There shall be created a joint Board of Zoning Appeals, upon the lawful enactment of ordinances by the Board of Supervisors for Culpeper County, Virginia, and the Town of Culpeper, which shall consist of five (5) residents of the County or municipality, consisting of two (2) members from the County of Culpeper, two (2) members from the Town of Culpeper, plus one (1) member from the area at large, to be appointed by the Judge of the Circuit Court for Culpeper County, Virginia. The term of office of each member shall be five (5) years, except that of the two (2) members first appointed from each jurisdiction, the term of one (1) shall be for two (2) years and of the other, four (4) years. Vacancies shall be filled for the unexpired terms. The Secretary of the Board shall notify the Court at least thirty (30) days in advance of the expiration of any term of office, and shall also notify the Court promptly if any vacancy occurs. Appointments to fill vacancies shall be only for the unexpired portion of the term. Members may be reappointed to succeed themselves. Members of the Board shall hold no other public office in the County or Municipality, except that one (1) may be a member of the local Planning or Zoning Commission. A member whose term expires shall continue to serve until his successor is appointed and qualified. The Board may make, alter and rescind rules and forms for its procedures, consistent with ordinances of the County or municipality and general laws of the Commonwealth. The Board shall keep a full public record of its proceedings and shall submit a report of its activities to the governing bodies at least once each year. Within the limits of funds appropriated by the governing bodies, the Board may employ or contract for secretaries, clerks, legal counsel, consultants and other technical and clerical services. Members of the Board may receive such compensation as may be authorized by the respective governing bodies. Any Board member may be removed for malfeasance. misfeasance or nonfeasance in office, or for other just cause, by the Court which appointed him, after hearing held after at least fifteen (15) days' notice. The Board shall be governed by these provisions and any provisions set forth in Code of Virginia, § 15.2-2308, as amended.

Every appeal from a determination of the zoning administrator and every application for a variance shall be accompanied by a fee in such amount as is set, from time to time, by the Board of Supervisors.
(Ord. of 10-6-1981)

If any variance granted by the Board of Zoning Appeals is not acted upon and put into effect within one (1) year after the date of such grant, then the variance shall be null and void and of no force and effect.

18-4-1 Requests for hardship, variance or relief: Any request for hardship, variance or relief of administrative determination in the WMD must acknowledge the existence of the watershed, the study identifying its sensitive characteristics and Article 8C of this Zoning Ordinance which establishes the regulations for management of watershed resources. A grant of hardship or relief shall not be made without assessing the public benefits and prospective watershed impacts of the request and determining that, in fact the public interest would not be compromised.

18-4-2 Method of development: In addition, wherever practical, the style or method of development in the WMD shall be required to represent the best water quality results obtainable. Therefore, variances and appeals should reflect this intent and not result in a development approach that will deteriorate water quality or compromise watershed resources in relation to either pre-development or prevariance standards.
(Ord. of 3-3-1992)

In accordance with Code of Virginia, § 15.2-2286(4) of the Code of Virginia, the Zoning Administrator shall have authority to grant certain modifications.

The Zoning Administrator is hereby authorized to grant a modification from any provision contained in the Zoning Ordinance with respect to physical requirements on a lot or parcel of land, including but not limited to size, height, location or features of or related to any building, structure, or improvements, if the administrator finds in writing that: (i) the strict application of the ordinance would produce undue hardship; (ii) such hardship is not shared generally by other properties in the same zoning district and the same vicinity; and (iii) the authorization of the modification will not be of substantial detriment to adjacent property and the character of the zoning district will not be changed by the granting of the modification. Prior to the granting of a modification, the Zoning Administrator shall give, or require the applicant to give, all adjoining property owners written notice of the request for modification, and an opportunity to respond to the request within twenty-one (21) days of the date of the notice. The Zoning Administrator shall make a decision on the application for modification and issue a written decision with a copy provided to the applicant and any adjoining landowner who responded in writing to the notice sent pursuant to this paragraph. The decision of the Zoning Administrator shall constitute a decision within the purview of Code of Virginia, § 15.2-2311, and may be appealed to the Board of Zoning Appeals as provided by that section. Decisions of the Board of Zoning Appeals may be appealed to the circuit court as provided by Code of Virginia, § 15.2-2314.

The Zoning Administrator shall respond within ninety (90) days of a request for a decision or determination on zoning matters within the scope of this authority unless the requester has agreed to a longer period.

(Ord. of 1-7-2003; 1-2-2008)