The Board of Zoning Appeals of Bowdon, Georgia shall consist of five (5) members who shall be appointed by the City Council for staggered terms of five (5) years or until their successors are appointed. Any vacancies shall be filled for the unexpired term in the same manner as the initial appointments. Members shall serve without pay but may be reimbursed for any expenses incurred while representing the Board of Zoning Appeals. The five (5) members appointed shall be residents and citizens of Bowdon, Georgia.

The Board of Zoning Appeals shall elect one of its members as chairman, who shall serve for one year or until he is re-elected or his successor is elected and qualified. The Board of Zoning Appeals shall appoint a Secretary, who may be a city employee, or a member of the Board of Zoning Appeals.

Meetings of the Board Zoning Appeals shall be held at the call of the Chairman and at such other times as the Board of Zoning Appeals may determine. The Chairman, or in his absence, the acting Chairman, may administer oaths and compel the attendance of witnesses. All meetings of the Board of Zoning Appeals shall be open to the public.

The Board of Zoning Appeals 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 of which shall be immediately filed in the office of the Board of Zoning Appeals and shall be public record.

The Board of Zoning Appeals shall have the following powers and duties:

1.

To hear and decide appeals where it is alleged there is error in any order, requirements, decision or determination of the Codes Enforcement Officer in the enforcement of this Ordinance.

2.

To authorize upon appeal in specific cases such variances from the terms of this Ordinance as will not be contrary to the public interest where, owing to special conditions, a literal enforcement of the provisions of this Resolution will, in an individual case result in unnecessary hardship, so that the spirit of the Ordinance shall be observed, public safety and welfare secured, and substantial justice done. Such variance may be granted upon a finding by the Board of Zoning Appeals that all of the following conditions exist:

(a)

There are extraordinary and exceptional conditions pertaining to the particular piece of property in question because of its size, shape or topography;

(b)

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

(c)

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

(d)

Relief, if granted, would not cause a substantial detriment to the public good or impair the purposes and intent of this Resolution.

3.

In exercising the above powers, the Board of Zoning Appeals may, in conformity with the provisions of this Ordinance, reverse or affirm, wholly or partly, or may modify the order, requirements, decision or determination of the Codes Enforcement Officer, and to that end shall have all powers of the Codes Enforcement Officer and may direct issuance of a building permit or certificate of zoning compliance.

Appealing an action of the Codes Enforcement Officer. If the Codes Enforcement Officer executes an action which the owner/developer or other injured party believes to be contrary to law, that action may be appealed. Finding of fact however may not be appealed. Appeals of the granting or denial of a conditional use permit or variance shall be made as set forth below in Section 155 and Section 156. All other appeals must be filed within thirty (30) days of the date of action by the Codes Enforcement Officer.

The Board of Zoning Appeals has jurisdiction for hearing appeals concerning administrative actions of the Codes Enforcement Office related to this Ordinance. Applications for appeals may be obtained from and submitted to the Codes Enforcement Officer, who will transmit them to the Board of Zoning Appeals for its consideration.

When an administrative action of the Codes Enforcement Officer is appealed, all construction or other activity authorized by the appealed action must be stopped immediately. In certain cases, however the Codes Enforcement Officer may feel that the stopping of such construction or other activity authorized by the appealed action will cause imminent peril to life or property.

Then, the Codes Enforcement Officer may certify to the Board of Zoning Appeals that, by reason of facts stated in the certificate, the halting of construction would, in his opinion, cause imminent peril to life or property. In such cases, the construction or other activity authorized by the appealed action is allowed to continue unless a restraining order is granted by either the Board of Zoning Appeals or a court of appropriate jurisdiction.

When an application for appeal of an action of the Codes Enforcement Officer is received, the Board of Zoning Appeals will set a time and place for a public hearing on the appeal. Notice of the hearing must be published in a newspaper of general circulation in the City of Bowdon or Carroll County at lease fifteen (15) days before the hearing. Any person may appear at the hearing or have a representative attend instead.

