1. The Board of Zoning Appeals is hereby created. The Board shall consist of three members appointed and confirmed by the Town Council and removable for cause upon written charges, and after a public hearing. Members shall be appointed for terms of three years each. Vacancies shall be filled by appointment for the unexpired term. The Town Council shall designate one alternate member for the Board of Appeals who may be empowered to sit with the Board in the absence of any member of the Board, and when the alternate is absent, the Town Council may designate a temporary alternate. All members, alternates, and temporary alternates of the Board of Appeals must be municipal residents living within the corporate limits of the Town for a minimum of 180 days prior to their appointment. If a member, alternate, or temporary alternate of the Board of Zoning Appeals ceases to be a municipal resident living within the corporate limits of the Town of Centreville, he or she shall tender their resignation effective on the date he or she ceases to be a municipal resident. [Amended 1-21-2016 by Ord. No. 10-2015]
2. Proceedings of the Board of Appeals.
   1. The Board of Appeals shall adopt rules necessary for the conduct of its affairs and in keeping with the provisions of this chapter. Meetings shall be held at the call of the Chairman and at such time as the Board determines. The Chairman, or in his absence the Acting Chairman, may administer oaths and compel the attendance of witnesses. All meetings shall be open to the public.
   2. The Board of Appeals shall keep minutes of its proceedings, showing the vote of each member upon 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 a public record and be immediately filed in the Town Hall office.
3. Hearings; appeals; notice.
   1. Appeals to the Board of Appeals concerning interpretation or administration of this chapter may be taken by any persons aggrieved or by any officer or bureau of the governing body of the Town affected by any decision of the Zoning Administrator. Such appeals shall be taken within a reasonable time of such decision, not to exceed 30 days, by filing with the Zoning Administrator, and with the Board of Appeals a notice of appeal specifying the grounds thereof. The Zoning Administrator shall forthwith transmit to the Board all papers constituting the record upon which the action appealed from was taken.
   2. The Board of Appeals shall fix a reasonable time for the hearing of appeals, give public notice thereof as well as due notice to the parties in interest, and hold a public hearing within 30 days from the date of filing of the notice of appeals. At least 15 days' notice of the time and place of such hearing shall be published in a paper of general circulation in the Town and by posting the property. At the hearing, any party may appear in person or by agent or attorney. The Board shall then decide the appeal within 60 days from the time of hearing.
4. Stay of proceedings. An appeal stays all proceedings in furtherance of the action appealed from, unless the Zoning Administrator from whom the appeal is taken certifies to the Board of Appeals, after the notice of appeal is filed with him, that by reason of facts stated in the certificate, a stay would, in his opinion, cause imminent peril to life and property. In such case, proceedings shall not be stayed other than by a restraining order which may be granted by the Board of Appeals or by the Circuit Court on application, on notice to the Zoning Administrator from whom the appeal is taken and on due cause shown.
   

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

1. Administrative review. To hear and decide appeals where it is alleged there is error in any order, requirement, decision, or determination made by the Zoning Administrator in the enforcement of this chapter.
2. Special exceptions; conditions governing application; procedures.
   1. To hear and decide only such special exceptions as the Board of Appeals is specifically authorized to pass on by terms of this chapter; to decide such questions as are involved in determining whether special exceptions should be granted and to grant special exceptions with such conditions and safeguards as are appropriate under this chapter, or to deny special exceptions when not in harmony with the purpose and intent of this chapter. A special exception shall not be granted by the Board of Appeals unless and until:
      1. A written application for a special exception is submitted indicating the section of this chapter under which the special exception is sought and stating the grounds on which it is requested.
      2. The appropriate interested parties have been heard or consulted.
      3. The Planning and Zoning Commission shall be apprised of all special exception requests so that its members can evaluate the proposal as to consistency with the Comprehensive Plan and comment, if necessary.
      4. Notice shall be given at least 15 days in advance of public hearing. The owner of the property for which special exception is sought, or his agent, shall be notified by mail. Notice of such hearings shall be posted on the property for which special exception is sought and at the Town Hall, and notice shall be published in a newspaper of general circulation in the Town, at least 15 days prior to the public hearing.
      5. The public hearing shall be held. Any party may appear in person or by agent or attorney.
      6. The Board of Appeals shall make a finding that it is empowered under the section of this chapter described in the application to grant the special exception and that the granting of the special exception will not adversely affect the public health, safety, security, morals, or general welfare, or would result in dangerous traffic conditions, or would jeopardize the lives or property of the people living in the neighborhood.
   2. In granting any special exception the Board of Appeals may prescribe appropriate conditions and safeguards in conformity with this chapter. Violation of such conditions and safeguards when made a part of the terms under which the special exception is granted, shall be deemed a violation of this chapter and punishable under § 170-68 of this chapter.
   3. In the event an approved special exception use is not initiated within the time frame specified by the Board of Appeals, the special exception use approval shall expire. In no case shall the Board of Appeals specify a time frame of less than one year after the date of approval.
3. Variances; conditions governing applications; procedures.
   1. Upon appeal in specific cases, to authorize such variance from the terms of this chapter as will not be contrary to the public interest where, owing to special conditions, a literal enforcement of the provisions of this chapter would result in unnecessary hardship. A variance from the terms of this chapter shall not be granted by the Board of Appeals unless and until:
      1. A written application for a variance is submitted demonstrating:
         1. That special conditions and circumstances exist which are peculiar to the land, structure, or building involved and which are not applicable to other lands, structures, or buildings in the same zone.
         2. That literal interpretation of the provision of this chapter would deprive the applicant of rights commonly enjoyed by other properties in the same zone under the terms of this chapter.
         3. That the special conditions and circumstances do not result from the action of the applicant.
         4. That granting the variance requested will not confer on the applicant any special privilege that is denied by this chapter to other lands, structures, or buildings in the same zone.
         5. That the granting of a variance will not adversely affect water quality or adversely impact fish, wildlife, or plant habitat within the Critical Area Overlay Zone, and that the granting of the variance will be consistent with the spirit and intent of the Town's Critical Area Program and associated ordinance as well as state law and regulations.
            
