The Village Board shall decide variations of the provisions of this Title in harmony with its general purpose and intent, and shall vary them only in the specific instances hereinafter set forth where the Board shall have made a finding of fact based upon the standards hereinafter prescribed that there are practical difficulties or particular hardship in the way of carrying out the strict letter of the regulations of this Title. (Ord. 61-56, 12-1961)

An application for a variation may be made by any person or by any office, department, board, bureau or commission, requesting or intending to request application for a zoning certificate. (Ord. 61-56, 12-1961)

   (A)   An application for a variation shall be filed with the Clerk. The Clerk shall forward such application to the Board for processing in accordance with applicable statutes of the State.

   (B)   No variation shall be made by the Village Board except after a public hearing before the Board of which there shall be a notice of time and place of the hearing published at least once not more than thirty (30) nor less than fifteen (15) days before the hearing in one or more newspapers with a general circulation within the Village; and a written notice is served at least fifteen (15) days before the hearing on the owners of the properties located adjacent to the location for which the variation is requested. (Ord. 61-56, 12-1961)

The Village Board, upon report of the Planning and Zoning Board and without further public hearing, may grant or deny any proposed variation in accordance with applicable statutes of the State, or may refer it back to the Planning and Zoning Board for further consideration. (Ord. 61-56, 12-1961)

   (A)   The Board shall not recommend a variation in the provisions of this Title as authorized in this Chapter unless it shall have made findings based upon the evidence presented to it in the following specific cases:

      1.   That the property in question cannot yield a reasonable return if permitted to be used only under the conditions allowed by the regulations governing the district in which it is located;

      2.   That the plight of the owner is due to unique circumstances; or

      3.   That the variation, if granted, will not alter the essential character of the locality.

   (B)   For the purpose of supplementing the above standards, the Board, in making this recommendation whenever there 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:

      1.   That 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 strict letter of the regulation were to be carried out;

      2.   That the conditions upon which the petition for variation is based would not be applicable generally to the other property within the same zoning classification;

      3.   That the purpose of the variation is not based exclusively upon a desire to make more money out of the property;

      4.   That the alleged difficulty or hardship has not been created by any person presently having an interest in the property;

      5.   That 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

      6.   That 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.

   (C)   The Board may require such conditions and restrictions upon they premises benefited by a variation as may be necessary to comply with the standards set forth in this Chapter to reduce or minimize the injurious effect of such variation upon other property in the neighborhood, and to implement the general purpose and intent of this Title. (Ord. 61-56, 12-1961)

Variations from the regulations of this Title may be decided by the Board only in accordance with the standards set forth in this Chapter and only in the following instances and no others:

   (A)   To permit a yard less than the yard required by the applicable regulations;

   (B)   To permit the use of a lot not of record on the effective date of this Title for a use otherwise prohibited solely because of the insufficient width and area of the lot, but in no event shall the width or area of the lot be less than ninety percent (90%) of the required lot width or area; and

   (C)   To permit the same off-street parking spaces to qualify as required spaces for two (2) or more uses, provided that the maximum use of such facility by each user does not take place during the same hours or on the same days of the week. (Ord. 61-56, 12-1961)