A Zoning Board of Appeals is hereby established and its membership shall be as set forth in Chapter 150, Planning and Zoning Commission.

(1981 Code, Art. XII, C1) (Ord. passed 12- -1986; Am. Ord. 01-05, passed 6-4-2001)

   (A)   The Board shall hear and decide all application for appeals and for the types of authorized variations as hereinafter set forth in the manner prescribed by standards and other regulations herein set forth.

   (B)   All meetings of the Zoning Board of Appeals shall be held at the call of the Chairperson, the Village President or the Board of Trustees and at the time as the foregoing may determine. All meetings of the Zoning Board of Appeals shall be held as the Chairperson shall determine when there are pending matters for an agenda. In all official proceedings the Chairperson or in his or her absence the acting Chairperson of the Zoning Board of Appeals shall have the power to administer oaths and to compel, by subpoena, the attendance and testimony of witnesses and the production of books and papers. The Zoning Board of Appeals 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 also keep records of its hearings and other official actions. A copy of every rule or regulation, every appeal, variation and every recommendation, order, requirement, decision or determination of the Zoning Board of Appeals shall be filed immediately in the office of the Village Clerk and shall be a public record. The Zoning Board of Appeals shall adopt its own rules and procedures, not in conflict with this chapter or with applicable state statutes and all hearings shall be open to the public.

(1981 Code, Art. XII, C2) (Ord. passed 12- -1986)

   (A)   (1)   The Planning, Zoning, and Historic Commission shall hear and decide appeals from an administrative order, requirement or determination made by the Building Inspector under this chapter or under the Building Code or Subdivision Code.

      (2)   An appeal may be taken to the Planning, Zoning, and Historic Commission by any person, firm or corporation, or by any office, department, board, bureau or commission, aggrieved by an administrative order, requirement, decision or determination under this chapter by the Building Inspector.

      (3)   An appeal shall be filed with the Village and promptly referred to the Planning, Zoning, and Historic Commission for processing in accordance with the requirements of Illinois Statutes.

         (a)   The Planning, Zoning, and Historic Commission shall hear and issue recommendations to the Board of Trustees on variation requests. The Planning, Zoning, and Historic Commission shall not recommend the adoption of a proposed variation until after it finds that the adoption of the variation is in the public interest and is not solely for the interest of the applicant. The Planning, Zoning, and Historic Commission may recommend the adoption of a variation as set forth within this chapter.

         (b)   A concurring vote of a majority of those members present at the meeting with a minimum of three concurring votes shall be required to recommend granting or denying an application for a variation.

         (c)   The report to the Village Board of the proceedings shall contain the number of Commissioners present and names of those voting for or against the motion.

         (a)   The President and the Board of Trustees, upon receiving the recommendations of the Zoning Board of Appeals, may grant or deny any proposed variation in accordance with applicable state statutes or may refer it back to the Planning, Zoning, and Historic Commission for further consideration.

         (b)   If an application for a proposed variation is not acted upon finally by the President and Board of Trustees within six months of the date upon which the application is received by the President and Board of Trustees, it shall be deemed to have been denied.

         (a)   The Planning, Zoning, and Historic Commission shall hold the public hearing and issue a recommendation on authorized variations of the provisions of this chapter in harmony with its general purpose and intent, and shall recommend them only in the specific instances where there are practical difficulties or particular hardship in the way of carrying out the strict letter of the regulations of this chapter.

         (b)   Any person, firm or corporation owning or having an interest in a lot or the Board of Trustees may apply for a variation.

      (4)   Processing application for variation:

         (a)   The applicant shall provide an application for a variation request with the village on an application prescribed by the village, in a form acceptable to the Village Board. The application shall be accompanied by such plans or data, or both, as specified by the village, and shall include a statement, in writing, by the applicant and adequate evidence showing that the proposed variance/variation will conform to the standards set forth herein for variations.

         (b)   The village, at the applicant’s expense shall give notices of the public hearing as follows:

            1.   To the persons to whom the current real estate tax bills are sent, if any, as shown on the record of the local real estate tax assessor of all properties lying within 250 feet of the property line of the lot/PIN for which the variation is sought.

