Creston City Zoning Code

      B.   The members shall elect one of their number as Chairperson and shall appoint a Secretary, who may be a member of the Board.

      C.   The Board of Adjustment shall adopt rules necessary to the conduct of its affairs and in keeping with the provisions of the Zoning Code. Meetings shall be held at the call of the Chairperson and at such other times as the Board may determine. The Chairperson or in the absence of the Chairperson the acting Chairperson, may administer oaths and compel the attendance of witnesses. All meetings shall be open to the public.

      D.   The Board of Adjustment 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 a public record and filed in the office of the Zoning Administrator.

      E.   Hearing; Appeals; Notice Appeals to the Board of Adjustment concerning interpretation or administration of the Zoning Code may be taken by any person aggrieved or by any officer or bureau of the governing body of the City affected by any decision of the Zoning Administrator. Such appeals shall be taken within a reasonable time, not to exceed sixty (60) days or such lesser period as may be provided by the rules of the Board of Adjustment 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. The Board of Adjustment shall fix a reasonable time for the hearing or appeal, give public notice thereof as well as due notice to the parties in interest, and decide the same within a reasonable time. At the hearing, any party may appear in person or by agent or attorney.

      F.   A copy of all applications for a Variance or a Conditional Use under the provisions of the Flood Plain District shall be forwarded to the Department of Natural Resources ten (10) days prior to said hearing.

      G.   An appeal stays all proceedings in furtherance of the action appealed from, unless the administrative official from whom the appeal is taken certified to the Board of Adjustment after the notice of appeal is filed with said official, that by reason of facts stated in the certificate, a stay would, in the opinion of such official, 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 Adjustment or by a Court of record on application, on notice to the administrative official from whom the appeal is taken and on due cause shown.

      H.   The Board shall have the power and duty of hearing and deciding appeals or requests in the following cases. The Council may review actions by the Board of Adjustment before their effective date. However, the Council may only remand a decision concerning action by the Board for the further study. The cases which may be presented to the Board of Adjustment are as follows:

         (1)   Appeals where it is alleged that there is an error in any order, requirement, decision, or determination made by an administrative officer in the enforcement of the Zoning Code.

         (2)   Requests for a variance from the literal provisions of the Zoning Code in instances where their strict enforcement would cause undue hardship because of circumstances unique to the individual property under consideration.

      I.   In granting any variance the Board of Adjustment may prescribe appropriate conditions and safeguards in conformity with the Zoning Code. Violations of such conditions and safe-guards, when made a part of the terms under which the variance is granted, shall be deemed a violation of the Zoning Code and shall be punishable under Section 165.09 of the Zoning Code.

      J.   In exercising the aforementioned powers, the Board may, so long as such action is in conformity with the terms of the Zoning Code, reverse or affirm, in whole or in part or may modify the order, requirements, decisions or determination appealed from and may such order, requirements, decision or determination as ought to be made and to that end shall have powers of the administrative official from whom any appeal is taken.

      K.   The concurring vote of a majority of the Board shall be necessary to reverse any order, requirements, decision or determination of the administrative official, or to decide in favor of the applicant on any matter upon which it is required to pass under the Zoning Code, or to effect any variation of the Zoning Code.

      L.      A copy of all decisions granting Variances or Conditional Use Permits in the Floodway and/or Flood Fringe portions of the Flood Plain District shall be forwarded to the Department of Natural Resources within ten (10) days of such action.

   3.   Appeal for Variance. Application for any adjustment permissible under the hardship provision in subsection H above, shall be made to the Zoning Administrator in the form of a written application for a permit to use the land or building or both as set forth in said application. No nonconforming use of neighboring lands, structure or buildings in the same district and no permitted use of lands, structures or buildings in other districts shall be considered grounds for the issuance of a variance. The application shall present a statement and adequate evidence showing:

      A.   That there are exceptional or extraordinary circumstances or conditions applying to the land, building, or use referred to in the application, which circumstances or conditions do not apply generally to land, building, or uses in the same zone classification.

      B.   That the granting of the application is necessary for the preservation and employment of substantial property rights of the petitioner.

      C.   That the reasons set forth in the application justify the granting of the variance.

      D.   The variance is the minimum variance that will make possible the reasonable use of land, building or structure.

      E.   That the granting of such application will not, under the circumstances of the particular case, materially affect adversely the health or safety of persons residing or working in the neighborhood of the property of the applicant, and will not, under the circumstances of the particular case, be materially detrimental to the public welfare or injurious to property or improvements in said neighborhood.

      F.   That the special conditions and circumstances do not result from the actions of the applicant.

      G.   That granting the application will not confer on the applicant any special privilege that is denied by this chapter to other lands, structures, or building in the same district. No variance in a Flood Plain District should provide a lesser degree of flood protection than the Flood Protection elevation for that area.

   4.   Notification and Public Hearing for Variance Requests.

      A.   Application for any adjustment permissible under the provisions of this Section shall be made to the Zoning Administrator, in the form of a written application for a building permit or for a permit to use the property or premises as set forth in the application. An application for a variance shall be accompanied by payment of a fee as established by the City Council in addition to the regular building permit fee.

      B.   Upon receipt of any applications, such officer shall set a time and place for public hearing before the Zoning Board of Adjustment for such application. The Board shall fix a reasonable time for the hearing, and give not less than four (4) days or more than twenty (20) days’ public notice in a paper of general circulation in the City, and shall decide the same within ten (10) days.

      C.   Any person may appear or be represented by an agent or attorney.

      D.   The applicant shall be required to produce proof of notice to affected property owners immediately adjacent to the applicant’s property. Such proof may be by return receipt mail or by written approval by said affected property owners.

      E.      Within a reasonable time after the hearing, the Board shall make its order deciding the matter and serve a copy of such order upon the applicant or the petitioner by mail.

   5.   Duties of Zoning Administrator, Board of Adjustment, City Council and Courts on Matters of Appeal.

      A.   It is the intent of the Zoning Code that all questions of interpretation and enforcement shall be first presented to the Zoning Administrator and that such questions shall be presented to the Board of Adjustment only on appeal from the decision of the Zoning Administrator and that recourse from the decisions of the Board of Adjustment shall be to the City Council, then the Courts as established by Chapter 414 of the Code of Iowa. (See Section 165.08(2)(H)(2) of this Code of Ordinances)

      B.   The duties of the City Council in regard to the Zoning Code shall include hearing and deciding questions of interpretation and enforcement that may arise in such case where the decision of the Board of Adjustment is challenged. The City Council shall also have the duties of considering and adopting or rejecting proposed amendments to the repeal of the Zoning Code, as provided by law and establishing a schedule of fees and charges as stated in Section 165.13.