A.

There is hereby created a Board of Zoning Adjustment which shall consist of five regular members, each to be appointed by a majority of the City Council for a term of two years.

B.

In addition to the five regular members of the Board of Zoning Adjustment, three alternate members of the Board of Zoning Adjustment, who shall serve in the absence of one or more regular members when requested to do so by the mayor or city manager, shall be appointed by a majority of the City Council, so that all cases heard by the Board of Zoning Adjustment will always be heard by a minimum of four members.

C.

Regular members and alternate members of the Board of Zoning Adjustment shall serve a term of two years and until their successors are appointed and qualified. Regular and alternate members of the Board of Zoning Adjustment may be removed from office for cause by the City Council upon written charges and after a public hearing.

D.

The Board of Zoning Adjustment shall select from among its regular members, a chairman, and acting chairman, to act in the absence of the chairman, and a secretary.

E.

The Board of Zoning Adjustment may adopt rules to govern its proceedings and conduct of the business before the board. Any rule or rules shall be adopted by a resolution by the board, entered upon the minutes of the board and a copy thereof shall be filed with the city secretary of the City of Grapevine.

F.

Meetings of this Board of Zoning Adjustment shall be held at the call of the chairman, and at such other times as the board may determine. Such chairman or, in his absence, the acting chairman shall administer oaths and compel attendance of witnesses. All meetings of the board shall be open to the public. The board shall keep minutes of its proceedings showing the vote of each member upon such question or, if absent or failing to vote, indicating such fact, and shall keep records of its examinations and other official actions, all of which shall be filed in the office of the board and shall be a public record.

G.

Appeals to the board of adjustment may be taken by any person aggrieved, or by any officer, department, board or bureau of the city, affected by any decision of the building inspector or other administrative officer of the city relative to the zoning ordinance. Such appeal shall be taken within 15 days after the date of the decision of the building inspector or other administrative officer has been rendered, by filing with the officer from whom the appeal is taken and within the Board of Zoning Adjustment a notice of appeal specifying the grounds thereof. The officer from whom the appeal is taken shall forthwith transmit to the board all the papers constituting the record from which the appeal was taken.

1.

A filing fee of $100.00 to help pay a part of the cost of legal publication, accumulating engineering data, and other administrative costs shall accompany each notice or appeal filed with the Board of Zoning Adjustment.

2.

An appeal shall stay all proceedings in furtherance of the action appealed from, unless the officer from whom the appeal is taken certifies to the Board of Zoning Adjustment after the notice of appeal shall have been filed with him that by reason of facts stated in the certificate a stay would in his opinion, cause imminent peril to life or property. In such case, proceedings shall not be stayed otherwise than by a restraining order which may be granted by the Board of Zoning Adjustment of a court of record on application of notice to the officer from whom the appeal is taken and on due cause shown.

3.

The Board of Zoning Adjustment shall fix a reasonable time for the hearing of an appeal, give notice thereof, as well as due notice to the parties in interest, and decide the same within a reasonable time. Upon hearing any party may appear in person, by agent or by attorney.

H.

The Board of Zoning Adjustment shall have the following powers:

1.

To hear and decide appeals where it is alleged there is error in any order, requirement, decision or determination made by an administrative official of the city in the enforcement of this ordinance.

2.

To hear and decide special exceptions to the terms of this ordinance upon which the board is required to pass under this ordinance, if any.

3.

To authorize upon appeal in special cases, such variances from the terms of this ordinance as will not be contrary to the public interest, where, owing to special conditions, the literal enforcement of the provision of this ordinance will result in unnecessary hardship as determined by the criteria identified in Section 211.009 of the Texas Local Government Code, so that the spirit of this ordinance shall be observed and substantial justice done.

4.

To permit in any district such modification of the requirements of the district regulations as the board may deem necessary to secure an appropriate development of a lot where adjoining such lot on two or more sides there are lots occupied by buildings which do not conform to the regulations of the district.

5.

To interpret district boundaries where physical or cultural features existing on the ground are at variance with those shown on the Official Zoning Map, or in other circumstances not covered by Sections 5.A.1 through 5.A.6.

I.

The following limitations on authority shall apply to the Board of Zoning Adjustment:

1.

The Board of Zoning Adjustment may not grant a variance authorizing a use other than those permitted in the district for which the variance is sought, except as provided in subsection 68.H.3.

2.

The Board of Zoning Adjustment shall have no power to grant or modify conditional use permits authorized under Section 48 of these regulations.

3.

The Board of Zoning Adjustment shall have no power to grant a zoning amendment. In the event that a written request for a zoning amendment is pending before the Planning and Zoning Commission or the City Council, the Board of Zoning Adjustment shall neither hear nor grant any variances with respect to the subject property until final disposition of the zoning amendment.

4.

The Board of Zoning Adjustment shall not grant a variance for any parcel of property or portion thereof upon which an application for a site plan, preliminary plat, or final plat is pending for decision on the agenda of the Commission or, where applicable, of the City Council, in which case the site plan or plat application shall be decided first. If the site plan or construction plat application is dependent on the granting of a variance by the board, the application may only be approved on condition that the variance is granted. All administrative and procedural remedies available to the applicant shall have been exhausted prior to hearing by the Board of Zoning Adjustment.

J.

In exercising its powers, the Board of Zoning Adjustment may, in conformity with the provisions of this ordinance and the provisions of Articles 1011-A to 1011-J, both inclusive, after amended, reverse or affirm wholly or partly, or may modify the order, requirement, decision or determination appealed from and may make such order, requirement, decision or determination as should be made, and to that end shall have all the powers of the officer from whom the appeal is taken.

1.

The concurring vote of four members of the board shall be necessary to revise any order, requirement, decision or determination of any such administrative official, or to decide in favor of the applicant on any matter upon which it is required to pass under the ordinance, or to effect any variance to this ordinance.

2.

Any person or persons, jointly or severally, aggrieved by any decision of the Board of Zoning Adjustment, or any taxpayer, or any officer, department, board or bureau of the city may present to a court of record a petition, duly verified, setting forth that such decision is illegal, in whole or part, specifying the grounds of the illegality. Such petition shall be presented to the court within ten days after the filing of the decision in the office of the Board of Zoning Adjustment.

K.

No appeal to the Board of Zoning Adjustment shall be allowed on the same piece of property or on the same or similar question prior to the expiration of one year from the date of a ruling of the Board of Zoning Adjustment on any appeal to such body unless other property in the same zoning area shall have, within such one-year period, been altered or changed by a ruling of the Board of Zoning Adjustment, in which each such change of circumstances shall permit the allowance of an appeal.

(Ord. No. 84-16, § 2(A), 4-9-84; Ord. No. 97-76, § 2, 8-4-97; Ord. No. 2024-111, § 66, 12-17-24)