(a) Upon receipt of a complete application, the Board of Zoning Appeals may authorize an area variance from the terms of this Code as will not be contrary to the public interest according to the following procedures and the variance standards set forth in this Chapter. Substantial justice requires that the interests of the community, neighborhood and adjoining property owners be given due consideration in each variance case.
(b) Area variances shall be defined as those variances from a zoning regulation that establishes minimum or maximum areas, heights, distances, separation volume or any other United States customary unit of measurement.
(c) Application Requirements. An application for an area variance shall be filed with the Zoning Administrator upon the forms provided by the City, and shall be accompanied by the following requirements necessary to convey the reason(s) for the requested variance:
(1) Name, address and phone number of applicant(s);
(2) Proof of ownership, legal interest or written authority;
(3) Description of property or portion thereof;
(4) Description or nature of variance requested;
(5) Narrative statements establishing and substantiating the justification for the variance;
(6) Site plans, floor plans, elevations and other drawings at a reasonable scale to convey the need for the variance;
(7) Payment of the application fee;
(8) A list of all property owners lying within 200 feet of any part of the property on which the variance is proposed, including their addresses and permanent parcel numbers;
(9) Any other documents deemed necessary by the Zoning Administrator.
(d) The Board of Zoning Appeals shall hold a public hearing as set forth in Section 1131.06. The Board of Zoning Appeals shall review each application for an area variance to determine if it complies with the purpose and intent of this Code and evidence demonstrates that the literal enforcement of this Code will result in a practical difficulty. A practical difficulty exists whenever a zoning standard unreasonably deprives a landowner of a permitted use of their property. All of the factors set forth in this section do not need to be satisfied; rather, they shall be weighed together in the analysis. The factors to be considered and weighed in determining whether a property owner seeking an area variance has encountered practical difficulties in the use of his property include, but are not limited to:
(1) Whether special conditions and circumstances exist which are peculiar to the land or structure involved and which are not applicable generally to other lands or structures in the same zoning district. Examples of such special conditions or circumstances are exceptional irregularity, narrowness, shallowness or steepness of the lot, or adjacency to non-conforming and inharmonious uses, structures or conditions;
(2) Whether the property in question will yield a reasonable return or whether there can be any beneficial use of the property without the variance;
(3) Whether the variance is substantial and is the minimum necessary to make possible the reasonable use of the land or structures;
(4) Whether the essential character of the neighborhood would be substantially altered or whether adjoining properties would suffer substantial detriment as a result of the variance;
(5) Whether the variance would adversely affect the delivery of governmental services such as water, sewer, and trash pickup;
(6) Whether the property owner purchased the property with knowledge of the zoning restrictions;
(7) Whether special conditions or circumstances exist as a result of actions of the owner;
(8) Whether the property owner's predicament feasibly can be obviated through some method other than a variance;
(9) Whether the spirit and intent behind the zoning requirement would be observed and substantial justice done by granting a variance;
(10) Whether the granting of the variance requested will confer on the applicant any special privilege that is denied by this regulation to other lands, structures, or buildings in the same district.
(e) Requests for Additional Information. The Board of Zoning Appeals may request that the applicant supply additional information that the Board deems necessary to review and evaluate the request for a variance.
(f) Variance Conditions. In authorizing a variance, the Board of Zoning Appeals may attach thereto such conditions regarding the location, character and other features of the proposed structure or use as it may deem necessary in the interest of the furtherance of the purposes of this Zoning Ordinance and/or the Water Management and Sediment Control Regulations, and in the public interest. In authorizing a variance with attached conditions, the Board may require such evidence and guarantee of bond, as it may deem necessary, that the conditions attached are and shall be complied with. Specifically, the Board may attach one or more of the following conditions to a variance:
(1) Paving;
(2) Landscaping and/or screening fence or wall;
(3) Amount and location of off-street parking, loading and signs;
(4) Direction and intensity of outdoor illumination;
(5) Cleaning and painting;
(6) Control or elimination of smoke, dust, radiation, gas, noise or odor;
(7) Hours of operation;
(8) Activities, material storage and uses shall be conducted within an enclosed structure;
(9) Other conditions as may be appropriate.
(g) If the variance is approved with conditions, the Board shall issue the variance listing the specific conditions upon which the variance was granted. Violations of such conditions shall be enforced in the following manner:
(1) Upon a finding that one (1) or more variance conditions have not been satisfied, the Zoning Administrator shall notify the applicant of the violation in writing by certified mail.
(2) The applicant shall have thirty (30) days from the receipt of the notice of violation to satisfy the variance condition.
(3) Failure to satisfy the condition(s) within the thirty (30) day period shall result in the revocation of the variance approval.
(h) Time Limit. Approved variances that are not acted upon within twelve (12) months shall be considered void. (Ord. 99-1966. Passed 5-4-99.)