Greenwood Lake City Zoning Code
ARTICLE XI
Appeals
§ 120-65 Zoning Board of Appeals established; membership; training; removal.
[Amended 2-24-2003 by L.L. No. 1-2003]
A.
There shall be a Zoning Board of Appeals with five a members appointed by the Village Board of Trustees. Each member shall serve for a five-year term, and one member's term shall expire each year.
B.
The Village Board, recognizing the community's need for a complete Zoning Board of Appeals, in its discretion, may appoint two alternate members, who shall serve for five-year terms, and who will sit and participate with all powers and duties, as if a regular member, at such meetings of the Zoning Board of Appeal when one or regular members are unable to attend.
C.
Each regular, and alternate, member shall attend such course of study or program of continuing education and/or training for members of Boards of Appeals developed by the Secretary of State and as may be administered by the Orange Municipal Planning Federation or the New York State Planning Federation or other agencies.
D.
Any regular member who fails to attend four consecutive meetings of the Zoning Board of Appeals, or fails to attend more than half of the given meetings in any calendar year, will be deemed deficient in the performance of his or her duty and such would be grounds for an action to remove such person from his or her appointed position.
E.
Any alternate member who, when called upon, to attend four consecutive meetings of the Zoning Board of Appeals will be deemed deficient in the performance of his or her duty and such would be grounds for an action to remove such person from his or her position.
§ 120-66 Powers and duties of Board of Appeals.
The Zoning Board of Appeals, hereafter referred to as "said Board," shall have all the powers and duties prescribed by Village Law, which are more particularly specified as follows, provided that none of the following provisions shall be deemed to limit any power of the Board that is conferred by law:
A.
Interpretation. Upon appeal from an order, requirement decision or determination made by an administrative official or upon request by an official board or agency of the Village, to determine any of the following questions as follows:
B.
Use variances.
(1)
The Board of Appeals shall have the power to grant use variances authorizing the use of land which would otherwise not be allowed or would be prohibited by the terms of this chapter. No such use variance shall be granted by the Board of Appeals without a showing by the applicant that applicable zoning regulations and restrictions have caused unnecessary hardship. In order to prove unnecessary hardship, the applicant shall demonstrate to the Board of Appeals that:
(a)
Under applicable zoning regulations, the applicant is deprived of the economic use or benefit from the property in question, which deprivation must be established by competent financial evidence;
(b)
That the alleged hardship relating to the property in question is unique and does not apply to a substantial portion of the district or neighborhood in which it is located;
(c)
That the requested use variance, if granted, will not alter the essential character of the neighborhood; and
(d)
That the alleged hardship has not been self-created.
(2)
The Board of Appeals, in granting of such use variances, shall grant the minimum variance that it shall deem necessary and adequate to address the unnecessary hardship proved by the applicant and, at the same time, preserve and protect the character of the neighborhood and the health, safety and welfare of the community.
C.
Area variances.
(1)
Where because of practical difficulty, an applicant requests a variance of the lot area or other bulk requirements of this chapter, the Board of Appeals may grant a variance in the application of the provisions of this chapter in the specific case, provided that, as a condition to the grant of any such variance, the Board of Appeals shall make a specific finding that the application of the requirements of this chapter to the land in question creates such practical difficulty. In making this determination, the Zoning Board of Appeals shall take into consideration the benefit to the applicant of the variance if granted, as weighed against the detriment to the health, safety and public welfare of the neighborhood or community by such grant. In making such determination, the Board of Appeals shall consider:
(a)
Whether an undesirable change will be produced in the character of the neighborhood or a detriment to nearby properties will be created by the granting of the area variance.
(b)
Whether the benefit sought by the applicant can be achieved by some method, feasible for the applicant to pursue, other than an area variance.
(c)
Whether the requested area variance is substantial.
(d)
Whether the proposed variance will have an adverse effect or impact on the physical or environmental conditions in the neighborhood or district.
(e)
Whether the alleged difficulty was self-created, which consideration shall be relevant to the decision of the Board of Appeals but shall not necessarily preclude the granting of such variance.
(2)
The Board of Appeals, in the granting of area variances, shall grant the minimum variance that it shall deem necessary and adequate and at the same time preserve and protect the character of the neighborhood and the health, safety and welfare of the community.
D.
Variances in the Flood Zone. In all cases where the appeal for a variance involves any land identified on the Flood Insurance Rate Map as an area of special flood hazard (Zone A2 and Zone A), there shall be compliance with the applicable provisions of Local Law No. 2-1987, in addition to the requirements of this chapter, including the requirement of site plan approval by the Planning Board.
E.
Conditions and safeguards. The Board of Appeals may prescribe such conditions or restrictions applying to the grant of a variance as it may deem necessary in each specific case, in order to minimize the adverse effects of such variance upon other property in the neighborhood and to protect the public health, safety and welfare. Such conditions or restrictions shall be incorporated in the site or subdivision plan, building permit or certificate of occupancy. Failure to comply with such conditions or restrictions shall constitute a violation of this chapter and may constitute the basis for denial or revocation of a building permit or certificate of occupancy and for all other applicable remedies. Where required, the Zoning Board of Appeals may set a terminal date for such variance.
