(a)

Establishment. A planning board/board of adjustment is hereby established consisting of eight members. Six members of the board of adjustment shall reside within the corporate limits of the town, while the remaining two members must come from the town extraterritorial jurisdiction. It is preferred, but not a requirement, that each of these members have some type of prior experience in the area of zoning and land use planning while possessing the ability to interpret the regulations governing the town and its planning jurisdiction concerning the issues of zoning and land use legislation on the local level.

(b)

Members of the planning board/board of adjustment shall attend all applicable training schools, seminars, or workshops, which are sponsored or provided by the town. Annual continuing education classes will also be scheduled, and planning board/board of adjustment members shall attend these workshops. Planning board/board of adjustments members may be excused for absences from these schools whenever family emergencies, work, etc., make it impossible to attend in these cases, alternative make up arrangements will be made to provide for the required schooling. Failure on the part of a planning board/board of adjustment member to attend the education and training classes offered by the town and failure to make up the required class will make the affected member ineligible to serve on the planning/board of adjustment. The final determination of eligibility status, as it pertains to these education requirements, will be determined by the town board. Expenses associated with these schools, seminars, or workshops such as meals, travel expenses, registration fees, etc, shall be paid for by the town.

(c)

Appointment.

(1)

Initial appointment of members shall be as follows: Members shall serve a term of three years. Following the appointment of a member or members to the planning board/board of adjustment and, after the required training has been completed; the new member or members shall take an oath stating their commitment to uphold the zoning laws which the planning board/board of adjustment is authorized to interpret.

(2)

Board members may be appointed to succeed themselves once.

(d)

Expenses. Members of the board of adjustment shall be compensated at a rate of $25.00 per meeting, excluding training sessions. Members failing to attend an official meeting will not receive compensation when absent. Members of the board of adjustment may be reimbursed by the town for expenses incurred while representing the board.

(e)

Rules of procedure and officers. The board of adjustments shall elect one of the members as chairperson and another as vice-chairperson and shall appoint a secretary to keep minutes of its proceedings. The board shall adopt from time to time rules and regulations as it may deem necessary to carry into affect the provisions of this section.

(f)

Voting. A concurring vote of the four-fifths majority of the board shall be necessary to reverse: any order, requirement, decision or determination of the administrative official or to grant a variance from the provisions of this article.

(Code 1977, § 9-4101.1; Ord. of 4-2-1998)

(a)

The board of adjustment shall have the following powers and duties:

(1)

To hear and decide appeals where it is alleged there is error in any order, requirement, decision, or determination made by the administrative official in the enforcement of this article.

(2)

To authorize upon appeal in specific cases variance from the terms of this article as will not be contrary to the public interest where, owing to special conditions, a literal enforcement of the provisions of this article will result in undue hardship, so that the spirit of this article shall be observed and substantial justice done.

(b)

A charge shall be made to the appellant according to town policy in order to cover administrative and advertising costs.

(c)

A public hearing shall be held at which all of the following conditions must be found to exist:

(1)

There are extraordinary and exceptional conditions pertaining to the particular piece of property in question because of its size, shape, or topography that are not applicable to other lands or structures in the same district.

(2)

Granting the variance the requested will not confer upon the applicant any special privileges denied to other residents of the district in which the property is located.

(3)

A literal interpretation of the provisions of this article will deprive the applicant of rights commonly enjoyed by other residence of the district in which the property is located.

(4)

The requested variance will be in harmony with the purpose and intent of this article and will not be injurious to the neighborhood or to the general welfare.

(5)

The special circumstances are not the result of the actions of the applicant.

(6)

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

(d)

In considering all proposed variances from this article, the board shall, before making any finding in a specified case, first determine that the proposed variance will not constitute any change in the zone shown on the zoning map and will not impair an adequate supply of light and air to adjacent property, or materially increase the public danger of fire and safety, or materially diminish or impair established property values within the surrounding area, or in any other respect impair the public health, safety, morals and general welfare.

(e)

No permitted use of land in other districts shall be considered grounds for the issuance of a variance. Under no circumstances shall the board of adjustment grant a variance to allow a use not permissible under the terms of this article in the district involved, or any expressly or by implication prohibited by the terms of this article in said district.

(f)

In granting a variance the board may attach thereto such conditions regarding the location, character, and other features of the proposed building, structure, or use as it may deem advisable in furtherance of the purposes of this article. Violation of such conditions and safeguards when made a part of the terms under which the variance is granted, shall be deemed a violation of this article.

(Code 1977, § 9-4101.2)

(a)

Appeals for the enforcement and interpretation of this article, and requests for variances shall be filed with the administrative official specifying the grounds thereof, within the times prescribed by the board of adjustment by general rule after the decision of zoning administrator. The administrative official shall transmit to the board of adjustment all applications and records pertaining to such appeals and variances.

(b)

The board of adjustment shall fix a reasonable time for the hearing of the appeal, giving notice to all participants by registered mail. The board of adjustment shall hear the case and make a judgment. The judgment may be favorable to the applicant, or it may be unfavorable to the applicant, in which case the applicant is left with three options:

(1)

Option #1: Drop the case.

(2)

Option #2: Drop the case, change the request and reapply.

(3)

Option #3: Appeal to the courts.

(c)

An appeal stays all proceedings in furtherance of the action appealed from, unless the administrative official certifies to the board of adjustment that by reason of facts stated in the record a stay, would, in their opinion, cause imminent peril to life and property, in which case proceedings shall be stayed otherwise than by an order from the county superior court. Appeals shall be made within 30 days of the date a decision is rendered by the board of adjustment.

(d)

In all cases, the board of commissioners reserves the right to appeal any decision of the board of adjustment to the courts.

(Code 1977, § 9-4101.3)

The board of commissioners shall set a fee, payable to the town, to cover the necessary administrative costs and advertising of each application for a variance or appeal. The set fee shall be posted in the town clerk's office.

(Code 1977, § 9-4101.4)