The Board of Zoning Appeals will make a decision concerning the appeal and record the decision in the minutes for that meeting. Further appeal on points of law may be made to the Carroll County Superior Court.

The Codes Enforcement Officer, and on appeal the Board of Zoning Appeals, shall have the power to authorize upon appeal such variance from the terms of this Ordinance as will not be contrary to the public interest where a literal enforcement of the zoning requirements would result in undue hardship.

1.

Procedure. Application for a variance permit shall be filed with the office of the Codes Enforcement Officer. Each application shall be accompanied by a site plan, containing appropriate information required by the Codes Enforcement Officer including, by not limited to, the following:

(a)

Location of all existing buildings, structures, easements, and boundary lines;

(b)

North point, scale, land district, and land lot;

(c)

Existing use of adjacent property;

(d)

Location of all proposed buildings, structures, and land uses; and

(e)

In addition to the above, the applicant for a variance shall have the burden of proof, which shall include the presentation of evidence and the burden of persuasion on all questions of fact to be determined by the Board of Zoning Appeals.

2.

Upon receipt of an application for a variance, the Codes Enforcement Officer shall hold a public hearing for review of the application. Notice of the time and place of such hearing shall be published at least fifteen (15) days before the hearing in a newspaper of general circulation in the City of Bowdon or Carroll County. If any opposition to the application is voiced at the public hearing, the Codes Enforcement Officer shall immediately forward the application to the Board of Zoning Appeals for further review. If no opposition is voiced at the hearing and after consideration of the application, the Codes Enforcement Officer shall approve or deny the application.

3.

The Codes Enforcement Appeals Board has jurisdiction for hearing appeals concerning denials of variance and appeals in opposition to the issuance of a variance.

4.

When an application for appeal is received, the Board of Zoning Appeals will set a time and place for a public hearing on the appeal. Notice of the hearing must be published in a newspaper of general circulation in the City of Bowdon or Carroll County at least fifteen (15) days before the hearing. Any person may appear at the hearing or have a representative attend instead.

5.

A recommendation concerning the variance shall be made to the Board of Zoning Appeals of the Codes Enforcement Officer.

6.

The Board of Zoning Appeals shall have forty-five (45) days within which to consider an appeal after its receipt.

7.

Fees. Each application for a conditional use permit shall be accompanied by a fee to be set by the City Council. All fees charged under this ordinance shall be posted at City Hall at lease thirty (30) days prior to their effective date.

8.

Conditions and Limitations. The Board of Zoning Appeals shall include any condition, requirement, or limitation which may be necessary to protect adjacent properties and to carry out the provisions of this Ordinance.

9.

An application for a variance may be withdrawn by the applicant or his legally appointed representative, provided said request is submitted in writing not later than forty-eight (48) hours before the time set for the public hearing. Any fees paid for the application for a variance shall be forfeited.

10.

The Board of Zoning Appeals will make a decision concerning the variance and record the decisions in the minutes for that meeting. The variance issued by the Board of Zoning Appeals must specify which requirements are to be varied. It must specify alternative requirements to be met, replacing the requirements varied.

11.

The Board of Zoning Appeals may establish performance bonds to assure[ensure] compliance with any requirements it has set for granting a variance. Where a variance is granted for a construction activity requiring a building permit, the building permit must be obtained and construction begun within six (6) months of the issuance of the variance. Otherwise, the variance expires after six (6) months.

12.

The decision of the Board of Zoning Appeals on the application for variance may be appealed on points of law to the Carroll County Superior Court.

The Board of Zoning Appeals shall have the power to authorize the placement of individual manufactured homes or relocation of a conventional home in an R-2 or R-3 District throughout the following procedure.

1.

Any applicant who wishes to place an individual manufactured home or to relocate a conventional home within an R-2 or R-3 district shall obtain the approval of the Board of Zoning Appeals by showing that the proposed construction, installation, or relocation of a conventional home or manufactured home is similar and comparable in exterior appearance, building materials, and living area to other dwelling units that have been constructed on tracts, lots, and parcels within 1,000 feet of the proposed construction, installation or relocation.

