A.

Composition and terms. The city council shall act as the board of zoning appeals, composed of five (5) members.

B.

Alternate members.

1.

Up to two (2) alternate members may be appointed by the city council for three (3) year terms. If two (2) alternate members have been appointed, they may be called on a rotating basis, as they are available to sit as regular members of the board of zoning appeals in the absence of a regular member which may exceed thirty (30) consecutive days. An alternate member may also be called to serve in the place of a regular member for the purpose of reaching a decision on a case in which the regular member has abstained for reasons of conflict of interest.

2.

The alternate member having been appointed shall serve in the case until a final decision has been made. The alternate member shall have the same voting rights as a regular member of the board of zoning appeals.

C.

Any vacancies in the board of zoning appeals shall be filled by appointment by the council in the same manner as prescribed for filling council member vacancies.

D.

The board of zoning appeals shall annually elect its own chairman, vice chairman, and secretary.

E.

Meetings.

1.

All meetings of the board of zoning appeals shall be held at the call of the chairman and at such times as such board of zoning appeals may determine. All hearings conducted by the board of zoning appeals shall be open to the public.

2.

The zoning enforcement officer or his representatives, shall keep minutes of its proceedings showing the vote of each member upon each question, or if absent or failing to vote, indicating such fact; and shall also keep records of its hearings and other official action.

3.

Four (4) members of the board of zoning appeals shall constitute a quorum for the conduct of its business.

4.

The board of zoning appeals shall have the power to subpoena and require the attendance of witnesses, administer oaths, compel testimony and the production of books, papers, files and other evidence pertinent to the matters before it.

F.

Hearings. The board of zoning appeals shall make no decision regarding any application except after a public hearing is conducted by the board of zoning appeals. Notification of hearings shall be the same as those required for special land uses.

(Ord. No. 95-06, § 1, 12-27-95)

A.

The board of zoning appeals shall not have the power to make any change in the terms of this ordinance, but does have power to act on those matters where this ordinance provides for an administrative review, interpretation, and to authorize a variance as defined in this section and the laws of the State of Michigan.

B.

The powers of the board of zoning appeals include:

1.

Appeals: To hear and decide appeals where it is alleged by the appellant that there is an error in any order, requirement, permit, decision or refusal made by the building inspector or any other administrative official in carrying out or enforcing any provisions of this ordinance.

2.

Variances: A variance from the strict requirements of the zoning ordinance may be granted by the board of zoning appeals in accordance with the standards, requirements and procedures of this chapter.

3.

Zoning ordinance interpretation: The board of zoning appeals may interpret the provisions of this ordinance to carry out the intent and purposes of the zoning ordinance where the meaning of the provisions is uncertain.

4.

Any other matters referred to them or upon which they are required to consider under the terms of this ordinance.

C.

The board of zoning appeals shall not be permitted to consider any request which would permit a use of land not otherwise permitted within the district in which the property in question is located.

D.

The board of appeals shall not be permitted to consider any requests for variances from the requirements and conditions of planned unit developments, as noted in Chapter 15.

E.

Variances to the site design standards of special land uses.

1.

The board of zoning appeals may grant a variance from the strict adherence to the requirements set forth for the site design standards for special land uses, in section 17.04 of this ordinance, provided the board of zoning appeals finds that the request meets all of the standards noted in section 21.04.

2.

However, this is not intended to permit the board of zoning appeals to hear appeals from the final decision made with respect to the special land use.

3.

Decisions by the board of zoning appeals on such requests shall be made prior to the planning commission's consideration of the special land use.

(Ord. No. 95-06, § 1, 12-27-95)

A.

Applications.

1.

An application for an appeal may be submitted by a person aggrieved, or by an officer, department, or board of the city. Such application shall be submitted within thirty (30) days of the action being appealed. The application shall be filed with the board of zoning appeals and shall specify the grounds for the appeal.

2.

Variances, and other actions requiring a decision of the board of zoning appeals shall be submitted to the city on a form provided for that purpose and shall include a fee, as may be determined by the city council from time to time.

3.

Applications shall immediately be transmitted to the board of zoning appeals, along with all the papers constituting the record upon which the action appealed was taken, and a hearing scheduled in accordance with the procedures of this chapter.

4.

Applications shall not be accepted unless all of the following information is included, unless deemed unnecessary by the zoning enforcement officer.

a.

Application form (provided by the city).

b.

An accurate, scaled site plan with enough information to clearly indicate the nature of the issue being considered. The zoning enforcement officer shall determine the completeness of such plans.

c.

An application fee.

d.

A written explanation of how the application meets the standards of section 21.04.

B.

