(A) General. In specific cases, where practical difficulties or a particular hardship would be incurred by the strict applications of the provisions of this chapter, the Planning and Zoning Board, after conducting a public hearing, may recommend to the Board of Trustees that a variation of the regulations of this chapter be granted in accordance with this section.
(Prior Code, § 20-1533)
(B) Authority to recommend variation. The Planning and Zoning Board shall have the authority to recommend variation to the provisions of this chapter only in accordance with the standards outlined in division (C) below, and only in instances as set out in divisions (B)(1), (B)(2), (B)(3), (B)(4), (B)(5) and (B)(7) below:
(1) To permit any minimum setback less than that required by the applicable regulations;
(2) To permit the same off-street parking facility to qualify for two or more uses; provided that, substantial use of such facility by each user does not take place at approximately the same hours of the same days of the week;
(3) To reduce the required off-street parking or loading facilities by not more than one parking or loading space, or 25% of the required spaces, whichever is greater;
(4) To increase, by not more than 25%, the maximum distance that required parking spaces are permitted to be located from the use served;
(5) To permit a variation in all districts for signs:
(a) Relative to the maximum height above-grade or the minimum height above-grade;
(b) Relative to the minimum setback requirements; or
(c) Relative to the maximum projection.
(6) To permit a variation of the regulations as listed in § 152.04 of this code of ordinances; or
(7) In a re-subdivision, to reduce the minimum lot dimension by no more than 5% in any dimension of any lot in a single-family residential district platted prior to 1-1-1980.
(Prior Code, § 20-1534)
(C) Standards for issuance. The Planning and Zoning Board shall not make a recommendation to the Board of Trustees to vary any regulation to this chapter unless, in each specific case, the Planning and Zoning has found that:
(1) The proposed variation is in harmony with the general purposes and intent of this chapter;
(2) Because of the particular physical surroundings, shape or topographical conditions of the specific property involved, a practical difficulty or particular hardship to the owner would result, as distinguished from a mere inconvenience, if the strict letter of the regulations were to be carried out;
(3) The conditions upon which the application for a variation are based are unique to the property for which the variation is sought, and are not generally applicable to other property within the same zoning classification;
(4) The property in question cannot yield a reasonable return if permitted to be used under the conditions allowed by the regulations of the zoning classification; provided, however, that, the variation is not based exclusively upon a desire to increase financial gain;
(5) The alleged difficulty or hardship is caused by this chapter and has not been created by any persons presently having an interest in the property;
(6) The granting of the variation will not be detrimental to the public welfare or injurious to other property or improvements in the neighborhood in which the property is located; and
(7) The proposed variation will not:
(a) Impair an adequate supply of light and air to the adjacent property;
(b) Substantially increase the congestion of public streets;
(c) Increase the danger of fire;
(d) Endanger the public safety; or
(e) Impair property values within the neighborhood.
(Prior Code, § 20-1535)
(D) Application.
(1) Every application for a variation shall be filed on forms provided by the Planning and Zoning Administrator, who shall review said application and initiate a permanent record thereof.
(2) In addition to the required application form, the Planning and Zoning Administrator shall require the applicant to submit the following:
(a) A site plan, drawn to scale, showing the actual ground area, height and bulk of all existing and proposed buildings and structures, the lot lines and dimensions, the location of building lines to lot lines, the location of any signs, easements, underground utilities, septic tanks, tile fields and water wells; the names and locations of adjoining streets; and the location of driveways and off-street parking areas in relation to those streets; and
(b) Any and all documentation, which supports the claim of practical difficulty or specific hardship.
(3) The Planning and Zoning Administrator shall promptly forward copies of the application form and all attachments and relative documentation to the Chairperson and members of the Planning and Zoning Board.
(4) The Planning and Zoning Administrator shall also file every application for variation with the County Soil and Water Conservation District, as per state law.
(Prior Code, § 20-1536)
(E) Hearing.
(1) The Planning and Zoning Board shall schedule and hold a public hearing within 60 days after the application for variation is filed.
(2) Notice indicating the time, date and place of the hearing, and the nature of the proposed variation, shall be given not more than 30, nor less than 15, days before said hearing:
(a) By first class mail to the applicant; and
(b) By publication in a newspaper of general circulation within the village.
(3) (a) Any interested party, at any such hearing, may appear and testify either in person or by a duly-authorized agent or attorney.
(b) Every applicant shall have the right to present witnesses on his, her or their behalf and to request that the Chairperson subpoena persons to appear.
(Prior Code, § 20-1537)
(F) Findings of fact, recommendation.
(1) The Planning and Zoning Board may recommend approval or denial of the application for variation, upon the concurring vote of five members.
(2) The Planning and Zoning Board shall submit such recommendation in writing to the Board of Trustees within a reasonable time, but in no event shall that recommendation be submitted more than 30 days after the public hearing on the application for variation.
(3) The recommendation so submitted shall be accompanied by findings of fact specifying the reason or reasons for the recommendation, and referring to any exhibits containing plans and specifications for the proposed variation, copies of which shall remain a part of the permanent record of the Planning and Zoning Board.
(4) The terms of relief, if any, shall be contained within the recommendation, but clearly set forth in a conclusion or a statement separate from the Planning and Zoning Board’s findings.
(Prior Code, § 20-1538)
(G) Action by the Board of Trustees.
(1) The Board of Trustees shall not act upon a proposed variation to this chapter until it has received and reviewed a written recommendation and findings of fact of the Planning and Zoning Board.
(2) The Board of Trustees may grant or deny any variation for which an application has been submitted, and on which a public hearing has been held, regardless of the recommendation from the Planning and Zoning Board; provided, however, that, any variation which fails to receive the approval of the Planning and Zoning Board shall not be passed, except by the favorable vote of at least two-thirds of the members of the Board of Trustees.
(3) The Board of Trustees, having voted to grant any variation, shall adopt said variation in ordinance form, at its next regularly scheduled meeting.
(4) If an application for a proposed variation is not acted upon finally by the Board of Trustees within 90 days of the date the Board of Trustees received the Planning and Zoning Board’s recommendation, and such time is not extended by mutual consent of the Board of Trustees and the applicant, the variation shall be deemed to have been denied.
(Prior Code, § 20-1539)
(H) Effect of denial. No application for a variation which has been denied by the Board of Trustees shall be resubmitted for a period of one year from the date of the order of denial, except on the grounds of new evidence or proof that conditions then exist which did not exist prior to the submission of the application and which are found to be valid by the Board of Trustees.
(Prior Code, § 20-1540)
(I) Duration of variation. Any ordinance varying the provisions of this chapter shall be invalid one year from the date of its passage and approval by the Board of Trustees, unless the variation, as permitted, has been substantially implemented by the applicant.
(Prior Code, § 20-1541)
(Ord. 1409, passed 4-18-2005; Ord. 1660, passed 9-4-2012; Ord. 1663, passed 10-1-2012; Ord. 1699, passed 3-17-2014)
Statutory reference:
Related provisions, see 70 ILCS 405/22.020a, 65 ILCS 5/11-13-6 and 65 ILCS5/11-13-11