Arnold City Zoning Code
SECTION 405
240 Board of Adjustment.
[Ord. No. 14.545 (Bill No. 2772), 10-15-2020; Ord. No. 1.282 (Bill No. 2857), 6-15-2023]
A.
Appointment And Membership. A Board of Adjustment is hereby established. The word "Board," when used in this Section, shall mean the Board of Adjustment. The Board of Adjustment shall consist of five (5) members, who shall be residents of the City, appointed by the Mayor and approved by Council. The term of office of the members of the Board shall be for five (5) years, except that the five (5) members first (1st) appointed shall serve respectively for the terms of one (1) year, two (2) years, three (3) years, four (4) years, and five (5) years each. Three (3) alternate members to the Board shall be appointed by the Mayor and approved by Council to serve in the absence or disqualification of any of the regular members. The term of office of the alternate members shall be for three (3) years, except that the first three (3) alternate members shall be for one (1) year, two (2) years, and three (3) years respectively. Vacancies shall be filled for the unexpired term of any member or alternate whose term becomes vacant. All members and alternates shall be removable for cause by the Mayor and Council for non-performance of duty, misconduct in office, or other cause upon written charges and after public hearing.
B.
Board Shall Elect Officers. The Board shall elect its Chairman and Secretary from among the regular members. The term of the Chairman and Secretary shall be for one (1) year with eligibility for re- election.
C.
Board Shall Adopt Rules And Regulations. The Board shall adopt from time to time such rules and regulations as may be necessary to carry into effect the provisions of this Chapter.
D.
Meetings. Meetings of the Board shall be held at the call of the Chairman and at such other times as the Board may determine. Such Chairman, or in his/her absence the Acting Chairman, may administer oaths and compel the attendance of witnesses. All meetings of the Board shall be open to the public. Unless compelling public necessity requires a lesser amount of time, fifteen (15) days' notice of all hearings shall be provided as follows:
E.
Alternates To Serve. Alternates shall serve as provided herein.
1.
Alternates shall serve at the call of the Chairman or Acting Chairman in the absence or disqualification of the regular members of the Board of Adjustment.
2.
Alternates shall, whenever possible, rotate substitution duties.
3.
Alternates shall have all the duties and powers of a regular member during the hearing for which he/she is substituting.
4.
If an alternate has begun to hear a case, he/she shall remain as a member of that Board quorum until a decision has been rendered on that particular case.
5.
Alternates may serve on any appeal case, regardless of applicant preference.
F.
Records. The Board shall keep minutes of its proceedings, showing the vote of each member upon each question, or if absent or failing to vote, indicating such fact, and shall keep records of its examinations and other official actions. All such records shall be immediately filed in the office of the Board and shall be public record. All testimony shall be taken down by a reporter employed by the Board for that purpose. It shall be the duty of the Secretary to see that all records are kept in accordance with this Section.
G.
Appeals. Appeals to the Board may be taken by any person aggrieved, any neighborhood organization as defined in Section 32.105, RSMo., representing such person, or by any office, department, board, or bureau of the City of Arnold affected by any decision of the Zoning Enforcement Officer. Such appeal shall be taken within reasonable time as prescribed by the Board by general rule, by filing with the Zoning Enforcement Officer and with the Board a notice of appeal specifying the grounds thereof.
H.
Appeals shall be submitted upon forms provided for that purpose and shall show the minimum information as prescribed on the forms. It shall be the responsibility of the appellant to furnish such maps, data, and information as may be prescribed for that purpose by the Board so as to assure fullest practical presentation of facts for the permanent record.
I.
The Zoning Enforcement Officer shall forthwith transmit to the Board all the papers constituting the record upon which the appeal is taken.
J.
An appeal stays all proceedings in furtherance of the action appealed from, unless the Zoning Enforcement Officer certifies to the Board, after the notice of appeal shall have been filed with him/her, that by reason of facts stated in the certificate would, in his/her opinion, cause eminent peril to life or property. In such cases, proceedings shall not be stayed otherwise than by a restraining order which may be granted by the Board or by a court of record on application or notice to the officer from whom the appeal is taken and on due cause shown. In such cases of peril to life or property, fifteen (15) days' notice in the newspaper shall not be required but due notice to parties in interest shall be given.
K.
Jurisdiction Of Board. The Board of Adjustment shall have the following duties:
1.
