A. Intent. The purpose of this section is to provide guidelines and standards to be followed by the
(ZBA) to act on matters where this Ordinance or state law gives jurisdiction to the
.
B. Authority of the
.
1. General authority. The
(ZBA) shall have the authority to act on those matters where this Ordinance provides for administrative review/appeal, interpretation, or special approval/appeal, and shall have authority to authorize a
as defined in this Ordinance and laws of the State of Michigan. Such authority shall be subject to the rules and standards in this section. The
shall not have the authority to alter or change
classifications of any property, nor to make any change in the text of this Ordinance. The
has no authority to grant
or overturn decisions involving
or
.
2. Administrative review.
The
shall have authority to hear and decide appeals where it is alleged that there is an error in an order, requirement, permit, decision, or refusal made by an official, board or commission in carrying out or enforcing any provisions of this Ordinance. Such appeal shall be requested by the applicant within 30 days of the date of the order, refusal, requirement, or determination being appealed.
In hearing and deciding appeals under this subsection,
review shall be based upon the record of the administrative decision being appealed, and the
shall not consider new information which had not been presented to the administrative official, board or commission from whom the appeal is taken. The
shall not substitute its judgment for that of the administrative official, board or commission being appealed, and the appeal shall be limited to determining, based upon the record, whether the administrative official, board, or commission breached a duty or discretion in carrying out this Ordinance.
3. Interpretation. The
shall have authority to hear and decide requests for interpretation of the Zoning Ordinance, including the zoning map. The
shall make such decisions so that the spirit and intent of this Ordinance shall be observed. Text interpretations shall be limited to the issues presented, and shall be based upon a reading of the Ordinance as a whole, and shall not have the effect of amending the Ordinance. Map interpretations shall be made based upon rules in the Ordinance, and any relevant historical information. In carrying out its authority to interpret the Ordinance, the
shall consider reasonable and/or practical interpretations which have been consistently applied in the administration of the Ordinance. Prior to deciding a request for an interpretation, the
may confer with staff and/or consultant to determine the basic purpose of the provision subject to interpretation and any consequences which may result from differing decisions. A decision providing an interpretation may be accompanied by a recommendation for consideration of an amendment of the Ordinance.
4. .
The
shall have authority in specific cases to authorize one or more dimensional or “non-use”
from the strict letter and terms of this Ordinance by varying or modifying any of its rules or provisions so that the spirit of this Ordinance is observed, public safety secured, and substantial justice done. A dimensional or non-use
allows a deviation from the dimensional (i.e., height,
,
) requirements of the Ordinance. A use
authorizes the establishment of a use of land that is otherwise prohibited in a
. The
is not authorized to grant use
by this Ordinance.
Such authority shall be exercised in accordance with the following standards.
(a) The
may grant a requested “non-use”
only upon a finding that practical difficulties exist and that the need for the
is due to unique circumstances peculiar to the property and not generally applicable in the area or to other properties in the same
. In determining whether practical difficulties exist, the
shall consider the following factors:
(1) Strict compliance with restrictions governing area,
, frontage, height,
,
, or other non-use matters, will unreasonably prevent the owner from using the property for a permitted purpose or will render ordinance conformity unnecessarily burdensome.
(2) The
will do substantial justice to the applicant, as well as to other property owners.
(3) A lesser
than requested will not give substantial relief to the applicant and/or be consistent with justice to other property owners.
(4) The problem and resulting need for the
has not been self-created by the applicant and/or the applicant’s predecessors. (For example, a
needed for a proposed
would, by definition, be self-created, so such a
typically would not be granted.)
(b) In all
proceedings, it shall be the responsibility of the applicant to provide information, plans, testimony and/or evidence from which the
may make the required findings. Administrative officials and other persons may, but shall not be required to, provide information, testimony, and/or evidence on a
request.
5. Conditions. The
may impose reasonable conditions in connection with an affirmative decision on an appeal, interpretation, or
request. The conditions may include requirements necessary to insure that public services and facilities affected by a proposed land use or activity will be capable or accommodating increased service and facility loads caused by the land use or activity, to protect the natural environment and conserve
and energy, to insure compatibility with adjacent uses of land, and to promote the use of land in a socially and economically desirable manner. Conditions imposed shall meet the following requirements:
(a) Be designed to protect
, the health, safety, and welfare, and the social and economic well-being of those who will use the land use or activity under consideration, residents and landowners immediately adjacent to the proposed land use or activity, and the community as a whole.
(b) Be related to the valid exercise of the police power, and purposes which are affected by the proposed use or activity.
(c) Be necessary to meet the intent and purpose of the zoning ordinance, be related to the standards established in the ordinance, be related to the standards established in the ordinance for the land use or activity under consideration, and be necessary to insure compliance with those standards.
Conditions imposed with respect to the approval of a
shall be recorded as part of the
minutes, and shall remain unchanged except upon the mutual consent of the
and the landowner following notice and hearing as required in a new case.
