(A) Authority. The Village Board of Trustees shall decide variations of the provisions of this chapter in harmony with its general purpose and intent, and shall vary them only in the specific instances hereinafter set forth where the Zoning Board of Appeals shall have made a finding of fact based upon the standards hereinafter prescribed that there are practical difficulties or particular hardships in the way of carrying out the strict letter of the regulations of this chapter.
(B) Initiation. An application for a variation may be made by any person, firm or corporation, or by any office, department, board, bureau or commission requesting or intending to request application for a building permit, zoning certificate or occupancy certificate.
(C) Processing. An application for a variation shall be filed with the Village Clerk. The Village Clerk shall forward such application to the Zoning Board of Appeals for processing in accordance with applicable statutes of the State of Illinois and the provisions of this chapter. No variation shall be recommended by the Zoning Board of Appeals except after a public hearing before the Zoning Board of Appeals, of which there shall be a notice of time and place of the hearing published at least once, not more than 30 nor less than 15 days before the hearing, in one or more newspapers with a general circulation within the village, and a written notice is served at least 15 days before the hearing on the owners of the properties located adjacent to the location for which the variation is requested.
(D) Decisions. All recommendations and findings of the Zoning Board of Appeals on variations arrived at after the hearing shall be accompanied by findings of fact specifying the reason or reasons for recommending the approval or disapproval of the variation, and the decision of the Village Board shall be final and subject to judicial review only in accordance with applicable statutes of the State of Illinois.
(E) Standards.
(1) The Board of Trustees shall not vary the provisions of this chapter as authorized in this section unless it shall have made findings based upon the evidence presented to it and the Board of Appeals in the following cases:
(a) That the property in question cannot yield a reasonable return if permitted to be used only under the conditions allowed by the regulations governing the district in which it is located;
(b) That the plight of the owner is due to unique circumstances; or
(c) That the variation, if granted, will not alter the essential character of the locality.
(2) A variation shall be permitted only if the evidence, in the judgment of the Village Board, sustains each of the three conditions enumerated above.
(3) For the purpose of supplementing the above standards, the Board of Trustees, in making this determination whenever there are practical difficulties or particular hardships, shall also take into consideration the extent to which the following facts, favorable to the applicant, have been established by the evidence:
(a) That the particular physical surrounding, shape, or topographical conditions of the specific property involved will bring particular hardship upon the owner as distinguished from a mere inconvenience if the strict letter of the regulations were to be carried out;
(b) That the conditions upon which the petition for variation is based would not be applicable generally to other property within the same zoned classification;
(c) That the purpose of the variation is not based exclusively upon a desire to make more money out of the property;
(d) That the alleged difficulty or hardship has not been created by any person presently having an interest in the property;
(e) That the granting of the variation will not be detrimental to the public welfare or unduly injurious to other property or improvements in the neighborhood in which the property is located; or
(f) That the proposed variation will not impair an adequate supply of light and air to adjacent property, or substantially increase the danger of fire, or otherwise endanger the public safety or substantially diminish or impair property values within the neighborhood.
(4) The Village Board may require such conditions and restrictions upon the premises benefitted by a variation as may be necessary to comply with the standards set forth in this section to reduce or minimize the effect of such variation upon other property in the neighborhood, and to implement the general purpose and intent of this chapter.
(F) Authorized variation. Variations from the regulations of this chapter shall be granted by the village only in accordance with the standards set out in this section, and may be granted only in the following instances and in no others:
(1) To permit up to 20% reduction in the front, side or rear yard required by this chapter;
(2) To permit the use of a lot or lots for a use otherwise prohibited solely because of insufficient area or width of the lot or lots but in no event shall the respective area and width of the lot be less than 75% of the required area and width. The percentage set forth in this division (2) is not to be reduced by any other percentage for minimum lot width and area set forth in this chapter.
(3) To permit the same off-street parking facility to qualify as required facilities for two or more uses, provided the substantial use of such facility by each use does not take place at approximately the same hours of the same days of the week;
(4) To reduce the applicable off-street parking or loading facilities required by not more than one parking space or loading space, or 20% of the applicable regulations, whichever number is greater;
(5) To increase by not more than 20% the gross area of any sign;
(6) To increase by not more than 10% the maximum gross floor area of any use so limited by the applicable regulations;
(7) To extend the period of time a non-conforming use may continue or remain;
(8) To exceed any of the authorized variations allowed under this section, when a lot of record or a zoning lot, vacant or legally used on the effective date of this chapter, is by reason of the exercise of the right of eminent domain by any authorized governmental body or by reason of a conveyance under threat of an eminent domain proceeding reduced in size so that the remainder of said lot does not conform with one or more of the regulations of the district in which said lot of record or zoning lot or structure is located.
(G) Other variations. Variations other than those listed above may be granted by the Village Board, but only after a public hearing as set forth herein for an authorized variation, and a report from the Zoning Board of Appeals recommending the variation. The concurring vote of four members of the Village Board shall be necessary to grant a variation.
(Ord. 77-08, passed 6-28-77)