The Board of Zoning Adjustment is continued in accordance with the provisions of RSMo ch. 89 and amendments thereto.

The Board shall consist of five members who shall be appointed by the Mayor and approved by the Council. The Council may, on its own accord, appoint up to three alternates whose terms will expire as designated by the Council. The alternates shall serve in case of absence or abstention of a regularly voting member. Each member shall serve for five years and may be removed for cause by the appointing authority, upon written charges and after public hearings. Members and alternates shall be citizens of the City. Vacancies shall be filled for the unexpired term of any member whose term becomes vacant. The Board shall adopt rules for the transaction of business in accordance with the provision of this chapter and RSMo ch. 89, as amended.

The Board shall hold regular meetings and special meetings as they provide for by rule. The Chairman, or in the Chairman's 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, which shall show the vote of each member upon questions, or, if absent or failing to vote, indicating this fact, and shall keep records of its examinations and other official actions, all of which shall be immediately filed in the Office of the City Clerk of the City, and shall be a public record. All testimony, objections thereto, and rulings thereon, shall be taken down by a reporter employed by the Board for that purpose.

A.

The Board shall have the following powers:

1.

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

2.

To hear and decide all matters referred to it or upon which it is required to pass under the provisions of this chapter or other chapters of the City Code.

3.

In passing upon appeals, where there are practical difficulties or unnecessary hardships in the way of carrying out the strict letter of this chapter, to vary or modify the application of any of the regulations or provisions of this chapter relating to the use, construction, or alteration of buildings or structures or the use of land in conformance with the standards specified in Section 5.780 so that the spirit of the Chapter shall be observed, public safety and welfare maintained, and substantial justice done.

4.

In exercising the above mentioned powers, the Board may, in conformity with the provisions of this section reverse or affirm wholly or in part or modify the order, requirement, decision, determination appealed from, and to that end shall have all powers of the officer from whom the appeal is taken. In no case shall the Board decide an appeal from any action of the Council. All voting members shall have attended the hearings preliminary to the vote or have familiarized themselves with the cases otherwise. In all instances, the spirit and intent of this chapter shall be observed, public safety and welfare secured, and substantial justice be done.

5.

The concurring vote of four members of the Board will be necessary to reverse the order, requirement, decision, or determination of any administrative official, or to decide in favor of the applicant on any matter upon which it is required to pass under this chapter, or to effect any variation in this chapter.

B.

In granting a variance, the Board may impose such conditions, safeguards and restrictions upon the premises benefited by the variance as may be necessary to reduce or minimize any potentially injurious effect of such variance upon other property in the neighborhood and to carry out the general purpose and intent of these regulations.

The Board may require the variance to be recorded with the County Recorder of Deeds to be effective.

The Board may require a performance bond to guarantee the installation of improvements such as parking lot surfaces, landscaping, etc. The amount of the bond shall be based on a general estimate of cost for the improvements as determined by the City Engineer and shall be enforceable by or payable to the City in the sum equal to the cost of constructing the required improvements.

In place of a performance bond, the Board may set the effective date for such variance as subsequent to completion of such conditions, safeguards and restrictions. In lieu of the performance bond or delayed effective date, the Board may specify a time limit for completion of such required improvements and in the event the improvements are not completed within the specified time, the Board may, at a regularly scheduled meeting and after notice to applicant, revoke the granting variance.

Appeals to the Board of Adjustments may be taken by any person aggrieved, or by an officer, department, board or bureau of the municipality affected by any decision of the administrative officer. Such appeal shall be taken within a reasonable time, as provided by the rules of the Board, by filing with the officer from whom the appeal is taken and with the Board of Adjustments a notice of appeal specifying the grounds thereof. Said application or petition shall be accompanied by a filing fee payable to the City of Lee's Summit. The amount of such filing fee shall be determined in accordance with a schedule of fees and charges adopted by the Governing Body. No portion of the filing fee shall be refunded to the applicant. Any expenditures in excess of the filing fee, incurred by the Board of Adjustments that are necessary and incident to the processing of the application, shall be billed to the applicant or petitioner. The officer from whom the appeal is taken shall forthwith transmit to the Board all the papers constituting the record which the action appealed from was taken. An appeal stays all proceedings in furtherance of the action appealed from, unless the officer from whom the appeal is taken certifies to the Board of Adjustments 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 immediate 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 Adjustments or by a court of record on application or notice to the officer from whom the appeal is taken and on due cause shown. The Board of Adjustments shall fix a reasonable time for the hearing of the appeal, give public notice thereof, as well as due notice to the parties in interest, and decided the same within a reasonable time. Upon hearing, any party may appear in person or by agent or by attorney.

Appeal from any final action of the Board may be made to the Circuit Court within 30 days after the filing of the decision in the office of the City Clerk in accordance with RSMo 89.110, as amended.

Whenever, any application or petition presented has been finally acted upon by the Board of Adjustments under the provision of this article, said Board of Adjustments shall not, for a period of six months from the date of its decision, receive or entertain any identical or similar application seeking the same or similar relief on the same property.

The Director is authorized to grant a variance for building setbacks of ten percent but not to exceed one foot. Refusal to grant such variance shall not prohibit the owner from seeking the requested variance through Section 14.050 Appeal and Procedure.

The Commission is continued in accordance with the provisions of RSMo ch. 89 and amendments thereto.

