10.1.1

It shall be unlawful to commence the construction or the excavation for the construction of any building, or structure, including accessory buildings, or to commence the moving or alteration of any building, including accessory buildings, until the Building Official has issued a building permit for such work. Except upon written authorization of the Board of Adjustment as provided in Section 9 and Subsection 10.4 no such building permit shall be issued for any building where said construction, moving, alteration, or use thereof would be in violation of any provisions of these regulations.

10.1.2

Application. There shall be submitted with each application for a building permit two copies of a layout or plot plan drawn to scale, showing the actual shape and dimensions of the lot to be built upon, the exact size and location on the lot of any existing buildings or structures, if any, and the size and location of the building or structure to be constructed, altered, or moved. The applicant shall also state the existing or intended use of each such building or part of building and supply such other information with regard to the lot and neighboring lots that may be necessary to determine compliance with and provide for the enforcement of these regulations. One copy of the plans shall be returned to the applicant by the Building Official, after he shall have marked such copy either as approved or disapproved and attested to same by his signature on such copy. The second copy of the plans similarly marked, shall be retained by the Building Official. The application for a building permit shall be made by the owner of the property concerned or a certified agent thereof.

10.1.3

Fees. The fee for a building permit and related permits (such as electrical, mechanical and plumbing) shall be as identified in Appendix A. No part of the permit fee shall be refundable. Further, all applicable fees as required by the County, State or Federal government which are imposed upon the municipal building permit process, and any City administrative fee authorized by the County, State or Federal government, shall be included which are over and above those fees identified in Appendix A.

The fee for a building permit and related fees, specifically limited to electrical, mechanical, plumbing, sign and right-of-way permits, may be waived administratively for federal, state, and local units of government, including public school districts, which are funded by ad-valorem taxes. No other fees shall be waived.

10.1.4

Expiration of Building Permit. If the work described in a building permit has not begun within 6 months from the date of issuance thereof, said permit shall expire and be canceled by the Building Official, and written notice thereof shall be given to the persons affected.

10.1.5

Building types requiring Seal of an Architect. All building permits issued shall be in compliance with O.S.A. Titles 55 and 59 concerning those building types which are required to be designed, and plans and specifications to be issued, by a licensed Oklahoma architect.

10.2.1

Except for any property of any railway company or terminal company, no land shall be occupied or used, and no building hereafter erected, altered, or extended shall be used, and no use of land or building shall be changed until a certificate of occupancy shall have been issued by the Building Official, stating that the building or proposed use complies with the provisions of these regulations.

10.2.2

The application fee for a certificate of occupancy shall be as identified in Appendix A.

10.2.3

Pending the issuance of a permanent certificate of occupancy, a temporary certificate may be issued. The temporary certificate shall be valid for a period established by the Building Official, pending completion of an addition, or during partial occupancy of a structure.

For the purposes of providing a proper arrangement of streets and assuring the adequacy of open spaces for traffic, utilities, and access of emergency vehicles commensurate with the intensification of land use customarily incident to a change of zoning, a platting requirement is established as follows: For any land which has been rezoned upon application of a private party, no building permit shall be issued until that portion of the tract on which the permit is sought has been included within a subdivision plat or replat, as the case may be, approved in accordance with the regulations pertaining to the subdivision of land, and filed of record in the office of the County Clerk where the property is situated. Provided that the Planning Commission may remove the platting requirements upon determination that the above stated purposes have been achieved by previous platting or could not be achieved by a plat or replat. 10.4 Board of Adjustment

10.4.1

Appointment. There is hereby created a Board of Adjustment (BOA) of the City of Bartlesville (hereinafter referred to as City Board of Adjustment) consisting of five (5) members, each to be appointed in accordance with the process adopted by the Bartlesville City Council for a term of three (3) years. It is specifically provided however that on the effective date of these regulations, such Board of Adjustment as was legally in existence immediately prior to such date shall be constituted as the Board of Adjustment thereby created and the terms of the then members of said Board shall expire on the same dates as were established at the times of the most recent appointment of each of such members or until their successors are duly appointed and qualified. Thereafter all appointments shall be made for terms of three (3) years. Vacancies shall be filled by appointment in accordance with the process adopted by the City Council.

