Celoron Village City Zoning Code
ARTICLE VIII
Zoning Board of Appeals
§ 210-60 Creation.
A Zoning Board of Appeals is hereby created. Said Board shall be appointed and function in accordance with the enabling law. Said Board shall consist of five members. The Board may prescribe for its affairs.
§ 210-61 General provisions.
Duties. The Zoning Board of Appeals shall act in strict accordance with procedures specified by law and by this chapter. The major duties of the Board shall be to hear and decide on variance requests as well as to interpret the meaning of this chapter as required.
Format for requests. All requests shall be in writing on forms prescribed by the Zoning Board of Appeals. Specific provisions of this chapter shall be referred to and as a minimum, the following information shall be provided by the person requesting the variance/interpretation:
Referral to Planning Board. On an optional basis, the Zoning Board of Appeals may request in writing, a recommendation by the Planning Board. The Planning Board should receive all necessary information at least two weeks prior to the hearing date. The advisory opinion shall be received by the Zoning Board of Appeals prior to the hearing. The failure of the Planning Board to submit said report shall be deemed to be an approval of the appeal or interpretation in favor of the applicant.
Hearings and meetings. All hearing and meeting procedures shall be in accordance with appropriate laws with respect to notices, timelines, etc. All hearings and meetings of the Zoning Board of Appeals shall be open to the public. The Board shall designate one of its members to serve as Secretary thereof. Minutes shall be kept of all meetings of the Board, and copies of such minutes and every order, requirement, decision or determination of the Zoning Board of Appeals shall be filed in the office of the Municipal Clerk within a time period of seven days after each meeting and shall be a public record. As per the Open Meeting Law, the Zoning Board of Appeals must deliberate at public sessions.
Every decision of the Zoning Board of Appeals shall be by resolution, each of which shall contain a full record of the findings.
§ 210-62 Interpretation.
The Zoning Board of Appeals shall have the power to interpret the meaning of this Zoning chapter whenever called upon by the Village Board, Enforcement Officer or an aggrieved party who has been denied a building permit. This interpretive power shall include the determination of district boundary lines.
§ 210-63 Use and area variances.
Reasons for variances. The Zoning Board of Appeals has the authority to vary or modify the strict letter of this chapter where a literal interpretation would cause practical difficulties (area variances) or unnecessary hardships (use variance).
Applicability and limitations.
The Zoning Board of Appeals can decide appeals from a person who feels aggrieved by a decision of the Enforcement Officer. The Zoning Board of Appeals may reverse, affirm, or modify the decision made by the Enforcement Officer.
The Zoning Board of Appeals has absolutely no power to amend this chapter and must exercise great care to insure that its rulings do not in effect amend this chapter.
Basis for granting area variances.
Area variances provide relief of a dimensional nature (e.g., lot, shape or grade) and must be based on practical difficulty. The burden of proof is on the applicant and, if relief is warranted, it should be the minimum necessary.
The following five determinations must be considered in order to decide if practical difficulty is present:
How substantial the variation is in relation to the requirements of this chapter.
The effect of the proposal on increased population density and governmental facilities (e.g., fire, water, etc.).
Whether a substantial change in the character of the neighborhood or a detrimental effect on adjoining properties would take place.
Whether the difficulty can be eliminated by some other reasonably alternative other than a variance (e.g., add room to other side of house).
Will justice be served in allowing the variance. The fact that the practical difficulty was self-imposed does not disqualify the applicant from being granted an area variance. If a property owner will suffer significant economic injury by strict interpretation of the area standards and practical difficulties are present, then the area variance can only be denied based on health, safety or general welfare reasons.
Basis for granting use variances.
Use variances provide relief to an applicant who is denied through application of this chapter by the Enforcement Officer the right to use land or structures in a certain manner since the use is not listed as an allowable use in this chapter. In order to be granted the use variance the applicant must prove that unnecessary hardship exists and this is accomplished by showing all of the following:
The land in question cannot yield a reasonable return if used only for a purpose allowed in the district. This does not mean that profits will necessarily be maximized.
The use requested by the variance will not alter the essential character of the neighborhood, and be detrimental to properties in the vicinity.
The plight of the applicant is due to unique circumstances and not to the general conditions in the neighborhood. This last factor shall not in itself be the basis for denying a use variance.
In the case of a use variance, if the hardship is self-imposed then the variance should, generally speaking, be denied. An example of this would be the purchase which is not appropriate for the proposed used.
Granting variances. In granting any variance, the Zoning Board of Appeals shall prescribe any conditions that it deems to be necessary or desirable. The decisions must be written in the form of a resolution and must state in detail the reasons for granting or denying the variance and the conditions imposed.[1]
[1]
Editor's Note: Original Subsection F, Flood variances, which immediately followed this subsection, was repealed 12-9-2013 by L.L. No. 4-2013.
§ 210-64 Mandatory referral (General Municipal Law § 239-l and -m).
Before issuing a special use permit or granting a variance affecting any real property lying within a distance of 500 feet of the boundary of this Municipality or from the boundary of any existing or proposed county or state park or other recreation area, or from the right-of-way of any existing or proposed county or state parkway, thruway, expressway, road, or highway, or from the channel owned by the county or for which the county has established channel lines, or from the existing or proposed boundary of any county or state owned land on which a public building or institution is situated, the matter shall be referred to the Chautauqua County Planning Board.
Within 30 days after receipt of a full statement of such referred matter, the Chautauqua County Planning Board to which referral is made, or an authorized agent of said agency shall report its recommendations thereon to the Board of Appeals accompanied by a full statement of the reasons for such recommendations. If the Chautauqua County Planning Board fails to report within such period of 30 days, the Board of Appeals may act without such report. If the Chautauqua County Planning Board disapproves the proposal, or recommends modification thereof, the Board of Appeals shall not act contrary to such disapproval or recommendation except by a vote of a majority plus one of all the members thereof and after the adoption of a resolution fully setting forth the reasons for such contrary action.
Within seven days after final action by the Board of Appeals modifications or disapproval of a referred matter, the Board of Appeals shall file a report of the final action it has taken with the Chautauqua County Planning Board which had made the recommendations, modifications, or disapproval.