A. Officers: The Board of Adjustment shall select from its membership a chairman and vice chairman who shall perform the usual duties pertaining to such offices.
1. Selection: At the first regular meeting in January of each year, the Board will pick its officers from its membership. All officers are eligible for reelection.
2. Tenure: The chairman and vice chairman shall take office immediately following their selection and shall hold office for a term of one year or until their successors are selected and assume office.
3. Duties: The chairman shall preside at all meetings and hearings of the Board, shall decide all points of order or procedure, and shall appoint any committees that may be found necessary. The vice chairman shall assume the duties of the chairman in the absence of the chairman.
4. Secretary: The secretary will be appointed by the Board and may be a member of the Board, an employee of the Board, or a regular employee of the City. The secretary shall conduct all official correspondence subject to these rules at the direction of the Board, shall send out all notices required by these rules of procedure, keep the minutes of the Board's proceedings, and keep a file on each case which comes before the Board. For all appeals and applications, the secretary shall issue the proper forms; see that information, maps, and plats are compiled and ready for Board's review; notify any property owner interested parties by mail of the time and place of the hearing; and any other duties as determined by the Board.
B. Meetings: The annual meeting of the Board will take place at the first regular meeting in January of each year. Regular meetings of the Board of Adjustment shall be held at seven o'clock (7:00) P.M. The secretary shall give each member of the Board seventy two (72) hours' notice of such meeting.
1. Special Meetings: Special meetings may be called by the chairman, or at the request of the three (3) members of the Board of Adjustment. Notice of the special meeting shall be given by the secretary to the members of the Board at least forty eight (48) hours prior to such meeting and shall state the purpose and time of meeting.
2. Quorum: A quorum of the Board shall consist of three (3) members.
3. Public: All regular, special, and subcommittee meetings, public hearings, records and accounts shall be open to the public.
4. Order Of Business: The secretary shall prepare an agenda for each meeting and send it to each Boardmember as a part of the notification process (72 hours prior). The order of business shall be as follows:
a. Roll call.
b. Reading the minutes of the previous meeting.
c. Communications.
d. Report of committees.
e. Unfinished business.
f. New business.
g. Adjournment.
5. Voting:
a. The concurring vote of three (3) members of the Board is required to reach a decision (no matter how many Board members are present). Voting will be by roll call and will be recorded by yeas and nays.
b. All members of the Board, including the chairman, are required to cast a vote for each motion. Minutes will show members absent for each vote. A member may abstain if he/she feels there is a conflict of interest, particularly if the conflict is of a financial nature. If a member elects to abstain from voting, he/she is required to state the reason for his/her abstention at the time of voting.
6. Unfinished Business: Where all appeals or applications cannot be disposed of on the day set (due to length of meeting or extenuating circumstances), the Board may adjourn from day-to-day or until the next regular meeting, as the Board may decide.
7. Board Action: The Board may not vote on an appeal or application until all required information has been set forth on the forms and until the hearing has been conducted.
8. Parliamentary Procedure: "Robert's Rule of Order Revised" will govern the Board meetings.
C. Cases Decided By Board: The following cases shall be made before the Board of Adjustment on forms provided by the Board secretary:
1. Appeals where it is alleged there is error in any order, requirement, decision or determination made by the Zoning Administrator in the enforcement of this Zoning Title.
2. Special exceptions to the terms of this Zoning Title upon which the Board is required to act under this Title.
3. Variances to a zoning district requirement where there are unusual conditions or circumstances which cause a hardship when the provisions of zoning are strictly applied.
D. Procedure For Hearing Cases: The following rules will apply to all appeals or applications before the Board:
1. Appeals to the Board may be taken by any person, group, or by any officer or department of the City affected by any decision of the Zoning Administrator and by applicants for a special exception or variance.
2. The Zoning Administrator shall tell the applicant or interested party why the zoning or building permit was denied or why the application is necessary. He/she shall inform the applicant or interested party of the right to apply or appeal to the Board of Adjustment. The Zoning Administrator will transmit the completed appeal form along with all papers constituting the record upon which the Board shall act.
3. The applicant shall complete the required forms, providing all information requested by the form and any additional information as requested by the Zoning Administrator.
4. The secretary of the Board shall reject any such application or appeal which is not filed within thirty (30) days of the Zoning Administrator's decision. Also, the secretary shall reject any such application or appeal unless same are made on prescribed forms properly filled out with all required data attached.
5. An application or appeal filed to the above procedure shall be given a case number within five (5) working days from the date filed. Applications or appeals will be assigned in the order in which they are received. Cases assigned to the Board less than ten (10) days prior to the regular meeting will automatically be set for hearing on the subsequent regular meeting day.
6. The secretary of the Board shall notify the parties of interest (property owners of record within 200 feet of the applicant's lot lines) by mail of the time, place, and purpose of the public hearing and give (4 but not more than 20 days') public notice in a newspaper of general circulation.
7. Hearings shall be held by the Board of Adjustment at the City Hall and shall be open to the public.
8. At the time of the public hearing, the applicant may appear on his/her own behalf or be represented by agent or counsel. In the absence of any personal appearance on behalf of the applicant, the Board will proceed to dispose of the matter on the forms and information provided before.
9. The order of the hearing shall be as follows:
a. The applicant's or appellant's side of the case,
b. The Zoning Administrator's side of the case,
c. The interested property owners' opinions,
d. The applicant's rebuttal.
10. After the hearing, the Board shall deliberate the case. The Board may ask the Board's attorney for comments.
11. The applicant or appellant may withdraw his/her application or appeal at any time prior to the decision by the Board of Adjustment.
12. Final decision of any application or appeal shall be made in the form of a resolution by anyone on the Board of Adjustment. The resolution may modify, or reverse the refusal of a permit by the decision of the Zoning Administrator. In the case of an application for variance or special exception, the resolution shall set forth that the application is granted or denied and said resolution shall specifically set forth what variances or special uses are permitted and what conditions, if any, shall be complied with.
13. Within fifteen (15) days after the hearing, the Board shall notify the parties of interest and the Zoning Administrator of its decision.
14. A rehearing of any decision of the Board of Adjustment may be made if the following occur: the motion to reconsider is made by a member of the Board and carried by not less than four (4) affirmative votes; new evidence is submitted which could not reasonably have been presented at the original meeting, at least ninety (90) days have elapsed since the resolution was defeated; and the case is put on the agenda for a rehearing.
E. Records: The secretary shall keep books showing the status of all cases and minutes as part of the records of the Board of Adjustment. In addition, the secretary shall keep a file of all cases including forms and additional information as a part of the legal records.
1. All records of the Board shall be a public record.
2. The secretary shall publish the minutes of all meetings in a newspaper of general circulation within fifteen (15) days of the meeting.
F. Amendments: A majority vote of all the members of the Board shall be necessary to amend these procedural rules. Such proposed amendments shall be presented in writing at any regular meeting of the Board of Adjustment.
G. Informal Advice: The Board will not consider a request (informal or not) for advice on theoretical or actual situations which potentially may later come before the Board as an appeal or application. (Ord. 5-81, 9-1-1981)