(a) Special Exception Uses. Special Exception Uses are Uses that are conditionally permitted in a particular Zoning District.
(1) An application for a Special Exception may be made only by a person or persons with a financial, contractual basis, or proprietary interest in the property for which a Special Exception is requested.
(2) A Special Exception Use may be commenced and carried on only after review by the Board of Zoning Appeals and its issuance of a Special Use Permit.
(3) The Board of Zoning Appeals shall consider a request for a Special Exception if the requested Use is expressly designated as a Special Exception Use in this Ordinance or interpreted and classified as such by the City Engineer/Planning Director or designee, for the Zoning District in which the subject property is located.
(4) The Board of Zoning Appeals shall grant a Special Exception if the required findings specified in subsection (d)(3) are made or shall deny granting a Special Exception if all required findings cannot be made.
(b) If the Board cannot make all required findings, no Special Exception shall be granted. However, if circumstances change sufficiently that the necessary findings might be met in the future, the Board may rehear a similar application.
(c) A Special Exception shall be valid for two (2) years if the use is not acted upon, or a Subdivision and/or Land Development Plan has not received.
(d) Special Exception Procedures.
(1) A written application for a Special Exception shall be submitted to the City Planning Department, which application shall specify the Special Exception Use sought and include all materials required for a Use and Occupancy Permit. The administrative staff shall review the application and file a written report with the Board Chairperson before the Board reviews the application.
(3) In order to issue a Special Exception, the Board must make the following written findings regarding the Special Exception Use sought:
A. The proposed use is in harmony with the purpose and intent of the City Comprehensive Plan and of this Ordinance;
B. The location and size of the use, the nature and intensity of the operations involved in or conducted in connection with it, the size of the site in relation to it, and the location of the site with respect to Streets giving access to it, are such that it will be in harmony with the appropriate and orderly development of the Zoning District in which it is located;
C. The location, nature and height of buildings, walls, and fences, and the nature and extent of the landscaping on the site are such that the use will not hinder or discourage the appropriate development and use of adjacent land and Buildings;
D. Operations in connection with any special Use will not be more objectionable to nearby properties by reason of noise, fumes, vibration, or other characteristics, than would be the operations of any permitted use not requiring a special permit;
E. Parking areas will be of adequate size for the particular use, properly located and suitably screened from adjoining residential uses, and the entrance and exit drives shall be laid out so as to achieve maximum safety; and
F. Public utility service (electricity, sewerage, storm drainage and water) will be adequate to service the proposed use and will have suitable access thereto, and the proposal will not overburden existing facilities; or, any onsite water supply, sewage treatment, or storm drainage disposal system will be adequate to service the proposed use.
If the Board makes the above required findings, a Special Exception shall be issued to permit the requested Use, subject however, to any condition stipulated by this Ordinance or determined by the Board to be necessary to ensure that the Use remains compatible with other Uses permitted in the Zoning District and with Adjacent Properties. No Special Exception may grant Variances from the requirements of this Ordinance.
(4) Conditions. The Board of Zoning Appeals, in issuing Special Exceptions, may attach conditions considered necessary to protect the public welfare and the purposes listed above, including conditions which are more restrictive than those established for other Uses in the same Zoning District. These conditions shall be enforceable by the City Engineer/Planning Director or designee and failure to comply with such conditions shall constitute a violation of this Ordinance and be subject to the penalties described in Section 1321.08
(e)(2).
(5) A Special Exception shall not be issued by the Board of Zoning Appeals for any development within the Regulatory Floodway if any increase in the elevation of the 100-Year Flood would result.
(e) Variance Procedures.
(1) A written application for a Variance to the Zoning Ordinance shall be submitted to the Board of Zoning Appeals and City Engineer/Planning Director or designee, which application shall specify the standard or requirement from which a Variance is sought. The City Engineer/Planning Director or designee shall review the application and file a written report with the Board.
(2) An application for a Variance may be made only by a person or persons with a financial, contractual basis, or proprietary interest in the property for which a Variance is requested.
(4) If the Board cannot make all required findings, no Variance shall be granted. However, if circumstances change sufficiently that the necessary findings might be met in the future, the Board may rehear a similar application.
(5) The Board of Zoning Appeals shall grant the Variance sought if it finds that the Variance:
A. Will not adversely affect the public health, safety or welfare, or the rights of adjacent property owners or residents;
B. Arises from special conditions or attributes which pertain to the property for which a variance is sought, and which were not created by the person seeking the variance;
C. Would eliminate an unnecessary hardship and permit a reasonable use of the land; and
D. Will allow the intent of the zoning ordinance to be observed and substantial justice done.
(6) If the Board grants a Variance, its actions will be accompanied by its reasons for making the required findings and by its certification that the Variance is the minimum Variance which will make possible the reasonable Use of land, Buildings, or Structures.
(7) A Variance shall not be issued by the Board of Zoning Appeals for any development within the Regulatory Floodway if any increase in the elevation of the 100-Year Flood would result.
(8) Exceptions to these rules and regulations as contemplated in Section 1321.10
(d)(3) shall be subject to the procedures of this subsection (e).
(Ord. 2021-07. Passed 7-21-21.)