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(A) There is hereby established a Zoning Board of Appeals as authorized by Public Act 12 of 2008, as amended.
(B) The Zoning Board of Appeals shall consist of 7 members appointed by a majority vote of the members of the Township Board.
(1) One member shall be a member of the Planning Commission.
(2) One member shall be a member of the Township Board.
(3) The remaining regular (5) members, and any alternate (2) members shall be electors of the township who shall reside within the township.
(C) Members selected to serve on the Zoning Board of Appeals shall be representative of the population distribution and of various interests present in the township.
(D) Each member shall be appointed for a term of 3 years, except that the term of office of the members who are also members of the Township Board or Planning Commission shall terminate if their membership on the Township Board or Planning Commission terminates.
(E) The Zoning Board of Appeals shall elect a Chairperson, Vice-Chairperson, and Secretary. The Township Board member may not serve as Chairperson.
(F) The Township Board may appoint 2 alternate members for the same term as regular members to the Zoning Board of Appeals.
(G) An alternate member may be called, as specified in the Zoning Ordinance, to sit as a regular member of the Zoning Board of Appeals in the absence of a regular member, if a regular member is absent from or unable to attend 1 or more meetings.
(H) An alternate member may also be called to serve in the place of a regular member for the purpose of reaching a decision of a case in which the regular member for the Board has abstained for reason of conflict of interest.
(I) Having been appointed, the alternate member shall serve in the case until a final decision has been made.
(J) The alternate member shall have the same voting rights as a regular member of the Zoning Board of Appeals.
(K) A member of the Zoning Board of Appeals may be paid a reasonable per diem as established and approved by the Township Board.
(L) A member shall disqualify himself or herself from a vote in which the member has a conflict of interest. A member’s failure to disqualify himself or herself from a vote in which the member has a conflict of interest constitutes malfeasance in office.
(M) Upon written charges and after a public hearing, a member of the Zoning Board of Appeals may be removed by the Township Board for misfeasance, malfeasance, or nonfeasance in office.
(N) A vacancy on the Zoning Board of Appeals shall be filled for the remainder of the unexpired term in the same manner as original appointments.
(Ord. 99, passed 11-18-1996, § 24.01; Am. Ord. 157, passed 7-17-2007; Am. Ord. 174, passed 11-10-2008)
(A) The Zoning Board of Appeals shall not conduct business unless a majority of its regular members are present.
(B) An appeal to the Zoning Board of Appeals may be taken by any person aggrieved or by an officer, department, township board or bureau of the State of Michigan.
(C) All appeals must be applied for in writing, on forms provided by the township. The Zoning Board of Appeals shall give notice of the hearing to the parties involved.
(D) The Zoning Board of Appeals shall also give notice to owners and occupants of property as required by §153.427.
(E) The Zoning Board of Appeals shall state the grounds of any determination made by the Board, including listing all conditions.
(F) At a hearing a party may appear personally or by agent or attorney.
(Ord. 99, passed 11-18-1996, § 24.02; Am. Ord. 157, passed 7-17-2007; Am. Ord. 174, passed 11-10-2008)
The Zoning Board of Appeals shall have the following specified powers and duties.
(A) Administrative review. To hear and decide appeals where it is alleged by the appellant that there is an error in any order, requirement, permit, decision, or refusal made by the administrative official or any other administrative official in carrying out, or enforcing, any provisions of this chapter.
(B) Interpretation. To hear and decide in accordance with the provisions of this chapter:
(1) Appeals for the interpretation of the provisions of this chapter; and
(2) Requests to determine the precise location of the boundary lines between the zoning districts as they are displayed on the zoning map, when there is dissatisfaction with the decision on the subject.
(C) Variances.
(1) Generally.
(a) The Zoning Board of Appeals shall have the power to authorize use variances and dimensional (non-use) variances from such requirements as lot area and width regulations, building height and square foot regulations, yard width and depth regulations; such requirements as off-street parking and loading space, and sign regulations; and other similar requirements as specified in this chapter.
(b) To obtain a variance, the applicant must submit an affidavit indicating that the standards for either a "practical difficulty" or "unnecessary hardship" exist, as described below.
(2) Dimensional or non-use variances.
(a) To authorize, upon an appeal, a variance from the strict application of the provisions of this chapter where by reason of exceptional narrowness, shallowness, shape or area of a specific piece of property at the time of enactment of this chapter or by reason of exceptional topographic conditions or other extraordinary or exceptional conditions of such property, the strict application of the regulations enacted would result in peculiar or exceptional practical difficulties upon the owner of such property; provided such relief may be granted without substantial detriment to the public good and without substantially impairing the intent and purpose of this chapter.