There is hereby created a Board of Adjustment (BOA) of Washington County (hereinafter referred to as County Board of Adjustment) consisting of five members, each to be appointed by the Board of County Commissioners of Washington County. All members appointed to the Board of Adjustment shall be residents of Washington County, two of whom shall reside outside the corporate limits of Bartlesville. All members shall be appointed for a term of three years, except that when the first appointment is made hereunder, the term of office of two of said members shall be one year, the term of two members shall be two years, and term of office of one of said members shall be three years.

10.4.2

A member of such City Board of Adjustment, once qualified, can be removed therefrom during his term of office only for cause by the City Council, upon written charges and after public hearing. A member of such County Board of Adjustment, once qualified, can thereafter be removed during his term of office only for cause and after hearing held before the Board of County Commissioners. In the event of the death, resignation or removal of any member before the expiration of his term, a successor shall be appointed by the appropriate governing body (City Councilor County Commission, in accordance with the procedure set forth in 10.4.1) to serve his unexpired term.

As to the City Board of Adjustment, in the event any member dies, removes his residence from the City, resigns, or for any reason is absent from three consecutive regular monthly meetings of the Board, his position on the Board shall be automatically determined vacant and a new member appointed to serve out his unexpired term.

10.4.3

Organization

10.4.3.1

Officers. A Chairman and Vice-Chairman shall be elected annually by each Board from among its membership.

10.4.3.2

Duties/Officers. The Chairman, or in his absence the Vice-Chairman, shall preside at all meetings, shall decide all points of order or procedure, and, as necessary, shall administer oath and compel the attendance of witnesses.

10.4.3.3

Rules and Meetings. Each Board may adopt rules to govern its proceedings, provided, however, such rules are not inconsistent with these regulations. Meetings of the Boards shall be held at the call of the Chairman and at such other times as the Boards may determine. All meetings of the Boards shall be open to the public. Each Board shall keep minutes of its own proceedings, showing the vote, indicate such fact, and shall keep records of its examinations and other official actions, all of which shall immediately be filed in the office of the Board and shall be a public record.

10.4.4

Powers and Duties. Each Board of Adjustment shall have all the powers and duties prescribed by Oklahoma State Statute and by these regulations, which are more particularly specified as follows:

10.4.4.1

Interpretation. Upon appeal from a decision by an administrative official, to decide any question involving the interpretation of any provision of these regulations, including determination of the exact location of any district boundary, if there is uncertainty with respect thereto.

10.4.4.2

Special Exceptions. To hear and decide special exceptions to the terms of these regulations upon which such Board is required to pass under these regulations by granting special zoning permits at evidence thereof as provided for in Section 10.5.

10.4.4.3

Variances. To vary or adapt the strict application of any of the requirements hereunder that pertain to an allowed use in the case of exceptionally irregular, narrow, shallow, or steep lots, or other exceptional physical conditions, where such strict application would result in practical difficulty or unnecessary hardship that would deprive the owner of the reasonable use of the land or building involved, but in no other case.

A.

No variance shall be granted to permit in any district a use that is not a permitted use in such district. In granting any variance the Board of Adjustment shall prescribe any conditions that it deems necessary or desirable.

B.

The Board of Adjustment may grant a variance only upon a finding that:

1.

The application of the regulation to the particular piece of property would create an unnecessary hardship;

2.

Such conditions are peculiar to the particular piece of property involved;

3.

Relief, if granted, would not cause substantial detriment to the public good, or impair the purposes and intent of the ordinance or the comprehensive plan; and

4.

The variance, if granted, would be the minimum necessary to alleviate the unnecessary hardship.

