The Board of Adjustment, after a public hearing, may determine and vary the Zoning Code in harmony with their general purpose and intent, only in the specific instances hereinafter set forth, where the Board of Adjustment makes written findings of fact in accordance with the standards hereinafter prescribed and further, finds that there are no practical difficulties or particular hardships in the way of carrying out the strict letter of the Zoning Code.
1. Application for Variance. An application for a variance shall be filed in writing with the Zoning Administrator. Said application shall contain such information, and appropriate non-refundable fee, as the Board of Adjustment may, by rules, require.
2. Hearing on Application. Upon receipt in proper form of the application referred to in Subsection 1, the Board of Adjustment shall hold at least one public hearing on the proposed variance. Notice of time and place of such hearing shall be published not less than seven days nor more than 20 days in advance of the public hearing in a newspaper of general circulation in the City. Property owners within 200 feet of the property for which the change is being requested shall be notified as a courtesy as well. Before an application is filed with the Board of Adjustment, the applicant shall pay a non-refundable fee to the City to cover the publishing and administration costs of said request, per the adopted fee schedule established in Section 165B.15.
3. Standards for Variance. The Board of Adjustment shall not vary the regulations of the Zoning Code, as authorized in this section, unless there is evidence presented to it in each specific case that:
A. Special conditions and circumstances exist which are unique to the land, structure, or building involved and which are not applicable to other lands, structures, or buildings in the same district. Special conditions shall include but not be limited to a property owner who can show that their property was acquired in good faith and where by reason of exceptional narrowness, shallowness, or shape of a specific piece of property, or where by reason of exceptional topographic conditions or other exceptional or extraordinary situations the strict application of the terms of the Zoning Code actually prohibits the use of the property in manner reasonably similar to that of other property in the district.
B. Literal interpretation of the provisions of the Zoning Code would deprive the applicant of rights commonly enjoyed by other properties in the same district under the terms of the Zoning Code. In other words, an unnecessary hardship would result from literal enforcement of the Zoning Code.
C. Special conditions and circumstances do not result from the actions of the applicant.
D. Granting the variance requested will not confer on the applicant any special privilege that is denied by the Zoning Code to other lands, structures, or buildings in the same district.
4. Further Requirements.
A. The Board of Adjustment shall make a finding that the reasons set forth in the application justify the granting of the variance, and that the variance is the minimum variance that will make possible the reasonable use of the land, building, or structure.
B. The Board of Adjustment shall further make a finding that the granting of the variance will be in harmony with the general purpose and intent of the Zoning Code and the Comprehensive Plan, and will not be injurious to the neighborhood, or otherwise detrimental to the public welfare.
C. In granting any variance, the Board of Adjustment may prescribe appropriate conditions and safeguards in conformity with the Zoning Code. Violations of such conditions and safeguards, when made a part of the terms under which the variance is granted, shall be deemed a violation of this title and punishable under Section 165B.16.
D. Under no circumstances shall the Board of Adjustment grant a variance to allow for a use not permissible under the terms of the Zoning Code in the district involved, or any use expressly or by implication prohibited by the terms of the Zoning Code in the district.
E. If property lines cannot be determined through existing surveys or property markers, the request must be accompanied by a certified survey.
5. Denial and Revocation of Variance.
A. Denial: No application for a variance that has been denied wholly or in part by the Board of Adjustment shall be resubmitted for a period of one year from the date of denial, except on the grounds of new evidence or proof of change of conditions that may be found to be valid by the Board of Adjustment.
B. Revocation: In any case where variance has not been established within one year after the date of granting thereof, the Board shall provide notice to the applicant that the approved variance may be revoked. Said notice shall offer the applicant an opportunity to be heard by the Board of Adjustment. The Board may, after this process, revoke or extend the approved variance.