Fairport City Zoning Code
ARTICLE XIV
Board of Appeals
§ 550-68 Creation; membership; organization; training.
[Amended 5-10-2010 by L.L. No. 1-2010]
A.
A Board of Appeals is hereby created. Said Board shall be appointed by the Board of Trustees and consist of three to five members and one or two alternate members, each having a term of five years. Upon the death, resignation or removal for any reason of a member or alternate member of the Board, the Mayor, with the approval of the Board of Trustees, shall appoint a successor for the unexpired term. The Board of Trustees shall appoint a Chairman of the Board of Appeals and a Secretary, who may but need not be a member or alternate member of the Board of Appeals.
[Amended 5-9-2011 by L.L. No. 2-2011]
§ 550-69 Powers and duties.
The Board of Appeals shall have all the power and duties prescribed by Article 7 of the Village Law of the State of New York and by this chapter, which are more particularly specified as follows:
A.
Interpretation: upon appeal from a decision by an administrative official, to decide any question involving the interpretation of any provision of this chapter, including determination of the exact location of any district boundary if there is uncertainty with respect thereto.
B.
Special permits: to issue special permits for any of the uses for which this chapter requires the obtaining of such permits from the Board of Appeals.
[Amended 11-10-1997 by L.L. No. 4-1997]
(1)
The initial term of any special permit shall not exceed one year.
[Amended 5-10-2010 by L.L. No. 1-2010]
(2)
Waiver. The Board of Appeals shall have the authority to waive a prerequisite to the issuance of a special use permit upon a finding that, in the particular case, adherence to the standard is not requisite in the interest of the public health, safety or general welfare or is inappropriate.
C.
Use variances: to grant use variances, authorizing a use of the land which otherwise would not be allowed or would be prohibited by the terms of this chapter. No use variance shall be granted unless the Board shall find that applicable zoning regulations impose unnecessary hardship. The Board, in granting a variance, shall endeavor to grant the minimum variance necessary to alleviate the proven hardship and to protect and preserve the character of the neighborhood and the health, safety and welfare of the community. No finding of unnecessary hardship shall be made unless:
(1)
The applicable regulations deprive the applicant of all economic use and benefit of the property, which deprivation must be proved by competent financial evidence.
(2)
The alleged hardship relating to the property in question is unique and does not apply to a substantial portion of the district or neighborhood.
(3)
The requested variance, if granted, will not alter the essential character of the neighborhood.
(4)
The alleged hardship has not been self-created.
D.
Area variances: to grant area variances from the area or dimensional requirements of this chapter. The Board shall consider the benefit to the applicant if the variance is granted, as weighed against the detriment to the health, safety and welfare of the neighborhood or community if the grant is made. The Board shall endeavor to grant the minimum variance necessary to alleviate the applicant’s hardship and at the same time preserve and protect the character of the neighborhood and the health, safety, and welfare of the community. Specifically, the Board shall consider whether:
[Amended 8-10-2020 by L.L. No. 5-2020]
(1)
An undesirable change will be produced in the character of the neighborhood or a detriment to nearby properties will be created by the requested area variance.
(2)
The benefit sought by the applicant can be achieved in some feasible manner other than an area variance.
(3)
The proposed area variance will have an adverse effect or impact on the physical or environmental conditions in the neighborhood or district.
(4)
The requested area variance is substantial.
(5)
The alleged difficulty was self-created.
E.
Conditions: with respect to both use variances and area variances, to impose such reasonable conditions and restrictions as are directly related to and incidental to the proposed use of the property or the period of time such variance shall be in effect. Any conditions shall be consistent with the spirit and intent of this chapter and shall be imposed for the purpose of minimizing any adverse impact the variance may have upon the neighborhood or community.
F.
Limitations.[1]
(1)
A variance, whether use or area, shall be deemed abandoned and become void if the recipient thereof fails to act in material reliance thereon within 18 months of its initial grant. The mere act of obtaining a building permit shall not satisfy this requirement of material reliance.
(2)
A variance, whether use or area, shall be deemed abandoned and become void if the recipient thereof fails substantially to complete the improvements contemplated thereby within three years of the initial grant of the variance. The issuance of a certificate of occupancy or a certificate of compliance for the improvements contemplated within the time so limited shall be conclusive evidence that the variance has not been abandoned.
§ 550-70 Procedures.
A.
The Board of Appeals shall act in strict accordance with the procedure specified by law and by this chapter. All appeals and applications made to the Board shall be in writing on forms prescribed by the Board. Every appeal or application shall refer to the specific provision of the ordinance or local law involved and shall exactly set forth the interpretation that is claimed, the use for which the special permit is sought or the details of the variance that is applied for and the grounds on which it is claimed that the variance should be granted, as the case may be. At least 20 days before the date of the hearing required by law on an application or appeal to the Board of Appeals, the Secretary of said Board shall transmit to the Planning Board a copy of the notice of the aforesaid hearing and shall request that the Planning Board submit to the Board of Appeals its opinion on said application or appeal, and the Planning Board shall submit a report of such advisory opinion prior to the date of said hearing. Upon failure to submit such report, the Planning Board shall be deemed to have approved the application or appeal.
B.
Every decision of the Board of Appeals shall be by resolution, which shall contain a full record of the findings of the Board in the particular case.
§ 550-71 Board of Appeals office. [1]
The office of the Village Clerk shall be the office of the Board of Appeals, and every rule, regulation, amendment or repeal thereof and every order, requirement, decision or determination of the Board shall immediately be filed in said office as required by § 7-712, Subdivision 2, of the Village Law of the State of New York.
§ 550-72 Notice of Board hearings.
The Board shall fix a reasonable time for the hearing of appeals and shall give due notice of the time set for hearing to the applicant. Such notice shall be served upon the applicant. Public notice shall be by the publication of a notice in the official newspaper of the Village and shall briefly describe the nature of the appeal and the time and place of the hearing. Such notice shall be published once at least seven days before such hearing.