10.4.4.4

Appeals. To hear and decide appeals where it is alleged that there is an error of law in any order, requirements, decision, or determination made by an administrative official in the enforcement of these regulations.

A.

Procedure. The Board shall act in strict accordance with the procedure specified by law and by these regulations. Appeals to the applicable Board can be taken by any person aggrieved or by any officer, department, or Board of the City or County affected by any decision of the Building Official or other administrative officer. All appeals and applications made to the Board shall be made in writing, on forms prescribed by the Board, within 10 days after the decision has been rendered by the Building Official or other administrative officer.

Every appeal or application shall refer to the specific provision of these regulations involved and shall exactly set forth:

1.

the interpretation that is claimed,

2.

the use for which the permit is sought, or

3.

the details of the variance that is applied for and the grounds on which it is claimed the variance should be granted, as the case may be.

The appeal or application shall be filed with the officer from whom appeal is taken and with the Board. The officer from whom appeal is taken shall forthwith transmit to the Board all papers constituting the record upon which the action appealed from was taken.

B.

Effect of Appeal. An appeal shall stay all proceedings of the action appealed from, unless the officer from whom the appeal is taken certifies to the Board, after the notice of appeal shall have been filed with him, that, by reason of facts stated in the certificate, a stay would, in his opinion, cause imminent peril to life or property. In such case, 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 on notice to the officer from whom the appeal is taken and on due cause shown.

10.4.5

Hearing and Notice. The Board of Adjustment shall hear all applications or appeals within forty-five (45) days from the filing thereof, giving public notice thereof in a newspaper of general circulation, as well as mailing notice to the parties in interest as set forth herein at least ten (10) days prior to the date set for hearing, and decide the same within a reasonable time. Upon the hearing, any person may appear in person or by his agent or by his attorney.

In accordance with O.S.A. Title 11, Section 44-108 and the statement of policy adopted by the Board of Adjustment on August 26, 1976, all requests for variances shall be considered minor variances except in cases where such would permit the entire tract of land owned by the applicant to be used in a manner completely different than that allowed by its present zoning. For public hearings involving minor variances public notice shall be given by mailing written notice to all owners of property adjacent to the subject property at least ten (10) days prior to the hearing. Public notice on hearings for variances which are deemed to be other than a minor variance and all special exceptions and special zoning permits, appeals and interpretations shall be given by mailing written notice to all owners of property within a three hundred (300) foot radius of the exterior boundary of the subject property at least ten (10) days prior to the hearing. Failure of owners to receive notice of hearing shall in no way affect the validity of the action taken.

10.4.6

Decisions and Records

10.4.6.1

In exercising its powers the Board may, in conformity with the provisions set forth in the Statutes of the State of Oklahoma governing said Board, revise or reform, wholly or partly, or may modify the order, requirement, decision, or determination appealed from and make such order, requirement, decision, or determination as ought to be made and shall have all the powers of the office from whom appeal is taken.

10.4.6.2

Quorums.

A.

Three members of the City Board of Adjustment shall constitute a quorum. The concurring vote of three members shall be necessary to revise any order, requirement, decision, or determination of any such administrative official, or to decide in favor of the applicant on any matter upon which it is required to pass under these regulations or to effect any variance in said regulations.

B.

Four members of the County Board of Adjustment shall constitute a quorum. The concurring vote of four members of the Board shall be necessary to revise any order, requirement, decision, or determination of any such administrative official, or to decide in favor of the applicant on any matter upon which it is required to pass under these regulations or to effect any variance in said regulations.

10.4.6.3

Every decision of the Board on an appeal or application shall be by resolution, each of which shall contain a full record of the findings of the Board in the particular case. Each such resolution shall be filed in the Board's office, by case number, under one or another of the following headings:

A.

interpretations,

B.

special exceptions and Special Zoning Permits as provided for in Section 10.5

C.

variances, and

D.

appeals, together with all documents pertaining thereto.

