Clark County Unincorporated
City Zoning Code
City Zoning Code
BOARD OF
ZONING ADJUSTMENT
§ 155.065 APPOINTMENT AND ORGANIZATION.
The Board of Zoning Adjustment as constituted at the time of the adoption of this chapter shall continue to operate in the manner hereinafter prescribed.
(Prior Code, § 5.1)
§ 155.066 POWER AND DUTIES.
The Board shall have the following powers and duties.
(A) Bylaws. The Board shall adopt bylaws for its own government and shall keep minutes and records of all proceedings.
(B) Administrative review. The Board shall hear and decide upon appeals from decisions of the Enforcement Officer. The Board shall decide on questions involving literal interpretations of the zoning order, shall interpret the exact location of zoning district boundaries, and shall make only those other interpretations and decisions specifically delegated to it by the provisions of the zoning order.
(C) Conditional uses. The Board shall have the authority to approve or disapprove applications for only those conditional uses upon which it has been specifically delegated to act by the provisions of the zoning order. The Board may approve, modify, or deny any application for a conditional use permit. If it approves such permit, it may attach necessary conditions such as time limitations, requirements that one or more things be done before the request can be initiated, or conditions of a continuing nature. Any such conditions shall be recorded in the Board’s minutes and on the conditional use permit. The granting of a conditional use permit does not exempt the applicant from complying with all the requirements of building, housing, and other applicable regulations.
(D) Variance.
(1) The Board shall have the power to hear and decide on applications for dimensional variances where, by reason of the exceptional narrowness, shallowness, or unusual shape of a site on the effective date of the zoning regulation or by reason of exception topographic conditions, or some other extraordinary situation or condition of that site, the literal enforcement of the dimensional requirements (height or width of building or size of yards, but no population density) of the zoning regulation would deprive the applicant of reasonable capacity to make use of the land in a manner equivalent to the use permitted other landowners in the same zone. The Board may impose any reasonable conditions or restrictions on any variance it decides to grant.
(2) Before any dimensional variance is granted, the Board must find all of the following, which shall be recorded along with any imposed conditions or restrictions in its minutes and records and issued in written form to the applicant to constitute proof of the dimensional variance:
(a) The specific conditions in detail which are unique to the applicant’s land and do not exist on other land in the same zone;
(b) The manner in which the strict application of the provisions of the regulation would deprive the applicant of a reasonable use of the land in the manner equivalent to the use permitted other landowners in the same zone;
(c) The unique conditions and circumstances are not the result of actions of the applicant taken subsequent to the adoption of the zoning regulation; and
(d) Reasons that the variance will preserve, not harm the public safety and welfare, and will not alter the essential character of the neighborhood.
(E) Other variances. The Board is also empowered to approve, disapprove, or approve conditionally applications for the following.
(1) Variances from the requirements for noise level emission from industrial uses upon finding that bringing the source of the sound or activity for which the variance is sought into compliance would constitute an unreasonable hardship on the applicant, on the community, or on other persons. A separate application shall be filed for each source; provided, however, that several mobile sources under common ownership, or several fixed sources on a single property may be combined into one application.
(F) The Planning Commission shall also have authority to grant variances and issue conditional use permits only in the following circumstances.
(1) In conjunction with approval of subdivision plans. In conjunction with the review and approval of subdivision plans, the Planning Commission is authorized to grant dimension variances upon finding that:
(a) The variance is a result of customary design standards or innovative design which, in the Commission’s opinion, still achieve the basic objectives of the zoning laws and subdivision regulations; or
(b) Strict compliance with the regulations would create an undue hardship because of exceptional and unique topographic or other physical conditions encountered upon the particular land, and the resulting variance may be granted without detriment to the public good.
(2) In conjunction with the zoning map amendment.
(a) At the time of the filing of an application for a map amendment, the applicant may request to have one or more variances and/or one or more conditional use permits for the same development to be heard and finally decided by the Planning Commission at the same public hearing set for the map amendment.
(b) When so requested by the applicant, the Planning Commission shall hear and decide applications for variances or conditional use permits; and in such case, the Planning Commission shall assume all powers and duties otherwise exercised by the Board of Adjustments pursuant to KRS 100.231, 100.233, 100.237, 100.241, 100.243, 100.247, and 100.251. The decision of the Planning Commission shall be final.
(c) Nothing in this section shall be deemed to prohibit the applicant from electing to have applications for variances or conditional use permits heard by the Board of Adjustments as otherwise provided in KRS Chapter 100 and this zoning code.
(Prior Code, § 5.2) (Ord. 20-82, passed 9-28-1982; Ord. 95-13, passed 7-27-1995)
§ 155.067 PROCEDURE.
(A) An application to the Board for an original interpretation or decision or an appeal from a decision of the Enforcement Officer shall be made in writing on forms prescribed by the Board and which provide sufficient information for administrative purposes. Additional statements or information with respect to the case involved may also be submitted by the applicant for review by the Board. An appeal must be filed within 30 days after the Enforcement Officer has refused a zoning permit or certificate of occupancy, or the right to appeal shall be waived. The Enforcement Officer shall transmit to the Board the complete record of the decision appealed.
(B) The Board shall hold a hearing at which all pertinent evidence concerning the interpretation, decision, or appeal shall be examined, and the Board shall make its decision within 30 days after the hearing. The following rules shall govern all decisions made by the Board.
(1) Limits of authority. The Board shall act only within the strict limits of its authority as defined in the zoning order. The Board has no authority to vary the use regulations or other regulations not specifically delegated to it. The Board shall not hold hearings on applications or appeals seeking decisions that the Board is not authorized to make.
(2) Special conditions. The Board may attach special conditions to any decision it is authorized to make in order to ensure that the intent of the zoning order will be carried out.
(3) Majority vote required. The concurring vote of a majority of the entire membership of the Board shall be necessary in making any decision.
(4) Additional powers. In exercising the above powers, the Board shall have all the powers of the Enforcement Officer in addition to its other powers and duties.
(Prior Code, § 5.3) (Ord. 98-4, passed 6-10-1998)