within 30 days from the date the decision of the Board is rendered, which notice shall specify the grounds of the appeal. Upon filing of the notice of appeal, as herein provided, the Board shall forthwith transmit to the Court Clerk the original or certified copies of all the papers constituting the record in the case, together with the order, decision or ruling of the Board.
(2) An appeal to the District Court from the Board stays all proceedings in furtherance of the action appealed from unless the Chairperson of the Board from which the appeal is taken, certifies to the Court Clerk, after notice of appeal shall have been filed that by reason of facts stated in the certificate a stay would in his or her opinion cause imminent peril to life or property. In such case, proceedings shall not be stayed otherwise than by a restraining order which may be granted by the District Court, upon application or notice to the administrative officer in charge of the enforcement of the terms and provisions of the zoning code, upon notice to the Chairperson of the Board from which the appeal is taken and upon due cause being shown, the Court may reverse or affirm, wholly or partly, or modify the decision brought up for review.
(Ord. 382, passed 7-8-2021)
Statutory reference:
Board of Adjustment; appointment, see 11 O.S. § 11-44-101
Board of Adjustment; meeting and rules, see 11 O.S. § 11-44-102 Similar provisions, see 11 O.S. §§ 11-44-104 et seq., 11 O.S. § 11-44-106cite, 11 O.S. §§ 11-44-107 et seq., 11 O.S. §§ 11-44-110 et seq.cite