10.4.6.4

Time Limit on Implementation. A zoning variance or special zoning permit must be activated by application for a building permit (if required) and/or zoning compliance permit within one year (1) of the date of approval by the Board of Adjustment or within one (1) year after a final court order is issued if the decision of the Board is appealed. After the building permit and/or zoning compliance permit is issued and utilized, the variance or special zoning permit, subject to conditions imposed by the Board of Adjustment, is official. If a building permit and/or zoning compliance permit are applied for within the required one year period but not approved or utilized, the approval of the Board of Adjustment is deemed to have expired and shall be considered void.

10.4.6.5

Effect of Denial of Application. In case an application to the Board of Adjustment is denied, said application shall not be eligible for reconsideration for one (1) year subsequent to such denial. A new application affecting or including all or part of the same property must be substantially different from the application denied, as determined by the Board of Adjustment, to be eligible for reconsideration within less than one year of the denial of the original application.

10.4.7

Fee. The fee for any appeal or application to the Board shall be as identified in Appendix A, no part of which shall be refundable.

10.4.8

Appeals to Court. Any person or persons, jointly or severally, aggrieved by any decision of the Board, or any taxpayer or any officer, department, or Board of the City may present to a court of record a petition, duly verified, setting forth that such decision is illegal, in whole or in part, specifying the grounds of the illegality. Such petition shall be presented to the court within fifteen (15) days after the date of the decision of the Board and not thereafter.

10.4.9

Insofar as appropriate these regulations pertaining to the Board of Adjustment are to be read and interpreted so as to be in accordance with and supplemented by Section 17.04 of the Bartlesville Municipal Code.

(Ord. No. 3351, § 1, 2-7-2011)

10.5.1

In addition to the required building permit and certificate of occupancy called for in Section 10.1 and 10.2, a special zoning permit shall be required for certain uses identified by the letter "S" in the tables of permitted uses and when reference is made to this Section (10.5) in the "Special Conditions" column opposite the named use before a building permit may be obtained.

10.5.2

Application shall be made by the property owner or certified agent thereof to the Board of Adjustment on a form prescribed for this purpose by the City of Bartlesville or Washington County, whichever is applicable. Special zoning permits, revocable, conditional, or valid for a term period may be issued for any of the uses or purposes for which such permits are required or permitted by the terms of these regulations. Granting of a special zoning permit does not exempt the applicant from complying with requirements of any other regulations.

10.5.3

In considering an application for a special zoning permit, the Board of Adjustment shall give due regard to the nature and condition of all adjacent uses and structures. The Board of Adjustment may deny an application for a special zoning permit and, in granting a special zoning permit, the Board of Adjustment may impose such requirements and conditions with respect to location, construction, maintenance, and operations, in addition to those expressly stipulated in these regulations for the particular use, as they may deem necessary for the protection of adjacent properties and the public interest.

10.5.4

The fee for a special zoning permit shall be as identified in Appendix A, no part of which shall be refundable.

10.5.5

The applicant shall submit maps and drawings necessary to demonstrate that conditions set forth herein are fulfilled.

10.5.6

A public hearing shall be held by the Board of Adjustment on each request for a special zoning permit.

10.5.7

The Board of Adjustment shall publish notice of such hearing in a newspaper of general circulation not less than 10 days prior to date of said hearing. In addition, written notice of said public hearing shall be provided to all owners of property within a three hundred (300) foot radius of the exterior boundary of the subject property not less than ten (10) days prior to the hearing date. Failure of owners to receive notice of hearing shall in no way affect the validity of the action taken.

10.5.8

No such special zoning permit shall be granted by the Board of Adjustment unless it meets all of the following findings:

A.

That the use as described by the applicant will comply with all provisions and/or conditions established therefore by these regulations, and

B.

That the use will not, in the circumstances of the particular case constitute a nuisance, be injurious to the neighborhood or otherwise detrimental to the public welfare, and

C.

That the proposed structure or use conforms to the requirements and intent of these regulations, and

D.

That any additional conditions stipulated by the Board of Adjustment as deemed necessary in the public interest have been met.