(A) Creation and membership. A Zoning Board of Appeals is authorized to be established. The word BOARD, when used in this section, shall mean the Zoning Board of Appeals. The Board shall consist of seven members appointed by the President by and with the consent of the Board of Trustees. The term shall be five years, provided that the members of the first Board shall serve respectively for the following terms (or until their respective successors are appointed and qualified): one for one year, one for two years, one for three years, one for four years, three for five years and five years each for those following the first appointment. One of the members of the Board shall be designated by the President, with the consent of the Board of Trustees, as Chairperson of the Board, and shall hold office as Chairperson until a successor is appointed. Vacancies in office shall be filled for the unexpired term of any member whose place has become vacant. The President may remove any member of the Board for cause after public hearing.
(B) Oaths. The Chairperson of the Zoning Board of Appeals, or, in the Chairperson’s absence, the acting Chairperson, may administer oaths and compel the attendance of witnesses.
(C) Meetings. Meetings of the Zoning Board of Appeals shall be held at the call of the Chairperson, or any two members, or at such times as such Board may determine. All hearings conducted by the Board shall be open to the public. The Board shall keep minutes of its proceedings showing the vote of each member upon each question, or, if absent or failing to vote, indicating such fact, and shall also keep records of its hearings and other official actions. Findings of fact shall be included in the minutes of each case of a requested variation, or special use permit, and the reasons for granting or denying such application shall be specified. Every rule or regulation, every amendment or repeal thereof and every order, requirement, decision or determination of the Board shall be filed immediately in the office of the Village Clerk and shall be a public record. Three members of the Board shall constitute a quorum.
(D) Compensation. The members of the Zoning Board of Appeals shall receive such fees for their compensation as shall be established, from time to time, by ordinance by the Board of Trustees.
(E) Powers and duties. The Zoning Board of Appeals shall exercise the power and perform all the duties and proceed in the manner set forth in 65 ILCS 5/11-13-1, other applicable statutes of the state and this chapter.
(F) Appeals. All appeals from and review of any order, requirement, decision or determination made by the Building Inspector in enforcing the provisions of this chapter shall be made to the Zoning Board of Appeals. Any appeal from the failure by the Building Inspector to act shall also be made to the Zoning Board of Appeals. Such appeal may be taken by any person aggrieved or by an officer or department or the Village President and Village Board of Trustees. Failure of the Building Inspector to act within 30 days after application to the Inspector shall be considered a determination adverse to the applicant unless the applicant is in default to the village. A default occurs when an applicant owes money to the village or is being prosecuted for violation of a village ordinance; in which case, the Building Inspector or the Zoning Board of Appeals shall defer action until such money is paid or such prosecution completed.
(G) Time for appeals; grounds. Notices of appeal from decisions of the Building Inspector shall be filed within 20 days from such decision, or, if no decision has been made, within 30 days of application to the Building Inspector. Notices of appeal shall be filed with the Building Inspector and/or the Village Clerk and shall specify the grounds of appeal. Such notice shall be delivered by the Building Inspector and/or Village Clerk to the Zoning Board of Appeals, together with all papers constituting the record in such case.
(H) Fees.
(1) The fee for hearing appeals from decisions of the Building Inspector or for variations of the terms of this chapter by the Zoning Board of Appeals shall be as established, from time to time, by ordinance by the Board of Trustees. In addition, the Board of Trustees may establish, from time to time, a deposit fee which shall be paid by the applicant to cover the cost of a court reporter’s services to record and transcribe proceedings before the Zoning Board of Appeals.
(2) These fees shall be paid to the Village Clerk and the receipt of the Clerk shall be made a part of the appeal or application for variation of the ordinance. Any balance over the actual charges made by the court reporter shall be refunded from the deposit of the applicant.
(3) The cost of publication of notice of a public hearing of matters before the Zoning Board of Appeals shall be paid by the person seeking the hearing and shall be in addition to any other fee mentioned in this chapter. Proof of publication of notice of hearing must be presented in advance of any such hearing. The Village Clerk shall be responsible for causing such notice to be published.
