(A) Established. A Board of Appeals is hereby established in accordance with the provisions of the statute applicable thereto. Regular meetings of the Zoning Board shall be held at such time and place within the village as the Zoning Board may determine. Special meetings may be held at the call of the Chairperson, or as determined by the Zoning Board. Such Chairperson, or in his or her absence the acting Chairperson, may administer oaths and compel attendance of witnesses. All meetings of the Zoning Board shall be open to the public. The Zoning Board shall keep minutes of its proceedings showing the vote of each member on every question. If any member is absent or fails to vote, the minutes shall indicate such a fact. The Zoning Board shall adopt its own rules of procedure not in conflict with the statute or this chapter. (See § 11-13-3 of the Illinois Municipal Code, 65 ILCS 5/11-13-3.)
(B) Duties of the Zoning Board. The Zoning Board shall hear and decide appeals from any order, requirements, decision, or determination made by the Zoning Officer. It shall also hear and decide all matters referred to it or upon which it is required to pass under this chapter. The Zoning Board may reverse or affirm, wholly or partly, or may modify or amend the order, requirement, decision, or determination appealed from to the extent and manner that the Zoning Board may decide to be fitting and proper in the premises, and to that end the Zoning Board shall also have all the powers of the officer from whom the appeal is taken. When a property owner shows that a strict application of the terms of this chapter relating to the use, construction, or alteration of buildings or structures, or to the use of land, imposes upon him or her practical difficulties or particular hardship, then the Zoning Board may make such variations of the strict application of terms of this chapter as are in harmony with its general purpose and intent when the Zoning Board is satisfied, under the evidence heard before it, that a granting of such variation will not merely serve as a convenience to the applicant, but is necessary to alleviate some demonstrable hardship so great as to warrant a variation in the following instances:
(1) To permit the extension of a district where the boundary line of a district divides a lot in single ownership as shown of record;
(2) To make a variance, by reason of an exceptional situation, surroundings, or condition of a specific piece of property or by the reason of exceptional narrowness, shallowness, or shape of a specific piece of property of record, or by reason of exceptional topographical conditions, the strict application of any provision of this chapter would result in peculiar and exceptional practical difficulties or particular hardship upon the owner of such property, and amount to a practical confiscation of property, as distinguished from a mere inconvenience to such owner; provided such relief can be granted without substantial detriment to the public good and without substantially impairing the general purpose and intent of the comprehensive plan as established by the regulations and provisions contained in this chapter;
(3) To interpret the provisions of this chapter where the street layout actually on the ground varies from the street layout as shown on the district map fixing the several districts; and
(4) Nothing herein contained shall be construed to give or grant to the Board the power or authority to alter or change the zoning title or the district map; such power and authority being reserved to the Village Board. The Zoning Board may impose such conditions and restrictions upon the use of the premises benefitted by a variation after an application for a permit has been made to the Zoning Officer and after duly advertised public hearing held by the Zoning Board as prescribed by statute. The notice of hearing shall contain the address or location of the property for which the variation or other ruling by the Zoning Board is sought, as well as a brief description of the nature of the appeal. The applicant shall pay the actual expenses of the public hearing, including publication of notices and any fee for meeting space.
(C) Special uses. An application for one of the special uses of land specified in § 152.049(C) shall be made by filing a written application or petition to the Zoning Board. Such application shall:
(1) State the name, address of applicant and the owner;
(2) State location of property for which the special use is sought;
(3) State the specific special use desired; and
(4) State facts sufficient to demonstrate that the conditions prescribed in § 152.049(B) exist and support such statement with any plans and/or data necessary for a proper understanding of the application, or such plans and/or data as are recommended by the Zoning Board. If the application for a special use is in proper form, the Zoning Board shall hold a public hearing on such matter in accordance with the provisions of § 152.071.
(D) Appeals to Zoning Board.
(1) An appeal to the Zoning Board may be taken by any person aggrieved or by any officer, department, board, or bureau of the village. The appeal shall be taken within such time as shall be prescribed by the Zoning Board by a general rule by filing with the Zoning Officer from whom the appeal is taken and with the Zoning Board a notice of appeal, specifying the grounds thereof. The Zoning Officer from whom the appeal is taken shall forthwith transmit to the Zoning Board all the papers constituting the record upon which the action appealed from was taken.
(2) An appeal stays all proceedings in furtherance of the action appealed from, unless the Zoning Officer from whom the appeal is taken certifies to the Zoning Board, after the notice of appeal has been filed with him or her, that by reason of facts stated in the certificate a stay would in his or her opinion, cause imminent peril to life or property. In this event, the proceedings shall not be stayed otherwise than by a restraining order which may be granted by the Zoning Board or by a court of record on application and on notice to the Zoning Officer from whom the appeal is taken, and on due cause shown.
(3) The Zoning Board shall fix a reasonable time for the hearing of the appeal and give due notice thereof to the parties and decide the appeal within a reasonable time. Upon the hearing, any party may appear in person, by agent, or by attorney. The Zoning Board may reverse or affirm, wholly or partly, or may modify the order, requirement, decision, or determination as in its opinion ought to be made in the premises and to that end has all the powers of the Zoning Officer from whom the appeal is taken.
(1977 Code, § 5-10-5) (Ord. passed 9-12-1966)