            No nonconforming use of neighboring lands, structures, or buildings in the same zone, and no permitted use of lands, structures, or buildings in other zones shall be considered grounds for the issuance of a variance.
      2. The Town Planning and Zoning Commission shall be apprised of all variance requests so that its members can evaluate the proposal as to consistency with the Comprehensive Plan and comment, if necessary.
      3. Notice of public hearing shall be given as in § 170-59B(1)(d) above.
      4. The public hearing shall be held. Any party may appear in person, or agent or by attorney.
      5. The Board of Appeals shall make findings that the requirements of § 170-59C(1)(a) have been met by the applicant for a variance.
      6. The Board of Appeals shall further make a finding that the reason set forth in the application justify the granting of the variance, and that the variance is the minimum variance that will make possible the reasonable use of land, building, or structure.
      7. The Board of Appeals shall further make a finding that the granting of the variance will be in harmony with the general purpose and intent of this chapter, and will not be injurious to the neighborhood, or otherwise detrimental to the public welfare.
      8. Special conditions for approval in the Critical Area Overlay Zone. A variance will not be granted by the Board of Appeals unless and until:
         1. A completed application form for a variance is submitted which demonstrates the applicability of the above criteria. In addition, requests for variance in the Critical Area Overlay Zones shall not be heard unless the state's Critical Area Commission has received a copy of the variance request at least two weeks prior to the scheduled public hearing.
         2. The Board of Appeals shall find that the reason set forth in the application justify the granting of the variance, and that the variance is the minimum variance that will make possible the reasonable use of land, building, or structures. In making this determination for variance requests in the Critical Area Overlay Zones, the Board of Appeals shall consider the following as tantamount to a minimum variance:
            1. That the granting of a variance to the yard and/or Buffer requirements results in new structures or impervious surfaces being located as far back from mean high-water, tidal wetlands, or tributary streams in the Critical Area as is feasible; and
            2. That the applicant take steps to mitigate impacts, insofar as possible, including:
               1. Reforestation on the site to offset disturbed forested or developed woodlands on at least an equal area basis;
               2. Afforestation of areas of the site so that at least 15% of the gross site is forested; and
               3. Implementation of any mitigation measures that relate to Habitat Protection Areas as delineated in the Town of Centreville Local Critical Area Program, recommended by state and/or county agencies are included as conditions of approval.
   2. In granting any variance, the Board of Appeals may prescribe appropriate conditions and safeguards in conformity with this chapter. Violation of such conditions and safeguards, when made a part of the terms under which the variance is granted shall be deemed a violation of this chapter and punishable under § 170-68 of this chapter.
   3. Under no circumstances shall the Board of Appeals grant a variance to allow a use not permissible under the terms of this chapter in the zone involved, or any use expressly or by implication prohibited by the terms of this chapter in said zone.
      

1. In exercising the above-mentioned powers, the Board of Appeals may, so long as such action is in conformity with the terms of this chapter, reserve 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 powers of the Zoning Administrator from whom the appeal is taken.
2. The concurring vote of the majority of the members of the Board shall be necessary to reverse any order, requirement, decision, or determination of the Zoning Administrator, or to decide in favor of the applicant on any matter upon which it is required to pass under this chapter, or to effect any variation in the application of this chapter. The Board of Appeals upon majority vote may suspend the proceeding of any hearing under its jurisdiction, by request of the applicant, any citizen or the Board of Appeals itself, for reason of misinformation, lack of technical data or expertise. Such suspension of proceedings shall not exceed 30 days.
3. If any application or request is disapproved by the Board, thereafter the Board shall not accept application for substantially the same proposal, on the same premises, until after one year from the date of such disapproval.
4. If an appeal to the Board is perfected and the public hearing date set and public notice given, and thereafter the applicant withdraws the appeal, he shall be precluded from filing another application for substantially the same proposal on the same premises for one year from the date of withdrawal.
   

Any person or persons, or any board, taxpayer, or department of the Town aggrieved by any decision of the Board of Appeals may seek review by the Circuit Court of such decision, in the manner provided by the laws of Maryland and particularly by the Land Use Article of the Annotated Code of Maryland.

1. It is the intent of this chapter that all questions of interpretation and enforcement shall first be presented to the Zoning Administrator and that such questions shall be presented to the Board of Appeals only on appeal from the decision of the Zoning Administrator and that recourse from the decisions by the Board of Appeals shall be to the courts as provided by laws and particularly by the Land Use Article of the Annotated Code of Maryland.
2. It is further the intent of this chapter that the duties of the Town Council in connection with this chapter shall not include hearing and deciding questions of interpretation and enforcement that may arise. The procedure for deciding such questions shall be as stated in this section and its ordinance. Under this chapter the Town Council shall have only the duties of considering and adopting or rejecting proposed amendments or the repeal of this chapter, as provided by law, and of establishing a schedule of fees and charges as stated in § 170-63 below.