(A) Creation and membership. A Board of Zoning Adjustment is hereby established and vested with the administrative authority as is hereinafter provided. The Board shall consist of all members of the City Planning Commission; the City Attorney, and the Zoning Administrator shall serve as ex officio members without the right to vote on matters before the Board. The Zoning Administrator shall act as Secretary of the Board. The Board members shall be appointed by the Mayor and City Council. The Board shall serve without compensation. Its members shall be appointed for terms coinciding with their terms on the Planning Commission.
(B) Powers. The Board of Zoning Adjustment, subject to the approval and confirmation of the City Council in each case as hereinafter provided, shall have power to grant a variance adjustment in and exception to any of the provisions of this chapter to the extent of the following and no further:
(1) To vary or modify the strict application of the regulations or provisions contained in this chapter in cases in which there are practical difficulties or unnecessary hardships in the way of the strict application. No variance or modification of the uses permitted within a district shall be allowed; and
(2) To permit the extension of a district where the boundary line thereof divides a lot in one ownership at the time of the passage of this chapter, but the extension of any district shall not exceed 50 feet.
(C) Findings. The Board of Zoning Adjustment shall not recommend the granting of any variance or modification and the City Council shall not grant any variance or modification unless they find the following facts: the Board of Zoning Adjustment and the City Council shall have to find that there are special circumstances or conditions affecting the land to require the adjustment that is necessary for the preservation and enjoyment of substantial property rights and that the application will not adversely affect the health or safety of persons residing or working in the area and will not be detrimental to the public welfare or injurious to the property or improvements in the area adjacent to the property of the applicant. If the Board of Zoning Adjustment and the City Council found that any application did not meet all three of these considerations, it would have no choice but to deny that motion.
(D) Appeals. Any person, firm or corporation objecting to the ruling of any official on the administering of the provisions of this chapter shall have the right to appeal to the Board of Zoning Adjustment.
(E) Procedure. Application for any adjustment permissible under the provisions of this section shall be made to the Zoning Administrator, in the form of a written application for a building permit or for a permit to use the property or premises as set forth in the application. An application for an adjustment shall be accompanied by payment of a fee in an amount as established by the City Council in addition to the regular building permit fee, it any. Upon receipt of any application, the officer shall set a time and place for a public hearing before the Board of Zoning Adjustment on the application. As least ten days before the date of the hearing, a notice of the hearing shall be published once in the official newspaper.
(1) After a public hearing has been held, the Board of Zoning Adjustment shall thereupon make its decision upon the application. If the application is denied, no further action shall be taken upon it; if the application is granted, the Board of Zoning Adjustment shall report its recommendations to the City Council within 15 days of the hearing at which the application was considered.
(2) In recommending any adjustment or variance under the provisions of this section, the Board of Zoning Adjustment shall designate such conditions in connection therewith as will, in its opinion, secure substantially the objectives of the regulation or provision to which the adjustment or variance is granted, as to light, air and the public health, safety, comfort, convenience and general welfare.
(3) No permit shall be issued under the provisions of this section unless and until a decision of the Board of Zoning Adjustment, as aforesaid, approving the same, is approved and confirmed by the City Council. In reporting its decision to the City Council, the Board of Zoning Adjustment shall report its findings with respect thereto and all facts in connection therewith, and shall specifically and fully set forth any adjustment or variance granted and the conditions designated. Upon receipt of the report, the City Council either shall by resolution approve and confirm the decision, with or without changes, whereupon the permit as applied for may be issued, or shall refuse to approve and confirm the decision. In all cases in which adjustments or variances are granted under the provisions of this section, the Board of Zoning Adjustment and the City Council shall require evidence and guarantees as it may deem necessary to insure compliance with the conditions designated in connection therewith.
(Ord. 266, passed 5- -2008)