To hear and decide appeals where it is alleged there is error in any order, requirement, decision, or determination made by the Zoning Enforcement Officer in the enforcement of this Chapter.
2.
To hear and decide all matters referred to the Board or upon which it is required to review by ordinance.
3.
To permit the reconstruction of a non-conforming building which has been destroyed or partially destroyed by fire or other act of God where the Board shall find compelling public necessity requiring a continuance of the non-conforming use.
4.
To authorize, as a special exception, the change of a non-conforming use to another non-conforming use, either by general rule or by making findings in the specific case, to a proposed use equally appropriate or more appropriate to the district than the existing non-conforming use. In permitting any such change, the Board of Adjustment may require appropriate conditions and safeguards in accordance with the provisions of this Chapter.
5.
To authorize a variance where practical difficulties or extraordinary hardships would result from strict compliance with these regulations and amount to a practical confiscation of such property as distinguished from a mere inconvenience. The Board may grant a variance so that substantial justice may be done and the public interest secured, provided such variance shall not have the effect of nullifying the intent or purposes of these regulations; and, further, provided, the Board shall not grant variances unless it shall make findings based upon the evidence presented to it in each specific case that all review criteria contained in this Section are satisfied:
a.
The granting of the variance will not be detrimental to the public safety, health, or welfare or injurious to other property or improvements in the neighborhood in which the property is located.
(1)
In addition to the general requirement to ensure that the variance will not be detrimental to the public safety health or welfare the determining the foregoing, the Board shall consider whether, and to what extent, the proposed variation will impair an adequate supply of light and air to adjacent property, or increase the danger of fire, or diminish or impair property values within the neighborhood.
b.
The conditions upon which the request for a variance is based are unique to the property to which the variance is sought, and are not applicable generally to other property.
c.
Because of the particular physical surroundings, shape, or topographical conditions of the specific property involved, a particular hardship to the owner would result, as distinguished from a mere inconvenience, if the letter of these regulations is carried out.
d.
The inability to obviate the difficulty or hardship by some method, feasible for the applicants to pursue, other than the variance.
e.
The variance requested is the minimum necessary to overcome the difficulty or hardship which was the basis for the requested variance.
f.
That the alleged difficulty or hardship has not been created by any person having an interest in the property at any time.
g.
The variance can be granted without substantial impairment to the intent, purpose and integrity of the comprehensive plan or any master plan, neighborhood plan, or transportation plan affecting the subject property.
L.
Conditions. In granting variances, the Board of Adjustment may require conditions as it will, in its judgment, secure substantially the objectives or requirements of these regulations.
M.
In exercising the above-mentioned powers, the Board may reverse or affirm, wholly or partly, or may modify the order, requirement, decision or determination as ought to be made and to that end shall have all the powers of the officer from whom the appeal is taken.
N.
The concurring vote of four (4) members of the Board of Adjustment shall be necessary to reverse or modify any order, requirement, decision, or determination of the Zoning Enforcement Officer, or to decide on any matter which it is required to pass under this Chapter, or to affect any variance in this Chapter.
O.
In the event that any application is denied by the Board of Adjustment, a reapplication concerning the same property or site shall not be accepted until six (6) months following the date of final action on the original application has elapsed, unless it can be shown to the satisfaction of the Zoning Enforcement Officer or his/her designated representative that:
P.
Appeals Of Board Decisions.
1.
Any person or persons jointly or severally aggrieved by any decision of the Board of Adjustment or of any officer, department, commission, board or bureau of the City of Arnold may present to the Circuit Court having jurisdiction in Jefferson County, a petition, duly verified, stating that such decision is illegal, in whole or in part, specifying the grounds of the illegality and asking for relief therefrom. Such petition shall be presented to the court within thirty (30) days after receipt of notice of the decision of the Board or such officer, department, commission, board or bureau.
2.
Costs shall not be allowed against the Board in any such action unless it shall appear to the court that it acted with gross negligence or in bad faith, or with malice in making the decision appealed from.
Q.
Notice Of Hearings — Signs.
1.
Sign Content. All signs required by this Section shall be entitled "PUBLIC NOTICE" and shall state the time and place of the hearing, the subject matter of the hearing, and any other relevant information determined to be instructive to the public, as directed by the Community Development Department.