C. Applications and notices.
1. Application. All applications to the
shall be filed with the Township Clerk or his or her designee, on forms provided by the
, and shall be accompanied by the applicable fee established by resolution of the
. Applications shall include three individually folded and one digital copy of all plans, studies and other information and data to be relied upon by the applicant. These materials shall be submitted to the
no later than 21 days prior to the
meeting at which the review is requested.
2.
.
A
shall be required with all
requests. The plan which shall accompany all
requests shall be based on a mortgage survey or land survey prepared by a licensed land surveyor. The plan shall be to scale and shall include all
and dimensions,
and all existing and proposed
. Where an application provides a
sought in conjunction with a regular site plan review, a site plan prepared according to § 29.02 shall satisfy the requirements of this section.
The
has the authority to require a land survey prepared by a licensed land surveyor when the
determines it to be necessary to insure accuracy of the plan.
The
shall have no obligation to consider and/or grant a request for relief unless and until a conforming and complete application has been filed, including relevant plans, studies, and other information.
3. Applications involving an appeal of administrative order. In a case involving an appeal from an action of an administrative official or entity, the administrative official, or the clerk or secretary of the administrative entity, as the case may be, upon notice from the Planning Department, shall transmit to the
copies of all papers constituting the record upon which the action was taken, together with a letter specifying an explanation of the action taken.
4. Consent of property owner required. Applications to the
shall be made with the full knowledge and written consent of all owners of the property in question. This requirement shall include the consent of a land contract seller to the relief sought by a land contract purchaser.
5. Notice. Notice of a public hearing concerning a request for a dimensional
shall be given following the procedures of § 29.11. Notice of a public hearing concerning a request for an interpretation of the zoning ordinance, or an appeal of an administrative decision shall be given as follows:
(a) A notice stating the time, date, and place of the public hearing shall be published in a newspaper of general circulation in the
and sent to the person requesting the interpretation not less than 15 days before the public hearing.
(b) If the request for interpretation or appeal involves a specific
, written notice stating the nature of the request and the time, date, and place of the public hearing shall be sent by first-class mail or personal delivery to all persons to whom
is assessed within 500 feet of the boundary of the property in question, and to the occupants of all
within 500 feet of the boundary of the property in question. If a tenant’s name is not known, the term “occupant” may be used.
6. Stay of proceedings. An appeal shall have the effect of staying all proceedings in furtherance of the action being appealed unless the officer or entity from whom the appeal is taken certifies to the
that, by reason of facts stated in such certification, a stay would in his or her opinion cause imminent peril to life or property, in which case proceedings shall not be stayed unless specifically determined by the
, or by a court of competent jurisdiction.
7. Decision by the
. The concurring vote of a majority of the membership of the
shall be necessary to reverse any order, requirement, decision, or determination of an administrative official, board, or commission made in the administration of this ordinance, to decide in favor of an applicant on any matter upon which the
is required to pass under this Ordinance, or to grant a “non-use”
from the terms of this Ordinance.
D. Disposition and duration of approval.
1.
powers. The
may reverse, affirm, vary, or modify any order, requirement, decision, or determination presented in a case within the
’s jurisdiction, and to that end, shall have all of the powers of the officer, board, or commission from whom the appeal is taken, subject to the
’s scope of review, as specified in this Ordinance and/or by law. The
may remand a case for further proceedings and decisions, with or without instructions.
2. Decision final. A decision by the
shall be considered final as of the meeting at which the decision has been made, and the date of such meeting shall be deemed to be the date of notice of the decision to the applicant. To the extent that decisions are requested or required to be in writing, the minutes of the
meeting, and decision, as proposed under supervision of the secretary, shall constitute the written decision.
3. Period of validity. Any decision of the
favorable to the applicant shall remain valid only as long as the information and data relating to such decision are found to be correct, and the conditions upon which the decision was based are maintained. The relief granted by the
shall be valid for a period not longer than one year, unless otherwise specified by the
, and within such period of effectiveness, actual on-site improvement of property in accordance with the approved plan and the relief granted, under a valid
permit, must be commenced or the grant of relief shall be deemed void.
4. Record of proceedings.
The
administrative staff, under the supervision of the secretary of the
, shall prepare and keep minutes of the
proceedings, showing the findings, decisions, conditions, if any, and votes of each member in each case, including a member’s absence or failure to vote. The minutes shall be within the ultimate authority, and shall be the responsibility, of the secretary of the
, and shall be subject to approval of the
. To the extent that a written decision in a case is requested or required, the minutes, prepared under the supervision of the
secretary, along with the plan submitted, shall serve as the written decision, even if the minutes are awaiting final
approval.
The official records of the
proceedings shall be filed in the Township Hall and shall be public records.
5. Appeal of a
decision. Appeals of a
decision shall be taken in the manner provided by law.
6. New application for
. If the
denies a request for a
, the decision of the
shall not be subject to re-consideration for a period of one year, whereupon the applicant may submit a new application for the
. However, the
may waive the one year period if conditions upon which their original decision was made change, or if information relating to their original decision are found to be incorrect or inaccurate.
(Ord. passed 7-9-2013)