(I) Variations in application of regulations. The following rules shall govern the practice in zoning cases before the Board of Trustees and Zoning Board of Appeals whenever a variation in the application of the regulations contained in the zoning ordinance or amendments thereto is proposed.
(1) The person desiring a variation in the application of the regulations contained in the zoning ordinance or amendments thereto must be an owner or contract purchaser and shall file in triplicate with the Building Inspector a petition describing the variation sought to be made and a resolution by which the Board of Trustees may refer such petition to the Zoning Board of Appeals. The petition must include the names and addresses of the owners of all parcels of land that abut the land for which a variance is sought. For this purpose, the names and addresses used for the most recent tax bills on such abutting land shall be sufficient.
(2) The Building Inspector shall transmit the petition and resolution set out in division (I)(1) above to the Village Clerk who shall present them to the Board of Trustees at its next regular meeting or at any special meeting called for the purpose of hearing such matter. The Board of Trustees shall refer the petition to the Zoning Board of Appeals for hearing and recommendation.
(3) The Zoning Board of Appeals may recommend variance of the application of the regulations of the zoning ordinance in cases, where there are practical difficulties or particular hardships in the way of carrying out the strict letter of any of those regulations relating to the use, construction or alteration of buildings or consideration of the standards of practical difficulties or particular hardship the Zoning Board of Appeals shall require evidence that:
(a) The property in question cannot yield a reasonable return if permitted to be used only under the conditions allowed by the ordinance;
(b) The plight of the owner is due to unique circumstances; and
(c) The variation, if granted, will not alter the essential character of the locality. A variation will be permitted only if the evidence sustains each of the three conditions enumerated. The recommendation of the Zoning Board of Appeals to grant or deny a variance shall be passed on to the Board of Trustees for final action at the next regular or special meeting. Every variation made by the Board of Trustees shall be made by written order, which shall contain a finding of fact specifying the reason for making the variation, a copy of which order shall be furnished to the applicant by such Board.
(4) No variation shall be made, except in a specific case and after a public hearing before the Zoning Board of Appeals. Upon the hearing, the proponents and the opponents of the petition and their respective attorneys may appear and be heard. All testimony shall be made under oath or affirmation.
(5) Notice of the time and place of the public hearing of the Zoning Board of Appeals shall be given in each case by publishing a notice thereof in a newspaper of general circulation within the village not more than 30 days nor less than 15 days before the hearing. This notice shall contain the particular location for which the variation is requested as well as a brief description of the proposed variation. A notice of the time and place of the public hearing shall also be posted on or as close as possible to the land for which a variance is sought. Additionally, notice of the time and place of the public hearing shall be mailed not less than ten days before the hearing to the persons identified as owners of abutting land in the variance petition.
(6) Action by Village Board includes the following.
(a) After any application for a variance has been acted on by the Village Board of Trustees, another application requesting the same relief shall not be accepted or considered by the Zoning Board of Appeals or Village Board for a period of 18 months after such action unless the applicant shows that there has been a substantial change in circumstances since such action.
(b) For the purpose of this section, REQUESTING THE SAME RELIEF means requesting a variance from the same provision or combination of provisions from the zoning ordinance for the same premises sought in such prior petition, seeking the same change in a nonconforming use as sought in such prior petition or seeking a special use of the same premises as sought in such prior petition.
(c) A change in circumstances must be demonstrated by a written request for leave to file an application for a variance and the written request must be accompanied by affidavits, maps and other documentary evidence. Within 30 days of the date the request is submitted, the Village Board shall decide whether there has been a substantial change in circumstances. That decision shall be final, subject to judicial review. If the Village Board decides there has been no substantial change in circumstances since such action, the request will be denied and no application for a variance will be accepted. If the Village Board does conclude there has been a substantial change in circumstances since such action, then the request shall be granted and an application shall be accepted and shall be acted on in accordance with the provisions of this chapter.
(J) Previous variations. All variations still in use, granted under the village’s prior zoning ordinances, are ratified.
(Prior Code, § 154.091) (Ord. 95-11-01, passed 11-13-1995)