There is hereby established a zoning board of appeals in accordance with section 601 of 2006 PA 110, as amended (MCL 125.3601).

a.

The zoning board of appeals (ZBA) shall consist of five members. Members shall be appointed by majority vote of the members of the township board. The first member of the zoning board of appeals shall be a member of the township planning commission. The second member shall be a member of the township board appointed by the township board, but such a member shall not serve as chairperson of the ZBA. The remaining members shall be selected and appointed by the township from among the electors residing in the incorporated area of the Charter Township of Emmett. The members selected shall be representative of the population distribution and of the various interests present in the local unit of government. The township board may appoint to the ZBA not more than two alternate members for the same term as regular members. An employee or a contractor of the township may not serve as a member or employee of the zoning board of appeals. Members of the ZBA may be paid a reasonable per diem and reimbursed for expenses actually incurred in the discharge of their duties. Members of the board of appeals shall be removable by the township board for misfeasance, malfeasance, or nonfeasance in office upon written charges and after public hearing. A member shall disqualify himself/herself from a vote in which the member has a conflict of interest. Failure to disqualify himself or herself from a vote in which the member has a conflict of interest constitutes malfeasance in office.

b.

The terms of office for an appointed member of the ZBA shall be three years, except for a member serving because of his/her membership on the planning commission or township board, whose term shall be limited to the time he/she is a member of that body. A successor shall be appointed not more than one month after the term of the preceding member has expired.

c.

The ZBA shall not conduct business unless a majority of the regular members of the ZBA are present.

d.

A member of the ZBA who is also a member of the planning commission or the township board shall not participate in a public hearing on or vote on the same matter that the member voted on as a member of the planning commission or township board. However, the member may consider and vote on other unrelated matters involving the same property.

Meetings of the zoning board of appeals shall be held at the call of the chairperson and at such other times as the ZBA in its rules of procedure may specify. The chairperson may administer oaths and compel the attendance of witnesses. All meetings of the board of appeals shall be open to the public. The board shall maintain a record of its proceedings which shall be filed in the office of the township clerk and shall be a public record.

a.

The zoning board of appeals shall hear and decide questions that arise in the administration of the zoning ordinance, including the interpretation of the zoning maps, and may adopt rules to govern its procedures sitting as a zoning board of appeals. The ZBA shall also hear and decide on matters referred to the ZBA or upon which the ZBA is required to pass under this zoning ordinance. It shall hear and decide appeals from and review any administrative order, requirement, decision, or determination made by an administrative official or body charged with enforcement of this zoning ordinance.

b.

The concurring vote of a majority of the members of the zoning board of appeals is necessary to reverse an order, requirement, decision, or determination of the administrative official or body, to decide in favor of the applicant on a matter upon which the zoning board of appeals is required to pass under this zoning ordinance, or to grant a variance under this zoning ordinance.

An appeal to the zoning board of appeals may be taken by a person aggrieved or by an officer, department, board, or bureau of this state or the local unit of government. In addition, a variance in the zoning ordinance may be applied for and granted under section 3.09 of this ordinance. The zoning board of appeals shall state the grounds of any determination made by the board.

An appeal under this section shall be taken within such time as prescribed by the zoning board of appeals by general rule, by filing with the body or officer from whom the appeal is taken and with the zoning board of appeals a notice of appeal specifying the grounds for the appeal. The body or officer from whom the appeal is taken shall immediately transmit to the zoning board of appeals all of the papers constituting the record upon which the action appealed from was taken.

An appeal stays all proceedings in furtherance of the action appealed from unless the officer from whom the appeal is taken certifies to the zoning board of appeals after the notice of appeal shall have been filed with him that by reason of facts stated in the certificate, a stay would in his opinion cause imminent peril to life or property, in which case proceedings shall not be stayed otherwise 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 officer from whom the appeal is taken and on due cause shown.

Following receipt of a written request for a variance, the zoning board of appeals shall fix a reasonable time for the hearing of the request and give notice as provided in section 103 of 2006 PA 110, as amended (the Michigan Zoning Enabling Act), MCL 125.3103.

