(A) General. There shall be and is hereby created a Board of Adjustment consisting of six members. All members shall be residents of the town and its extraterritorial area and shall be appointed by the Town Council. Three members shall be residents of the town and three members shall be residents of the extraterritorial area. The Board shall follow quasi-judicial procedures pursuant to G.S. § 160D-406 in all matters brought before the Board, such as appeals of administrative decisions and variance requests.
(B) Length of terms.
(1) After adoption of this chapter, new appointments to said Board of Adjustment shall be made as follows: two members to serve for one year; two members to serve for two years; and two members to serve for three years. Thereafter, as the terms expire, all new appointments shall be for three-year terms. Nothing herein contained shall be so interpreted as to forbid any member from being appointed to succeed himself or herself.
(2) Vacancies occurring for any reason other than expiration of term shall be filled as soon as is reasonably possible after such vacancy occurs by the Town Council and such appointment shall be only for the period of the unexpired term.
(C) Officers, rules, and regulations. The Board of Adjustment shall elect officers and adopt rules and regulations for its own government as it deems necessary to carry out the provisions of this subchapter.
(D) Conflict of interest. A Board of Adjustment member, when exercising any quasi-judicial function, shall not participate in or vote on any quasi-judicial matter in a manner that would violate affected persons' constitutional rights to an impartial decision maker. Impermissible violations of due process include, but are not limited to, a member having a fixed opinion prior to hearing the matter that is not susceptible to change, undisclosed ex parte communications, a close familial, business, or other associational relationship with an affected person, or a financial interest in the outcome of the matter. "Close familial relationship" means a spouse, parent, child, brother, sister, grandparent, or grandchild, and includes the step, half, and in-law relationships.
(G.S. § 160D-109)
(Ord. passed 7-1-1980; Res. R-2021-03, passed 6-24-2021)