2.

The procedures for approval are as follows:

A.

Applications for approval of placement of conventional or manufactured homes shall be submitted at City Hall to the Zoning Administrator for review along with a nonrefundable application fee of three hundred fifty dollars ($350) on a form or forms developed for that purpose. Conventional or manufactured homes that have been illegally placed upon a tract, lot, or parcel shall be first removed before an application for approval of placement shall be accepted.

B.

The application shall include only information reasonably necessary to make determination as to conformity with the provisions of this section. The application shall include information to determine conformity with the standards herein, a copy of the covenants and any architectural standards, and other information reasonably necessary to make determinations required by this section. In addition, the application shall include recent photographs of the front and side of the conventional or manufactured home exterior finish (whichever is applicable), pictures taken from the proposed site of the dwelling unit in the northerly, easterly, southerly, and westerly direction, and pictures of any neighbor's adjacent dwelling units. The photographs shall be taken within the 30 days prior to the submittal of the application. In addition, each application shall be accompanied by a site plan or sketch plan containing appropriate information including, but not limited to, the following:

1.

Location of all existing buildings, structure, easements, and boundary lines.

2.

North point, scale, land district, and land lot.

3.

Existing use of adjacent property.

4.

Location of all proposed buildings, structures, and land uses.

3.

Applications shall first be reviewed by the Zoning Administrator for completeness. If the application is rejected for being incomplete, the applicant shall be notified of the reasons for rejection within fifteen (15) working days of receipt of the application. The applicant shall be responsible for the satisfaction of all the deficiencies prior to the resubmission of the revised application. If the revised application is not received within thirty (30) days of notification of incompleteness, it shall be dismissed without prejudice and the applicant must resubmit a new application affecting the same property thereafter. The previous application fee will be forfeited. Any new application must be accompanied by an application fee.

4.

The Bowdon Board of Zoning Appeals shall review the application for compatibility with the following criteria:

1.

Architectural appearance and similarity within the development, or surrounding developments, in size, siding material, roof pitch, roof material, foundation, square footage, and general aesthetic appearance;

2.

Existing development in the same zoning district or general area, in architectural appearance and similarity within the development or surrounding developments, in size, siding material, roof pitch, roof material, foundation, square footage, and general aesthetic appearance; and

3.

Proposed development permitted in the same zoning district or general area.

5.

Approval or denial of a complete application shall be made within ninety (90) days of the date of receipt of the application and all required supporting materials. The applicant shall be notified in writing of the approval, conditional approval, or denial of the application within ten (10) working days after such decision is made. Conditional approval shall require that the specific conditions and the reasons heretofore be stated in writing and be agreed to by the applicant; such conditions shall be binding upon the applicant upon agreement. In the case of disapproval, the reasons therefore shall be specifically stated in writing.

6.

Appeal from Bowdon Board of Zoning Appeals.

A.

The applicant may appeal the decision of the Bowdon Board of Zoning Appeals to the Bowdon City Council who will act on said appeal. The appeal must be filed with the Zoning Administrator within fifteen (15) days of receipt of the decision of the Board of Zoning Appeals. The applicant may submit such additional information, documents or other material as are deemed appropriate to the Bowdon City Council for consideration in connection to any such appeal. The decision of the Bowdon City Council shall be in writing.

B.

In the event that the Bowdon City Council has not approved or denied any completed application submitted to it within sixty (60) days of receipt of the filing of the appeal, then such application shall be deemed to have been approved.

C.

Minimum Time Between Applications. A property owner shall not resubmit an application for construction, placement, installation or relocation of a conventional home or manufactured home affecting the same property, more than once in a twelve (12) month period. The twelve-month period shall begin at the date of denial of the application before the Bowdon Board of Zoning Appeals or Bowdon City Council, whichever is the later date.

7.

Any person who commences any work on a building, structure, electrical, gas, mechanical, or plumbing, including installation or relocation of a manufactured home or conventional home before a Compatibility Review shall be subject to a penalty of 100 percent of the usual permit fee in addition to the required permit fees.