An appeal to the board of adjustment that alleges an error in any order, decision, or determination made by an administrative official of the city in the interpretation or enforcement of the zoning code or V.T.C.A., Local Government Code ch. 211, shall be made in accordance with the following procedure:

(1)

Who may appeal. Any of the following persons may appeal to the board of adjustment a decision made by an administrative official of the city in enforcing the zoning code or V.T.C.A., ch. 211:

a.

If the appeal concerns an administrative decision that is not related to a specific application:

1.

Person aggrieved by the decision; or

2.

Any officer, department, or board of the city affected by the decision.

b.

If the appeal concerns an administrative decision related to a specific application, address or project:

1.

The owner to the owner's representative of the property that is the subject of the decision;

2.

The applicant whose specific application is the subject of the decision;

3.

A person aggrieved by the decision who is the owner of property within 200 feet of the property that is the subject of the decision; or

4.

Any officer, department, or board of the city affected by the decision.

(2)

Form of appeal. To be effective, the appeal shall be made in writing and shall contain at least the following:

a.

A citation to the specific statute(s) and/or ordinance(s) which is(are) the subject of the appeal;

b.

The earliest date on which the city administrative official communicated the decision which is the subject of the appeal to the appellant, or, if more than one decision is alleged to be in error, the date each decision was communicated;

c.

A summary of the decision(s) made by the city administrative official which is the basis for the appeal;

d.

If the administrative official's decision was made in writing, a copy of the document in which the decision is stated;

e.

The specific grounds upon which the appeal is based;

f.

A description of the property affected by the administrative official's decision sufficient to identify the location and the boundaries of the property;

g.

The reason the person filing the appeal should be considered a person aggrieved by the decision;

h.

When the appeal involves the development of a specific tract of land, a copy of a site plan as requested by the director, drawn to scale showing existing and proposed development of the property in question; and

i.

The signature of the person filing the appeal.

(3)

Perfection of appeal. An appeal pursuant to this section shall be deemed timely filed and perfected only if the notice of appeal:

a.

Is filed not later than ten days after the date on which the decision of the city administrative official was communicated to the appellant with:

1.

The secretary of the board of adjustment; and

2.

The administrative officer who rendered the decision which is the subject of the appeal; and

b.

Is accompanied by the filing fee established by city council; and

c.

Contains all the information set forth in subsection (2), above.

(4)

Preparation of record. Upon receiving the notice of appeal, the director shall immediately forward to the secretary of the board of adjustment all of the papers constituting the record of the action that is appealed.

(5)

Stay of proceedings. A notice of appeal properly and timely filed as provided in this section shall stay all proceedings in furtherance of the action appealed from until after the decision of the board of adjustment has been rendered unless the official from whom the appeal is taken certifies in writing to the board facts supporting the official's opinion that a stay would cause imminent peril to life or property. In the case where the official makes such a certification, proceedings may be stayed only by a restraining order granted by the board or a court of record on application, after notice to the official, if due cause is shown.

(6)

Date of public hearing. Unless a later date is set upon written request of the appellant, the board of adjustment shall hold a public hearing on an appeal under this section not later than 20 days after the filing and perfection of the notice of appeal; provided, however, the hearing shall not take place earlier than ten days after notice of the time and place of the public hearing has been:

a.

Published in the city's official newspaper; and

b.

Sent to the appellant and the all property owners located within 200 feet of the property which is the subject of the appeal by depositing a copy of the notice in the United States Mail, postage prepaid, and pre-addressed according to the address indicated on the last approved city tax rolls.

(7)

Decision of the board. After receiving all evidence and hearing all arguments, the board of adjustment may:

a.

Reverse or affirm, in whole or in part; or

b.

Modify the city administrative official's order, requirement, decision, or determination from which the appeal was taken; and/or

c.

Make the correct order, requirement, decision, or determination, and, for this purpose, has the same authority as the administrative official.

(8)

Required vote. The concurring vote of three-fourths of the members of the board of adjustment is required to modify or reverse an order, requirement, decision, or determination of a city administrative official.

(Ord. No. 2019-17, § 2, 8-27-2019)

The board of adjustment may grant a variance to the zoning code in accordance with the following procedures:

(1)

Application. A complete application for a variance must be made in writing on forms provided by the director and filed with the secretary of the board of adjustment. A complete application for a variance shall be deemed complete when all information on the application form is provided and the application is accompanied by the following:

a.

All fees established by the city council for such matters;

b.

A description of the property to which the variance would apply sufficient to identify the location and the boundaries of the property;

c.

The reason the person is requesting the variance;

d.

The signature, acknowledged by a notary public of:

1.

The owner of the property; and

2.

If different than the owner, the signature of the person requesting the variance.

e.

When the variance relates to the development of a specific tract of land, a copy of a site plan as requested by the director, drawn to scale showing existing and proposed development of the property in question.

