The Board of Adjustment previously established is hereby continued, and its members are appointed and vacancies filled in accordance with Sections 11-52-80 and 11-52-81 of the Code of Alabama, 1975, as amended.

(Ord. No. 12-2017-05, § 12.01, 12-18-2017)

Meetings of the Board are held at the call of the chairman and are open to the public. The Board may adopt and publish rules of procedure; keep minutes of its proceedings; and keep records of its official actions, all of which must be a public record.

(Ord. No. 12-2017-05, § 12.02, 12-18-2017)

The Board has the following powers:

1.

Interpretation of Boundaries. To hear and decide upon interpretation of district boundaries shown on the Official Zoning Map in accord with criteria specified in §1.08.

2.

Appeals. To hear and decide appeals of any order, requirement, decision or determination made by the Zoning Official, acting under the authority of this Ordinance.

3.

Variances. To hear and decide appeals for a variance from the provisions of this Ordinance in accordance with §12.05 Variances.

4.

Special Exceptions. To hear and decide Special Exceptions for uses designated in Articles 4, 5 and 6 and any other Special Exceptions provided for in this Ordinance.

(Ord. No. 12-2017-05, § 12.03, 12-18-2017)

1.

Appeals to the Board may be made by any person aggrieved or affected by a decision made by the Zoning Official relating to the provisions of this Ordinance. Appeals must be filed within 15 working days of the date of the decision. Appeals must be filed in writing on forms made available by the City.

2.

An appeal stays all proceedings in furtherance of the action appealed from, unless the Zoning Official certifies to the Board after the notice has been filed, that by reason of facts cited in the certification a stay would cause imminent peril to life or property.

3.

The Board may affirm, reverse wholly or in part, or modify the Zoning Official's decision.

(Ord. No. 12-2017-05, § 12.04, 12-18-2017)

An application for a variance from the requirements of this Ordinance may be filed by a property owner where it is claimed that, by reason of exceptional narrowness, shallowness, or shape or by reason of exceptional topographic conditions, or other exceptional conditions of such piece of property existing at the time of the adoption of this Ordinance, the strict application and literal enforcement of this Ordinance would result in exceptional and unnecessary hardship on the owner.

It is the intent of this Ordinance that variances be used only to overcome some physical condition of a parcel of land, which poses a practical difficulty to its development and prevents its owner from using the property in conformance with this Ordinance.

1.

An application must be filed on forms made available by the City at least 20 calendar days before the scheduled hearing date before the Board. The City must provide notice to all adjacent property owners.

2.

The applicant must show that the variance, if granted, will conform to all the criteria listed below:

a)

The variance will not allow establishment of a use that is not permitted in the district.

b)

There are conditions peculiar to the land or buildings that do not apply generally to land or buildings in the vicinity, and the conditions are such that the strict application of this Ordinance would deprive the applicant of reasonable use of the land or buildings.

c)

There is proof of an unnecessary hardship suffered directly by the property in question resulting from the application of this Ordinance. Variances granted under similar conditions on other properties is not sufficient evidence to prove an unnecessary hardship. Nor is it sufficient to show that greater value or profit would result. An unnecessary hardship is not self-created; nor can it be established on this basis by one who purchases the property with or without knowledge of the restrictions.

d)

The variance will not impair an adequate supply of light and air to adjacent property, substantially increase congestion in the public streets, increase the danger of fire, endanger the public safety, or substantially diminish or impair the value of adjacent properties.

e)

The variance will not grant any special privilege that is denied to other land or structures in the same zoning district.

f)

The variance as requested is the minimum variance that will enable the reasonable use of the property.

g)

The variance will be in harmony with the general purpose and regulations of the district, and will not be injurious to the neighborhood or otherwise detrimental to the public welfare.

3.

The Board may prescribe any safeguards or conditions that it deems necessary to secure substantially the objectives of the provisions to which the variance applies.

(Ord. No. 12-2017-05, § 12.05, 12-18-2017)

1.

