Who May Apply. Appeals to the City Council may be made by any person aggrieved by the inability to obtain a building permit or by decision of any administrative officer in the city based upon or made in the course of the administration of or enforcement of the provisions of this code. Appeals to the City Council may be made by any officer, department, board or bureau of the city affected by the grant or refusal of the building permit, or by other decision of the administrative officer or agency, based on or made in the course of administration or enforcement of this regulation.

Time Limit. Appeals to the City Council must be made in writing and filed with the City Clerk within ten (10) days of the action or decision appealed.

Stay of Proceedings. An appeal stays all proceedings in furtherance of the action appealed from unless the City Council, after the notice of appeal is filed, determines that by reason of facts stated in the notice a stay would cause eminent peril of life and property, in which case proceedings shall be stayed by a restraining order which may be granted by the City Council or a court of appropriate jurisdiction.

Due to exceptional and extraordinary circumstances unique to the property or structure for which the variance is sought, the strict enforcement of the provisions of this code would cause an unnecessary hardship to the applicant;

The circumstances causing the unnecessary hardship were not created by an owner or user of the property or by the applicant for the variance;

The hardship is not established on the basis of lack of knowledge of the restrictions upon constructing or altering a structure; nor by the purchasing of a property without knowledge of applicable restrictions; nor by showing that greater profit would result if the variance were granted;

The circumstances causing the unnecessary hardship are particular to the land or structure for which the variance is sought and do not apply generally to land and buildings in the zoning district in which the property is located;

The variance granted is the minimum deviation from the code necessary to allow the same and no greater use as that allowed of other land or structures in the same zoning district;

The granting of the variance will not injure the appropriate use of adjacent conforming properties, will not impair an adequate supply of light and air, will not impair the view from adjacent property, and will not substantially diminish or impair property values within the surrounding area;

The granting of the variance will be consistent with the spirit, purpose, and intent of this title and will not create a situation which alters the character of the area surrounding the property for which the variance is granted;

The granting of the variance will secure and in no way diminish the public safety and welfare, not impair prevention of or increase risk of fire, flood, traffic congestion or other hazard;

The granting of the variance is necessary to cause substantial justice to be done;

The granting of the variance will not allow uses or densities not permitted in the zoning district in which it is granted nor allow the expansion or establishment of a nonconforming use.

Failure to apply for a building permit to carry out the work or failure to begin the use involved in the variance, within one (1) year from the date the variance was granted, shall constitute abandonment of the variance.

Discontinuance of the use for which the variance was granted for a period of one (1) year or more shall constitute abandonment of the variance.

Upon abandonment, the variance shall automatically cease to exist with no further action by the City Council.