(2)

Public hearing and notice. Upon filing of an application for a variance, the director shall set a date for a public hearing thereon as soon as may be practicable; provided, however, the board of adjustment shall hold a public hearing on a request for a variance under this section only after the filing of a complete application with the secretary of the board and in no case earlier than ten days after notice of the time and place of the public hearing has been:

a.

Published in the city's official newspaper; and

b.

Sent to the applicant and all property owners located within 200 feet of the property which is the subject of the variance by depositing a copy of the notice in the United States Mail, postage prepaid, and pre-addressed according to the address indicated on the last approved city tax rolls.

c.

A notification sign posted on the subject property by the director, visible to persons using the public right-of-way, and which states the purpose and dates of the hearing. The director shall install the sign at least 11 days before the first public hearing and the sign must remain posted and visible during the pendency of the variance. Such sign is exempt from the city's sign code as a government sign.

(3)

Required findings of fact. No variance shall be granted by the board of adjustment until it makes one or more of the following findings, which as applied to a structure, would result in an unnecessary hardship:

a.

That there are exceptional circumstances or conditions applicable to the property on which the application is made related to size, shape, area, topography, surrounding condition, or location that do not apply generally to other property in the same area and the same zoning district;

b.

That the exceptional circumstances or conditions are such that literal enforcement of the provisions of this chapter would result in an unnecessary hardship inconsistent with the general purpose and intent of this chapter;

c.

That the granting of such variance will not be contrary to the public interest, materially detrimental to the public welfare, or injurious to the property or improvements in the zoning district or area in which the property is located;

d.

That the granting of such variance will not be contrary to the objectives and principles contained in the comprehensive plan, as amended;

e.

That the variance to be granted is the minimum variance that will relieve the proven hardship;

f.

That the variance is not being granted to relieve the applicant of conditions or circumstances:

1.

Which are not inherent in the property itself, but are the result of the use or development of the property;

2.

Which are caused by a division of land on or after date of adoption, other than a division of land resulting from the sale of a property interest to a governmental entity, which division of land caused the property to be unusable for any reasonable development under the existing regulations; or

3.

Which were otherwise self-imposed by the present or a previous owner.

g.

That the variance is not grounded solely upon the opportunity to make the property more profitable or to reduce expense to the current or any future owner;

h.

That the variance would not modify or effectively repeal any development or use regulations set forth in a conditional use permit (CUP) or an ordinance or resolution adopting a concept plan or establishing a planned development district which are in addition to the generally applicable use and development regulations set forth in this zoning code;

i.

That the variance would only affect a specific parcel of property and is not of such a general nature as to effectively constitute a change in zoning of said parcel or a larger area without following the procedures for such as set forth herein;

j.

That the variance does not change the permitted, conditional, or prohibited uses in the zoning district in which the property is located;

k.

The financial cost of compliance is greater than 50 percent of the appraised value of the structure as shown on the most recent appraisal roll certified to the assessor for the city under V.T.C.A, § 26.01, Tax Code;

l.

Compliance would result in a loss to the lot on which the structure is located of at least 25 percent of the area on which development may physically occur;

m.

Compliance would result in the structure not being in compliance with a requirement of a City ordinance, building code, or other requirement;

n.

Compliance would result in the unreasonable encroachment on an adjacent property or easement; or

o.

The city considers the structure to be a nonconforming structure, in accordance with its regulations.

(4)

Record of findings. In addition to the record of the vote of the members regarding the application, the minutes of the board of adjustment shall contain the findings of facts on which its decision was based including its findings as to the matters set forth in subsection (3) above, and a description of the extraordinary circumstances found to be affecting the property in question.

(5)

Decision of the board. After receiving all evidence, hearing all argument, and making its findings of fact regarding an application for a variance, the board of adjustment may:

a.

Grant the variance as requested, limited to the specifics of the application;

b.

Grant a variance modified in accordance with the findings of the board; or

c.

Deny the variance.

(6)

Required vote. The concurring vote of three-fourths of the members of the board of adjustment is required to grant a variance.

(7)

Effective date of variance. A variance granted by the board of adjustment shall become effective after the expiration of ten days from the date of filing its decision with the city unless the board specifically establishes a different effective date. The effective date of a variance may be based on the satisfaction of a condition.

(Ord. No. 2019-17, § 2, 8-27-2019; Ord. No. 2022-02, §§ 3, 4, 3-22-2022)

Not later than five days after the adjournment of the meeting at which the board of adjustment votes pursuant to this article on an appeal of the act of a city administrative official or on an application for a variance, the secretary of the board shall file the decision with the director.

(Ord. No. 2019-17, § 2, 8-27-2019)

An appeal of a decision of the board of adjustment may be presented to an appropriate court in accordance with V.T.C.A., Local Government Code § 211.010.

(Ord. No. 2019-17, § 2, 8-27-2019)