The board of adjustment shall operate according to powers granted under the authority of North Carolina G.S. 160D-406 to hear and decide on the following matters:
a. Appeals. Except as otherwise provided by G.S. Chapter 160D, the board shall hear and decide appeals from administrative decisions regarding administration and enforcement of all development regulations and may hear appeals arising out of any other ordinance that regulates land use or development pursuant to G.S. 160D-405, G.S. 160D-406 and chapter 3, article seven of the Unified Development Ordinance (UDO) of the Marion Code of Ordinances governing quasi-judicial procedures.
b. Special Use Permits. The board of adjustment shall hear and decide special use permits in accordance with principles, conditions, safeguards, and procedures specified in the development regulations adopted by the city. Reasonable and appropriate conditions and safeguards may be imposed upon these permits. Where appropriate, such conditions made include requirements that street and utility rights-of-way be dedicated to the public and that provision be made for recreational space and facilities. Conditions and safeguards imposed under this section shall include requirements for which local government does not have authority under statute to regulate nor requirements for which the courts have held to be unenforceable if imposed by the local government, including, without limitation, taxes, impact fees, building design elements within the scope of G.S. 160D-702(b), driveway-related improvements in excess of those allowed in G.S. 136-18(29) and G.S. 160A-307, or other unauthorized limitations on the development or use of land. Changes to approved special use permits are subject to Code Sec. 3-7.1 of the UDO. Special use permits are required to be recorded with the McDowell County Register of Deeds upon approval.
c. Variances. When unnecessary hardships would result from carrying out the strict letter of a zoning regulation, the board of adjustment shall vary any of the provisions of the zoning regulation upon the showing of all of the following:
(1) Unnecessary hardship would result from the strict application of the regulation. It is not necessary to demonstrate that, in the absence of the variance, no reasonable use can be made on the property;
(2) The hardship results from conditions that are peculiar to the property, such as location, size, or topography. Hardships resulting from personal circumstances, as well as hardships resulting from conditions that are common to the neighborhood or the general public, may not be the basis for granting a variance. A variance may be granted when necessary and appropriate to make a reasonable accommodation under the Federal Fair Housing Act for a person with a disability.
(3) The hardship did not result from the actions taken by the applicant or the property owner. The act of purchasing property with knowledge that circumstances exist that may justify the granting of a variance is not a self-created hardship.
(4) The requested variance is consistent with the spirit, purpose, and intent of the regulation, such that public safety is secured and substantial justice is achieved.
(5) The requested variance is not a request to permit a use of land, building, or structure which is not permitted in the zoning district in which the property is located.
(6) The requested variance is not a request to permit a prohibited sign.
Appropriate conditions may be imposed on any variance, provided the conditions are reasonably related to the variance. Other development regulations that regulate land use or development, including the subdivision regulations, may provide for variances from the provisions of those ordinances consistent with the provision of this section. Approved variances are required to be recorded with the McDowell County Register of Deeds upon approval.
(Ord. No. O-21-06-15-11, §1, 6-15-21)