Applications for Special Exceptions must be filed at least 20 working days before the scheduled hearing date before the Board. The application must be filed by the property owner or authorized agent on a form made available by the City. The City must provide notice to all adjoining property owners.

2.

The Board will review requests for compliance with this Ordinance and all other applicable regulations of the City. The Board must determine that satisfactory provisions have been made concerning the following, among other considerations:

a)

Access to and from the property and the proposed structure and/or uses, with particular attention to vehicular and pedestrian safety and convenience, traffic flow and control, and emergency access.

b)

The location and accessibility of off-street parking and loading areas.

c)

The location and accessibility of refuse and service areas and potentially adverse effects on surrounding properties.

d)

The screening and buffering of potentially adverse views and activities from surrounding properties.

e)

Control of noise, glare, odor, surface water runoff, and other potentially disturbing impacts upon surrounding properties.

f)

The availability, location, and capacity of utilities.

g)

The location and scale of signs and lighting with regard to traffic safety, glare, and compatibility with surrounding properties.

h)

The bulk, density, and lot coverage of structures, and yards and open areas, with regard to their compatibility with the character of the surrounding area.

The Board may impose such conditions for approval that it deems necessary in the particular case to protect the public interest and the intent of the Comprehensive Plan and this Ordinance in relation to the items listed above and as may otherwise be reasonably necessary. Any conditions apply to the land, structure, and use and not to a particular person. Violations of conditions attached to any Special Exception are considered violations of this Ordinance.

3.

The Board may grant Special Exceptions for use of manufactured homes outside of a Manufactured Home District as provided in §3.12 Manufactured Homes. In considering requests for temporary residential occupancy of a manufactured home, the applicant must demonstrate to the Board extenuating circumstances, including but not limited to, illness of a family member who will reside temporarily on the premises and damage to the principal dwelling that prevents it occupancy during repairs.

(Ord. No. 12-2017-05, § 12.06, 12-18-2017)

The Board may require the conduct of any use, conforming or nonconforming, which results in unreasonable noise, smoke, gas, vibration, fumes, dust, fire, radio interference, or explosion hazard or nuisance to surrounding property to be modified to abate such hazard to health, comfort, and convenience. The Board may direct the Zoning Official to issue an abatement order, but only after a public hearing by the Board, notice of which is sent to the owners and/or operator of the property in addition to advertisement in a newspaper of general circulation. A hearing to consider an abatement order may be held by the Board on petition by any person affected by the hazard or nuisance or upon the initiative of the Board. An abatement order will be issued only upon reasonable evidence of hazard or nuisance and the order will specify the date by which it must be abated.

(Ord. No. 12-2017-05, § 12.07, 12-18-2017)

1.

All decisions rendered by the Board are final and binding on all parties. No appeal of an administrative decision, or decision on a variance or a special exception may be reheard, and no further application may be accepted once a decision has been rendered except under one or more of the following conditions:

a)

New evidence or information pertinent to the request has been discovered which was not available to the applicant at the time of the original hearing.

b)

The decision resulted from an error in procedures made by the Board, the Zoning Official, or any other City officials.

c)

The decision resulted from an error in substantive law under the provisions of this Ordinance or the Code of Alabama, 1975, as amended.

2.

Where no error is alleged and no new evidence is available, a new or more effective presentation by the applicant does not constitute grounds for rehearing. Any applicant wishing a rehearing must appear before the Board to present one or more of the qualifying conditions listed in this Section. If the Board finds that one or more of the qualifying conditions exist, the applicant may submit a new application to be heard at a subsequent meeting.

(Ord. No. 12-2017-05, § 12.08, 12-18-2017)

Any party aggrieved by any final judgment or decision of the Board may within 15 working days thereafter make an appeal to the circuit court or court of like jurisdiction, by filing with the Board a written notice of appeal specifying the judgment or decision from which appeal is taken. In case of such appeal, the Board must cause a transcript of the proceedings in the case to be certified to the court to which the appeal is taken and the cause in such court will be tried de novo.

(Ord. No. 12-2017-05, § 12.10, 12-18-2017)