A.

Created and established.

1.

There shall be a board of adjustment, membership, terms of office, the rights and duties of which shall be as provided in title 33, section 4727 et seq., of the Louisiana Revised Statutes (R.S. 33:4727 et seq.). The board shall consist of five members and two alternates, all of who shall be landowners and qualified voters in and of the city, and who shall be nominated by the mayor and/or city council, and approved by the city council. When so serving, alternate members shall have all the powers and duties of regular members.

2.

The board shall adopt rules of procedures not in conflict with any state act or city ordinance. However, any rules adopted by the board of adjustment shall not be effective until approved in writing by the governing authority. Meetings of the board 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, may administer oaths and compel the 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 each question or, if absent or failing to vote, indicating that fact, and shall keep records of its examination and other official sections, all of which shall be filed immediately in the office of the board, and shall be public record. All testimony, objections thereto, and rulings thereon, shall be taken down by an auditory recording or by a reporter employed by the board for the purpose.

B.

Powers of the board.

1.

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

2.

In hearing and deciding appeals, the board shall have the power to grant an exception in the following instances:

a.

Where the boundary line of a district divided a lot held in a single ownership at the time of the passage of this ordinance, [the board shall] permit the extension of the district to include the entire lot, provided that such extension is not more than 25 feet in any direction and does not exceed 5,000 square feet.

b.

Interpret the provisions of this ordinance in such a way as to carry out the intent and purpose of the zoning plan, as shown on the map.

3.

The board shall not authorize a variance from the requirements of this ordinance unless it shall make findings based upon the evidence presented to it that each special case shall indicate all of the following:

a.

Special conditions and circumstances exist which are peculiar to the land, structure or building involved and which are not applicable to other lands, structures or buildings in the same zoning district.

b.

Literal interpretation of the provisions of this ordinance would deprive the applicant of rights commonly enjoyed by other properties in the same district under the terms of this ordinance.

c.

The special conditions and circumstances do not result from the actions of the applicant or any other person who may have or had interest in the property.

d.

Granting the variance requested will not confer on the applicant any special privilege which is denied by this ordinance to other lands, structures or buildings in the same district or similarly situated.

e.

The variance, if granted, will not alter the essential character of the locality.

f.

If the strict adherence to the regulation for the property would result in a demonstrable hardship upon the owner as distinguished from mere inconvenience.

g.

The purpose of the variance is not based exclusively upon a desire to serve the convenience or profit of the property owner or other interested party.

h.

The granting of the variance will not be detrimental to the public welfare or injurious to other property or improvements in the neighborhood in which the property is located.

i.

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

4.

The board shall have the authority to grant the following variances:

a.

Permit a variance in height restrictions, or lot area per family requirements of any district limited to a maximum of ten percent of that required in the district regulations. This ten percent limitation shall not apply to variances in yard requirements.

b.

Waive or reduce the parking and loading requirements in the GO/M district, and in all other less restrictive districts; however, appeals from parking requirements shall not exceed a maximum of ten percent of the required spaces.

c.

A variation in the yard, depth of frontage lot area per family, spacing of buildings, floor area ratio, open space ratio and parking requirements in any district so as to relieve practical difficulties or particular hardships in cases when and where, by reason of exceptional narrowness, shallowness, or shape of a specific property at the time of the enactment of such regulation or restriction, or by reason of exceptional topographical conditions or other extraordinary and exceptional situations or conditions of such property, the strict application of such regulation or restriction would result in peculiar and exceptional practical hardship upon the owner of such property. Such grant or variance shall comply, as nearly as possible, in every respect with the spirit, intent, and purpose of this ordinance, and the granting of a variation shall be only for reasons of demonstrable and exceptional hardship as distinguished from variation sought by applicants for purposes or reasons of convenience, profit, or caprice.

C.

Procedures.

1.

The board of adjustment shall fix a reasonable time for the hearing of the appeal, give public notice thereof, as well as due notice to the adjoining property owners and interested parties, and decide the same within a reasonable time. Upon the hearing, any party may appear in person or by agent or by attorney.

2.

Notice of the hearing and a copy of the application or appeal shall be served upon the regulatory director. Such notice shall be served at least ten days prior to the hearing and shall be accompanied by any applicable request for reports, recommendations or advisory opinions.

3.

The applicant shall file with the application or appeal an affidavit containing the names and addresses of all property owners within 300 feet on both sides of the street and all adjoining property owners. Except as otherwise provided herein, the applicant shall also provide a Class "C" survey (plat plan) of the lot prepared by a civil engineer or land surveyor, licensed in the state, showing the actual dimensions of the lot, the bounding streets, the size and the location of any and all existing structures, servitudes, restrictions, and any such other information as may be necessary to provide for the enforcement of these regulations. Notice of the hearing shall be sent at least ten days prior to the hearing by certified mail to the aforementioned property owners. The cost of the certified mail shall be borne by the applicant, in addition to all other fees required by the board. The regulatory director shall have the authority to waive the foregoing requirement for a Class "C" survey for purposes of the initial submission of the application or appeal. Such waiver shall be evidenced by a disclosure notice executed by the regulatory director and applicant in the form attached to the ordinance from which this subsection is derived and made a part hereof. Notwithstanding the foregoing waiver, the board of adjustment shall have the right, by majority vote of its members present, to require a Class "C" survey from applicant at any time prior to and/or during its consideration of the application or appeal.

4.

The applicant shall permit a double-faced sign to be posted on the property on which the variance is sought indicating that an application has been filed with the board of adjustment. The sign will be in a form designated and furnished by the regulatory director.

5.

The applicant shall provide a "Class C" survey (plat plan) of the lot prepared by a civil engineer or land surveyor, licensed in the State of Louisiana, showing the actual dimensions of the lot, the size and location of any existing structures, servitudes and restrictions, and any such other information as may be necessary to provide for the enforcement of these regulations. No case shall be heard until this survey is made a part of the application.

D.

Appeal from decisions of the board. Any person or persons, or any offices, department, commission, board, district or any other agency jointly or severally aggrieved by a decision of the board, may file appropriate legal proceedings to the district court of the Parish of Jefferson, within 30 days after the decision is rendered.

E.

Fee. A nonrefundable fee of $35.00 shall be paid to the regulatory director at the time notice of appeal is filed which the regulatory director shall forthwith deposit to the credit of the general revenue fund of the city.

(Ord. No. 1350, § 1, 7-18-2002; Ord. No. 1391, § 1, 6-19-2003; Ord. No. 1601, § 1, 12-20-2007)

State Law reference— Board of adjustment, R.S. 33:4727.