An application for an appeal or variance, or any other action requiring board approval shall stay all proceedings in furtherance of the matter to which the application applies unless the zoning enforcement officer certifies to the board of zoning appeals, after the application of appeal is filed, that by reason of facts present a stay would, in the opinion of the zoning enforcement officer, cause imminent peril to life or property, in which case proceedings shall not be stayed otherwise than by a restraining order. This restraining order may be granted by the board of zoning appeals or circuit court on application and with due cause shown.

C.

The board of zoning appeals shall render its decision within a reasonable time period.

D.

The concurring vote of a majority of the entire membership of the board of zoning appeals (three (3) votes) shall be necessary to decide in favor of the applicant for a matter upon which the board is required to pass.

E.

All decisions of the board of zoning appeals shall become final five (5) days after the date of entry of an order, unless the board of zoning appeals shall find, and so certify on the record, that it is necessary to cause such order to have immediate effect, in order to preserve property or personal rights.

F.

No variance request which has been decided by the board of zoning appeals shall be submitted for reconsideration within a one (1) year period from the date of the original application unless the board of zoning appeals finds that at least one (1) of the following conditions exist:

1.

That the conditions involving all of the reasons for the original denial have been significantly altered; or

2.

That new conditions or circumstances exist which change the nature of the original request.

G.

For each decision of the board of zoning appeals, a record shall be prepared. Such record shall include, at a minimum, the following items:

1.

Description of the applicant's request.

2.

The board of zoning appeals' motion and vote, including written justification for the decision, in accordance with the standards of section 21.04.

3.

A summary or transcription of all competent material and evidence presented at hearing; and,

4.

Any conditions attached to an affirmative decision.

H.

The decision of the board of zoning appeals shall be final. However, a person having an interest affected by the decision of the board of zoning appeals may appeal to the circuit court. Upon appeal, the circuit court shall review the record in accordance with the requirements of the City Or Village Zoning Act. The court may affirm, reverse, or modify the decision of the board of zoning appeals, or may remand the decision to the board of zoning appeals for further hearings or action.

(Ord. No. 95-06, § 1, 12-27-95)

A.

The board of zoning appeals, after public hearing, shall have the power to grant requests for variances from the provisions of this ordinance where it is proved by the applicant that there are practical difficulties in the way of carrying out the strict letter of the ordinance relating to the construction, equipment, or alteration of buildings or structures so that the spirit of the ordinance shall be observed, public safety secured and substantial justice done.

B.

A non-use variance may be allowed by the board of zoning appeals only in cases where there is reasonable evidence of practical difficulty in the official record of the hearing and that all of the following conditions are met:

1.

That there are exceptional or extraordinary circumstances or conditions applying to the property in question that do not apply generally to other properties in the same zoning district;

Exceptional or extraordinary circumstances include: exceptional narrowness, shallowness or shape of a specific property on the effective date of this chapter, or by reason of exceptional topographic conditions or other extraordinary situation on the land, building or structure or by reason of the use or development of the property immediately adjoining the property in question, the literal enforcement of the requirements of this ordinance would involve practical difficulties;

2.

That the condition or situation of the specific piece of property for which the variance is sought is not of so general or recurrent a nature as to make reasonably practical the formulation of a general regulation for such conditions or situations.

3.

That such variance is necessary for the preservation and enjoyment of a substantial property right similar to that possessed by other properties in the same zoning district and in the vicinity. The possibility of increased financial return shall not of itself be deemed sufficient to warrant a variance.

4.

The variance will not be significantly detrimental to adjacent property and the surrounding neighborhood.

5.

The variance will not impair the intent and purpose of this ordinance.

6.

That the immediate practical difficulty causing the need for the variance request was not created by any action of the applicant.

C.

Period of validity. No variance granted by the board of zoning appeals shall be valid for a period longer than three (3) months, from the date of its issuance. However the applicant may, upon request, request, at no cost, up to one (1) three (3) month extension of said variance from the board of zoning appeals. The board may grant such extension provided that the original circumstances authorizing the variance have not materially changed and that the circumstances creating the need for the extension were beyond the control of the applicant.

(Ord. No. 95-06, § 1, 12-27-95)

A.

The board of zoning appeals may impose reasonable conditions in conjunction with approval of an appeal, variance, or any other decision which they are required to make.

B.

Conditions shall be imposed in a manner in accordance with the Zoning Act and related to the standards by which the decision is reached.

(Ord. No. 95-06, § 1, 12-27-95)

The city council may prescribe and amend by resolution a reasonable schedule of fees to be charged to applicants for appeals to the board of zoning appeals. The fee shall be paid to the city treasurer at the time the application for the appeal or variance is filed. Any extraordinary costs, such as stenographer's fees or other similar costs, shall be borne by the applicant.

(Ord. No. 95-06, § 1, 12-27-95)