If the zoning board of appeals receives a written request seeking an interpretation of the zoning ordinance or an appeal of an administrative decision, the zoning board of appeals shall conduct a public hearing on the request. Notice shall be given as required under section 103 of 2006 PA 110, as amended. However, if the request does not involve a specific parcel of property, notice need only be published as provided in section 103(1) of the Act and given to the person making the request as provided in section 103(3) of the Act.

At a hearing on a request seeking an interpretation of the zoning ordinance or an appeal of an administrative decision, a party may appear personally or by agent or attorney. The zoning board of appeals may reverse or affirm, wholly or partly, or modify the order, requirement, decision, or determination and may issue or direct the issuance of a permit.

At the time of the filing of the notice of appeal, there shall be paid a fee prescribed by the township board; which fee shall immediately be placed in the township general fund.

The zoning board of appeals shall have the authority to grant nonuse variances related to dimensional requirements of the zoning ordinance or to any other nonuse-related standard in the ordinance where there are practical difficulties in the way of carrying out the strict letter of this ordinance so that the spirit of the ordinance shall be observed, public health and safety secured, and substantial justice done.

a.

Standards. In determining whether practical difficulties exist, the zoning board of appeals shall consider the following factors:

1.

That the variance will not permit the establishment within a zoning district of any use which is not allowed as a permitted or special land use within the district.

2.

That compliance with the strict letter of the zoning ordinance would unreasonably prevent the owner or occupant of the property from using the property for a permitted purpose, or would render conformity with the zoning ordinance unnecessarily burdensome.

3.

That a grant of the variance applied for would do substantial justice to the applicant as well as to other property owners in the surrounding area or, in the alternative, that a lesser relaxation than that applied for would give substantial relief to the owner or occupant of the property involved and be more consistent with justice to other property owners.

4.

That the hardship asserted by the applicant by way of justification for a variance is due to unique circumstances of the property.

5.

That the hardship asserted by way of justification for the variance is not self-created.

6.

That, in granting a variance, the zoning board of appeals is ensuring that the spirit of the zoning ordinance is observed, public safety secured, and substantial justice done.

b.

Conditions. The zoning board of appeals may attach conditions or limitations upon a variance, where such are necessary to insure that public services and facilities affected by a requested variance and the associated land use or activity will be capable of accommodating increased service and facility loads caused by the variance and associated land use or activity, and to protect the natural environment and conserve natural resources and energy, and to ensure compatibility with adjacent uses of land, and to promote the use of land in a socially and economically desirable manner.

Prior to attaching a condition or limitation to a variance, the zoning board of appeals shall also specifically determine the following:

1.

That the condition or limitation is designed to protect natural resources, the health, safety and welfare and the social and economic well-being of those who will use the land use or activity associated with the variance under consideration, residents and land owners immediately adjacent to the land use or activity, and the community as a whole; and

2.

That the condition or limitation is related to the valid exercise of the police power, and purposes which are affected by the proposed variance; and

3.

That the condition or limitation is necessary to meet the intent and purpose of the zoning ordinance, is related to the standards established in the ordinance for the variance under consideration and associated land use or activity, and is necessary to ensure compliance with those standards.

Any such conditions and limitations may impose greater or more restrictions and requirements than are included in this ordinance generally, and may include the provision of reasonable financial security to guarantee performance. Violation of any such conditions or limitations shall be deemed a violation of this ordinance.

(Ord. No. 5-2024, § 1, 8-8-2024)

The decision of the zoning board of appeals shall be final. A party aggrieved by the decision may appeal to the circuit court for the county in which the property is located.

An appeal from a decision of a zoning board of appeals shall be filed within whichever of the following deadlines comes first:

a.

Thirty days after the zoning board of appeals issues its decision in writing signed by the chairperson, if there is a chairperson, or signed by the members of the zoning board of appeals, if there is no chairperson.

b.

Twenty-one days after the zoning board of appeals approves the minutes of its decision.