A.

The Commission shall have ten members, including the mayor, if the mayor chooses to be a member and a member of the Council selected by the Council, if the Council chooses to have a member serve on the Commission.

B.

The remaining members of the Commission shall be citizens of the City, who shall be appointed by the mayor and approved by the Council, and these members shall serve without compensation. The term of each citizen member of the Commission shall be for four years, except that the term of the citizen members first appointed shall be for varying periods so that succeeding terms will be staggered.

C.

Vacancies shall be filled for the unexpired term by appointment as described in Subsection B.

The Commission shall elect its chairperson and secretary from among its citizen members. The term of the chairperson and secretary shall be for one year with eligibility for re-election.

The Commission shall hold regular meetings and special meetings as they provide for by rule, and shall adopt rules for the transaction of business. The Commission shall keep a record of its proceedings. This record shall be a public record.

The powers and duties of the Commission shall be those authorized by RSMo 89.300 through 89.491, as amended.

The Commission shall have and perform all the functions of the zoning commission provided for in RSMo 89.010 to 89.250.

The Historic Preservation Commission is continued in accordance with the provisions of RSMo 253.415 and amendments thereto and shall be known as the Cultural Commission. For all purposes the Cultural Commission for the City of Lee's Summit shall serve as the Historic Preservation Commission as described herein.

(Ord. No. 9561, § 1, 12-13-2022)

A.

Number. The Preservation Commission is to be composed of seven members.

B.

Appointment. The Mayor, with the consent and approval of the majority of the members of the City Council shall have the power to appoint seven members. In addition two ex officio non-voting members may also be appointed but shall not be counted or otherwise included in determining a quorum. One such non-voting member may be selected from the City Council by the Mayor Pro-Tem and one may be selected from the Planning Commission by its Chair.

C.

Terms. Member appointments shall be for terms of four years. A member may serve consecutive terms. Ex officio members shall serve at the discretion of the Mayor Pro Tem and Planning Commission Chair, respectively.

D.

Qualifications. Members shall be residents of the City, or business or property owners within the City and must continue to reside or be business or property owners in the City so long as they serve on the Preservation Commission. All members should have demonstrated an interest and knowledge of local history, architecture or preservation. No more than two members of the Preservation Commission shall be nonresidents. In addition, every effort should be made to appoint members with the following additional qualifications:

1.

Architect with professional experience in historic preservation, and building rehabilitation, restoration and stabilization.

2.

Archeologist.

3.

Licensed building contractor with historic building experience.

4.

Licensed real estate development professional.

5.

Historian or history instructor.

6.

Lee's Summit Historical Society member.

7.

Homeowner residing in an eligible or existing landmark or local historic district or National Register District.

8.

Business owner or merchant leasing a commercial property located in an eligible or existing Landmark or local Historic District or National Register District.

E.

Vacancies. Vacancies on the Preservation Commission shall be filled within 60 days in the same manner as provided in paragraph above.

The Commission shall elect its chairperson and vice chairperson from among the seven members. The terms shall be for one year with eligibility for re-election.

The Preservation Commission shall hold regular meetings and special meetings as provided in their adopted bylaws, and shall adopt rules for the transaction of business in accord therewith. The Preservation Commission shall keep a record of its proceedings. This record shall be a public record.

The authority of the Preservation Commission shall be those authorized by RSMo 253.415, as amended.

A.

The Preservation Commission may review amendments, modifications, or revisions of this article, or other parts of the Code of Ordinances as they relate to historic preservation, and make recommendations for changes therein to the City Council.

B.

The Preservation Commission shall keep minutes and records of all meetings and proceedings including voting records, attendance, resolutions, findings, determinations and decisions. All such material shall be public record.

The Preservation Commission shall act in an advisory capacity to the City Council and Planning Commission in carrying out activities required by City ordinances relating to the administration of this chapter and shall have the following powers and duties:

A.

To increase public awareness of the value of historic, architectural and cultural preservation by developing and participating in public information programs and by updating the preservation program;

B.

To recommend a single property for proposed designation as a landmark and two or more properties as a historic district and to review and comment on proposed designations;

C.

To review applications for construction, alteration, or reconstruction for a landmark and/or properties located within a historic district;

D.

To review proposed changes to buildings, structures, street furniture, city parks, civic areas, public facilities or environmental features of a landmark or properties located within an historic district;

E.

To review applications for demolition permits to demolish buildings or structures within an historic district;

F.

To review applications for special use permits, proposed zoning amendments, or applications for zoning variances for properties designated as a landmark or a historic district, and to make recommendations concerning such requests to the Planning Commission or Board of Zoning Adjustments;

G.

May initiate, from time to time, a comprehensive review of the provisions of this article or any part thereof;

H.

To disseminate information concerning the preservation of landmarks or properties located within historic districts to the general public;

I.

The Preservation Commission may support the nomination to the National Register of Historic Places of local historic landmarks and local historic districts that the Preservation Commission members believe meet the standards set forth by the National Park Service and have contributed to the history, architecture and culture of the City; and

J.

The Preservation Commission, upon establishment of a not for profit organization or 501.c.3, may acquire by purchase, gift, or bequest, fee title or lesser interest, including preservation restriction or easements, in designated properties and adjacent or associated lands which are important for the preservation and use of the designated properties.