(A) Pursuant to Public Act 110 of 2006, the State Zoning Enabling Act, the City Zoning Board of Appeals created pursuant to Public Act 207 of 1921, being M.C.L.A. §§ 125.3101 et seq., as amended, is hereby continued in existence and shall continue to act as the City Zoning Board of Appeals, referred to in this chapter as the Zoning Board of Appeals or ZBA, subject to the referenced Public Act 110 of 2006. The Zoning Board of Appeals shall be constituted and appointed as provided by the State Zoning Enabling Act and shall be comprised of five regular members and two alternate members, each of which shall serve a term of three years except for members serving because of their membership on the Planning Commission or the City Council, whose terms shall be limited to the time they are members of those bodies. Except as otherwise provided by the State Zoning Enabling Act, all regular members serving on the Zoning Board of Appeals on the effective date of this chapter shall continue to serve the remainder of the term to which he or she was appointed pursuant to the previous Act.
(B) It is also provided that:
(1) One member of the ZBA shall also be a member of the City Planning Commission;
(2) One member of the ZBA may be a member of the City Council but shall not serve as chairperson of the ZBA;
(3) A city employee or contractor may not serve as a member of the ZBA;
(4) All regular and alternate members of the ZBA shall be selected from the electors of the city. The members selected shall be representative of the population distribution and of the various interests present in the city;
(5) An alternate member may be called to serve as a member of the ZBA in the absence of a regular member if the regular member will be unable to attend one or more meetings or for the purpose of reaching a decision on a case in which a member has abstained for reasons of conflict of interest;
(6) An alternate member called to serve shall serve on the case for which he or she is called until a final decision is made and shall have the same voting rights as regular member of the ZBA;
(7) A member of the ZBA 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;
(8) The City Council may remove a ZBA member for misfeasance, malfeasance, or nonfeasance in office upon written charges and after a public hearing;
(9) A vacancy on the Zoning Board of Appeals shall be filled for the remainder of the unexpired term in the same manner as the same appointment;
(10) The Zoning Board of Appeals shall not conduct business unless the majority of the regular members of the Zoning Board of Appeals are present; and
(11) A member of the Zoning Board of Appeals who is also a member of the Planning Commission or the Council shall not participate in a public hearing on or vote on the same matter that the member voted on as a member of the Planning Commission, or the City Council. However, the member may consider and vote on other unrelated matters involving the same property.
(Ord., § 701, passed 6-11-2002; Ord. passed 4-12-2011)