(b) In granting a dimensional variance, the Zoning Board of Appeals may attach thereto such conditions regarding the location, character, and other features of the proposed use as it may deem reasonable in furtherance of the purpose of this chapter. A dimensional variance shall not be granted unless all of the following standards are met:
1. Special conditions and circumstances exist that are unique to the land, structures, or buildings involved, and are not applicable to other lands, structures, or buildings in the same district;
2. The special conditions and circumstances on which the variance request is based do not result from the actions of the applicant;
3. Literal interpretation of this chapter would deprive the applicant of rights commonly enjoyed by other property owners in the same district under the terms of this chapter;
4. Granting the variance requested would not confer upon the applicant any special privilege that is denied by this chapter to other lands, structures, or buildings in the same district;
5. The existence of non-conforming uses of neighboring lands, structures, or buildings in the same district; permitted or non-conforming uses of land, structures, or buildings in other districts; and non-conforming structures shall not be considered grounds for the issuance of a variance;
6. A variance granted shall be the minimum that will make possible a reasonable use of the land, building, or structure; and
7. The variance granted shall be in harmony with the intent of this chapter and will not be injurious to the environment, neighborhood, or otherwise detrimental to the public interest.
(3) Use variances.
(a) To authorize, upon an appeal, a variance for a specific use of land that is not otherwise permitted in the district in which the property is located where the strict application of the regulations enacted would result in an unnecessary hardship upon the owner of such property.
(b) In granting a use variance, the Zoning Board of Appeals may attach thereto such conditions regarding the location, character, and other features of the proposed use as it may deem reasonable in the furtherance of the purpose of this chapter.
(c) A use variance shall not be granted unless all the following standards have been met:
1. The property cannot reasonably be put to a conforming use (i.e., that the property cannot yield a reasonable economic return if it is used in strict compliance with this chapter);
2. The plight of the owner is due to unique circumstances of the property and not to general neighborhood conditions which may reflect the unreasonableness of the zoning itself;
3. The use to be authorized will not alter the essential character of the locality;
4. The problem is not self-created; and
5. A variance granted shall be the minimum that will make possible a reasonable use of the land, building, or structure.
(4) The Zoning Board of Appeals shall not approve an application for a variance unless it has found positively that a practical difficulty or unnecessary hardship exists under the preceding criteria.
(Ord. 99, passed 11-18-1996, § 24.03; Am. Ord. 174, passed 11-10-2008; Am. Ord. 21-006-153.006 et seq., passed 10-19-2021)
(A) The Zoning Board of Appeals may require the applicant to provide such additional information as is necessary to make a decision.
(B) The Zoning Board of Appeals may reverse or affirm, wholly or partly, or modify the order, requirement, decision or determination, and may direct the issuance of a permit.
(C) In making a decision, the Zoning Board of Appeals may impose such conditions as it may deem necessary to comply with the spirit and purpose of this chapter.
(D) No variance may be granted or decision overruled unless at least 4 members vote in favor thereof.
(E) A variance shall expire 12 months from the date it is granted, unless a building permit has been acquired and construction undertaken pursuant to the variance. The Zoning Board of Appeals shall state the grounds for each decision.
(F) Any conditions imposed by the Zoning Board of Appeals shall meet the following requirements:
(1) Be designed to protect natural resources, the health, safety and welfare, and the social and economic well being of those who will use the land use or activity under consideration, residents and landowners immediately adjacent to the proposed land use or activity, and the community as a whole;
(2) Be related to the valid exercise of the police power, and purposes affected by the proposed use or activity; and
(3) Be necessary to meet the intent and purpose of this chapter, be related to the standards established in this chapter for the land use or activity under consideration, and be necessary to ensure compliance with those standards.
(G) The decision of the Zoning Board of Appeals shall be final. An appeal from a decision of the Zoning Board of Appeals to the Circuit Court for the County of Genesee shall be filed within 21 days after the Zoning Board of Appeals approves the meeting minutes of its decision.
(Ord. 99, passed 11-18-1996, § 24.04; Am. Ord. 103, passed 7-21-1997; Am. Ord. 157, passed 7-17-2007; Am. Ord. 174, passed 11-10-2008)
The Zoning Board of Appeals is without general authority to reconsider a matter it has decided and from reversing its previous decision, unless the facts and circumstances that actuated the decision have so changed as to vitiate or materially affect the reason that produced and supported it, and no vested rights have intervened.
(Ord. 99, passed 11-18-1996, § 24.05; Am. Ord. 174, passed 11-10-2008)
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