            2.   All notices shall be in writing and shall give the time, place, and purpose of the public hearing and shall be mailed not more than 30 days nor less than 15 days in advance of the hearing. The notice shall be sent by First-Class mail, properly addressed as shown on the tax assessor's rolls and with sufficient postage affixed thereon. The applicant shall file a sworn affidavit with copies of the notices with the village showing the names and addresses of all notices sent. The affidavit shall be conclusive presumption of giving of the notices.

            3.   A notice of the time and place of the public hearing will be published in a newspaper of general circulation in the village at least 15 days and no greater than 30 days prior to the hearing. Such notice shall contain the address or location of the property where the request is sought, as well as a brief description of the nature of the request.

            4.   The village, at the applicant's expense, shall post and maintain on forms no smaller than 11 inches by 17 inches on a white background for a period of not less than ten days prior to the hearing the notice thereof as furnished by the village. The notice showing the time, place, and purpose of the public hearing shall be posted on the property for which the variance and/or special use is sought as follows:

               a.   On an improved and/or unimproved lot: A visible sign not more than 15 feet from the front lot line.

            5.   Upon receipt in proper form of the application referred to above, the Planning, Zoning, and Historic Commission shall hold at least one public hearing on the proposed variation. However, the Planning, Zoning, and Historic Commission may continue from time-to-time the hearing without further notices being published.

         (c)   Within 45 days after the close of the public hearing, the Planning, Zoning, and Historic Commission shall make written findings of fact, when required, and shall submit the same, together with its recommendations to the Village President and Board of Trustees. The recommendation shall be consistent with the purpose and intent of this chapter and shall specify, in a conclusion or statement, any stipulations, restrictions or conditions on the variation, which the Commission deems necessary to assure compliance with this chapter and the protection of the public health, safety, comfort, morals or welfare. The Planning, Zoning, and Historic Commission shall not recommend that a variation be approved unless it finds that the proposed variation conforms to the standards set forth both in this chapter and, if any, in the district regulations.

   (C)   (1)   The Planning, Zoning, and Historic Commission shall make variation findings- of-fact based upon the evidence presented to it in each specific case with respect to the following:

         (a)   The property in question cannot yield a reasonable return if permitted to be used only under the conditions allowed by the regulations in that zoning district;

         (b)   The plight of the owner is due to unique circumstances; and

         (c)   The variation, if granted, will not alter the essential character of the locality.

      (2)   For the purpose of supplementing the above findings-of-fact standards, the Planning, Zoning, and Historic Commission, in making its decision whenever they are practical difficulties or particular hardship, shall also take into consideration the extent to which the following facts favorable to the applicant, have been established by the evidence that:

         (a)   The particular physical surroundings, shape or topographical conditions of the specific property involved would bring a particular hardship upon the owner as distinguished from a mere inconvenience if the regulations were strictly enforced;

         (b)   The conditions upon which the petition for variation is based would not be applicable generally to other properly within the same zoning classification;

         (c)   The purpose of the variation is not based exclusively upon a desire to make more money out of the property;

         (d)   The alleged difficulty or hardship has not been created by any person presently having an interest in the property;

         (e)   The granting of the variation will not be detrimental to the public welfare or injurious to other property or improvements in the neighborhood in which the property is located; or

         (f)   The proposed variation will not impair an adequate supply of light and air to adjacent property or substantially increase the danger of fire or otherwise endanger the public safety or substantially diminish or impair property values within the neighborhood.

      (3)   The Planning, Zoning, and Historic Commission may require such conditions and restrictions upon the premises benefitted by a variation as may be necessary to comply with the standards set forth in this section or reduce or minimize the injurious effect of the variation upon other property in the neighborhood and to implement the general purpose and intent of this chapter.

(1981 Code, Art. XII, C3) (Ord. passed 12- -1986; Am. Ord. 90-10, passed 6-4-1990; Am. Ord. 05-16, passed 8-1-2005; Am. Ord. 22-11, passed 4-4-2022; Am. Ord. 24-34, passed 10-7-2024)