Board members. The Board shall consist of five members appointed by the Mayor and confirmed by the Common Council. The Mayor shall designate one of the Board members Chairperson. Board members shall be removable by the Mayor for cause upon written charges and after a public hearing. A Secretary shall be appointed by the Board.

Terms. One Common Council member shall be appointed for one year. Four Board members shall be appointed to three-year terms, with initial appointment term lengths set so that terms shall be staggered.

Vacancies. Vacancies shall be filled for the unexpired terms of members whose terms become vacant.

Meetings. Meetings of the Board shall be held at the call of the Chairperson and at such other times as the Board may determine. The Chairperson, or in his/her absence the Acting Chairperson, may administer oaths and compel the attendance of witnesses. All meetings of the Board shall be open to the public.

Records and decisions. The Board shall keep minutes of its proceedings showing the vote of each member upon each question, or if absent or failing to vote indicating such fact, and shall keep records of its examinations and of the official actions, all of which shall be immediately filed as public records. All actions or decisions shall be taken by resolution in which four members, present during the proceedings, must concur. Each resolution or decision shall contain a statement of the grounds forming the basis of such resolution or decision. The Chairperson shall notify the Common Council and Mayor of all decisions and resolutions.

Public hearing. Upon filing with the Board an application for an appeal or variance, the Board shall fix a reasonable time within 30 days for a public hearing and render a decision within 60 days from filing date. A Class 2 notice pursuant to Ch. 985, Wis. Stats., shall be published in the official newspaper specifying the date, time and place of the hearing and the matters to come before the Board. Written notification to all adjacent property owners must be given. Notices shall also be mailed to the parties of interest, as determined by the Board.

Fees. Appellants and applicants for a variance shall pay an administrative fee as set by the Common Council upon filing an appeal or application. No action shall be taken on any appeal or application until such fee has been paid.

Powers and duties. The Board shall have the power to hear and decide appeals by any person aggrieved or by any officer, department, board or bureau of the City affected by any decision of the Building Inspector. The Board may reverse or affirm, wholly or partly, or may modify the decision appealed from and issue or direct the issuance of a permit.

Procedure. An appeal from any decision of the Building Inspector shall be made within 30 days with the Building Inspector and with the Zoning Board of Appeals on a form provided by the Board specifying the grounds for the appeal.

Preliminary review. The Secretary of the Zoning Board of Appeals shall, as promptly as possible, inform the Board concerning the appeal, and the Board may either discuss the matter with the applicant, if the applicant desires, or proceed directly to order public notice of a hearing.

Amendments. Amendments of an appeal by the applicant may be permitted at any time prior to or during the public hearing, provided that no such amendment shall be such as to make the case different from its description in the notice of public hearing. If the amendment is requested by the applicant after public notice of the hearing has been given and such amendment is at variance with the information set forth in the public notice, the applicant shall pay an additional fee as set by the Common Council to cover the cost of amending the public notice. If the amended notice can be published within the time frame specified for the public hearing, the hearing on the amended appeal may be held on that date. Otherwise, the Chairperson shall announce that the hearing originally scheduled on the case will be deferred to a future meeting, before which appropriate public notice will be given, and will state the reasons for the deferral.

Powers and duties. The Board shall have the power to authorize upon appeal a variance from the terms of this chapter where a literal enforcement of the provisions of the chapter will result in practical difficulty or unnecessary hardship.

Requirements for a variance. In general, the power to authorize a variance from the requirements of this chapter shall be sparingly exercised and only under peculiar and exceptional circumstances. No variance shall be granted for actions which require an amendment to this chapter. Variances shall only be granted when the Board finds that:

Greater profitability, lack of knowledge of restrictions and other variances granted under similar circumstances are not considered as sufficient causes for a variance.

Nonconforming uses of neighboring lands, structures or buildings in the same district and permitted or nonconforming uses of land, structures or buildings in other districts are not being considered as grounds for issuance of a variance.