§ 120-67 Appeals procedure; hearing.
The powers and duties of the Board of Appeals shall be exercised in accordance with the following procedure:
A.
An appeal shall be taken within 60 days of the order or decision appealed from. The appeal shall be processed by serving upon the Village Clerk, in duplicate, a written notice of appeal addressed to the official or agency from whom the appeal is taken and with the Board of Appeals and shall specify the grounds therefor. The official or agency from whom the appeal is taken shall forthwith transmit to the Board of Appeals all the papers constituting the record upon which the action appealed from is taken. A referral to the Board of Appeals for a variance or a request for an interpretation may be made at any time. All such appeals and applications to the Board of Appeals shall be made by the owner or agent duly authorized, in writing, and shall be on forms prescribed by the Board of Appeals. Each appeal or application shall fully set forth the circumstances of the case, shall refer to the specific provision of the law involved and shall exactly set forth, as the case may be, the interpretation that is claimed, the details of the adjustment that is applied for and the grounds for which it is claimed that the same should be granted.
B.
Upon receipt of a completed appeal or application, the Board of Appeals shall forward copies for review and report to such officials and agencies of the Village as it deems appropriate. All such agencies shall have 30 days from the date of forwarding to submit a report. The Board of Appeals shall not decide on the matter until it has received the report of the agency or 30 days have passed since such forwarding.
C.
The Board of Appeals shall not decide upon any appeal for a variance or interpretation of this chapter without first holding a public hearing, notice of which hearing and of the substance (with specific section and regulation and section, block and lot, if pertinent) of the appeal or application shall be given by publication twice in the official newspaper of the Village, the first of said publications to be at least 10 days before the date of said hearing.
D.
The Board of Appeals shall cause notice to be given of the substance of every appeal or application for a variance, together with notice of the hearing thereon, by causing notices thereof to be mailed at least seven days before the date of said hearing to all property owners within 300 feet of the land held by the applicant in the immediate area (whether the applicant's entire land is involved in said appeal or not), said distance to be from the exterior boundaries of the total land held by the applicant in that area as the names of said owners appear on the last completed assessment roll of the Village. Such notice shall be by certified mail by the applicant, and the applicant shall furnish proof of compliance with the notification procedure.
E.
The notice of publication required by this section shall be issued by the applicant upon its approval by the Zoning Board of Appeals Chair, or a designated Zoning Board of Appeals member, provided that due notice shall have been published as above provided and that there shall have been substantial compliance with the remaining provisions of this section. The failure to give notice in exact conformance herewith shall not be deemed to invalidate action taken by the Board of Appeals in connection with the authorizing of any appeal or variance.
F.
If the land involved in an appeal or application lies within 500 feet of the boundary of any other municipality, the applicant shall also transmit to the Municipal Clerk of such other municipality a copy of the official notice of the public hearing at least 10 days prior to the public hearing date by certified mail.
G.
All opinions, determinations and notices shall be also sent to the Village Clerk. Whenever an appeal or application shall involve a hazardous area as appears on the Flood Insurance Rate Map of the Village of Greenwood Lake, the applicable sections of Local Law No. 2-1987 shall be followed.
§ 120-68 Decision.
Every decision of the Board of Appeals shall be by resolution, shall be recorded by section, lot and block number and shall fully set forth the facts of the case, the findings and the conclusions on which the decision was based, and these findings shall be sent to the Building Inspector and the Planning Board. The Board of Appeals shall decide on matters before it within 62 days after the close of the public hearing, unless such time limit is extended by mutual agreement with the applicant, shall file its resolution in the office of the Board of Appeals and the Village Clerk within five business days after the date a decision is rendered and shall thereafter mail a copy of such resolution to the applicant. The Board of Appeals shall notify the agency from which the appeal is taken and the Municipal Clerk of any municipality given notice of the hearing as set forth in § 120-67D of this article.
§ 120-69 Time limit for filing appeal.
There is hereby established a thirty-day time limitation for filing of an appeal of any Zoning Board of Appeals determination.
§ 120-70 Expiration of variance.
Unless site plan approval is granted or construction is commenced and diligently pursued within three months of issuance of a building permit, whichever is later, subsequent to the granting of a variance, such variance shall become null and void. The Board of Appeals may request the Building Inspector to determine if this requirement has been satisfied.
§ 120-71 Fees.
All appeals and applications made to the Board of Appeals shall be in writing, on forms prescribed by said Board, and shall be accompanied by a fee in accordance with the Village of Greenwood Lake Fee Schedule, together with the actual and necessary cost of advertising, copies, mailing and all other expenses required for holding a public hearing. The Zoning Board of Appeals may request an applicant to pay the reasonable costs and expense that the Village may incur for engineering and expertise and legal costs in passing upon any application made to and under this regulation of the Village of Greenwood Lake.
§ 120-72 Review by county.
Should any action by the Board of Appeals involve any of the areas specified in § 120-99, then the matter shall be referred, prior to final action by the Board of Appeals, to the Orange County Planning Board in accordance with § 239-m of Article 12-B of the General Municipal Law. If the County Planning Board renders its opinion prior to the public hearing, that opinion shall become part of the minutes of said public hearing.