Marinette City Zoning Code
ARTICLE XXXIII
Appeals and Variances
§ 465-303 Zoning Board of Appeals.
A.
Establishment of Zoning Board of Appeals. There is hereby established the Zoning Board of Appeals for the City of Marinette for the purpose of hearing appeals and applications, and for granting variances to the provisions of this chapter.
B.
Membership. The Zoning Board of Appeals shall consist of five members appointed by the Mayor and confirmed by the Common Council.
(1)
One member shall be a Marinette Plan Commissioner and one member should be a registered architect, registered professional engineer, builder, or real estate appraiser.
(2)
Secretary. The secretary shall be chosen from among its members by the Board of Appeals at its first meeting following the third Tuesday in April in each year.
(3)
Building Inspector shall attend all meetings for the purpose of providing technical assistance when requested by the Board.
(4)
Official oaths shall be taken by all members in accordance with § 19.01, Wis. Stats.,. within 10 days of receiving notice of their appointment.
C.
Terms shall be for staggered three-year periods.
D.
Chairperson shall be designated by the Mayor.
E.
Alternate members. The Mayor shall appoint a first alternate member and a second alternate member to act only when a regular member is absent or refuses to vote because of interest. The second alternate member may act only when the first alternate is unable to act or is already sitting.
F.
Vacancies shall be filled for the unexpired term in the same manner as appointments for a full term.
G.
Organization. The Zoning Board of Appeals shall organize and adopt rules of procedure for its own government in accordance with the provisions of this chapter.
(1)
Meetings shall be held at the call of the Chairperson and shall be open to the public.
(2)
Minutes of the proceedings and a record of all actions shall be kept by the Secretary, or other designated person, showing the vote of each member upon each question, the reasons for the Board's determination, and its finding of facts. These records shall be immediately filed in the office of the Board and shall be a public record.
(3)
If a quorum is present, the Board of Appeals may take action by a majority vote of the members present.
[Amended 8-4-2014 by Ord. No. 2014-2290]
§ 465-304 Powers.
The Zoning Board of Appeals shall have those powers specified in § 62.23(7)(f)7, Wis. Stats., including the following.
A.
Errors. To hear and decide appeals when it is alleged there is error in any order, requirement, decision, or determination made by any administrative official.
B.
Variances. To hear and grant appeals for variances as will not be contrary to the public interest, when, owing to special conditions, a literal enforcement will result in practical difficulty or unnecessary hardship, so that the spirit and purposes of this chapter shall be observed and the public safety, welfare, and justice secured. Use variances shall not be granted.
C.
Interpretations. To hear and decide applications for interpretations of the zoning regulations and the boundaries of the zoning districts after the Marinette Plan Commission has made a review and recommendation.
D.
Substitutions. To hear and grant applications for substitution of more restrictive nonconforming uses for existing nonconforming uses, provided no structural alterations are to be made and the Marinette Plan Commission has made a review and recommendation. Whenever the Board permits such a substitution, the use may not thereafter be changed without application.
E.
Permits. The Board may reverse, affirm wholly or partly, modify the requirements appealed from, and may issue or direct the issuance of a permit.
F.
Assistance. The Board may request assistance from other City officers, departments, commissions, and boards.
G.
Oaths. The Chairperson may administer oaths and compel the attendance of witnesses.
H.
Appeals and applications. Appeals of the decision of the Building Inspector or any administrative official concerning the literal enforcement of this chapter may be made by any person aggrieved or by any officer, department, board or bureau of the City. Such appeals shall be filed with the Secretary within 30 days after the date of written notice of the decision or order of the Building Inspector or any administrative official. Applications may be made by the owner or lessee of the structure, land or water to be affected at any time and shall be filed with the Secretary. Such appeals and applications shall include the following:
(1)
Name and address of the appellant or applicant and all abutting and opposite property owners of record.
(2)
Plat of survey prepared by a professional land surveyor showing all of the information required under Article IV for a site plan.
(3)
Additional information required by the Marinette Plan Commission, City Engineer, Zoning Board of Appeals, or Building Inspector.
I.
Hearings. The Zoning Board of Appeals shall fix a reasonable time and place for the hearing and shall give at least 10 days' prior written notice to all owners of property within 200 feet of the subject property and to the parties in interest, the Building Inspector, and the Marinette Plan Commission. Notice shall be deemed given upon personal delivery or upon first class mailing to the last known address of the intended recipient. At the hearing the petitioner may appear in person, by agent, or by attorney.
J.
Findings. When special conditions unique to a property will not allow the property owner to meet the dimensional standards of a zoning ordinance, the Board may grant a dimensional variance upon the finding of the following three standards by clear, satisfactory and convincing evidence:
(1)
Unnecessary hardship. What constitutes unnecessary hardship is a matter to be determined from the facts and circumstances of each individual case. The Board must abide by the following court-established principles:
(a)
Unnecessary hardship is a situation where, in the absence of a variance, an owner can make no feasible use of a property or strict conformity is unnecessarily burdensome.
(b)
The hardship or difficulty must be peculiar to the zoning parcel in question and different from that of other parcels, not one which affects all parcels similarly.
(c)
Loss of profit or financial hardship is not in and of itself grounds for a variance.
(d)
Self-imposed hardship is not grounds for a variance.
(e)
The hardship cannot be one that would have existed in the absence of this chapter.
(2)
Unique property limitation. Unique physical characteristics of the property, not the desires of or the property conditions personal to the applicant, must prevent the applicant from developing in compliance with this chapter. (Examples: wetland designations, soil type, parcel shape, or steep slope that limits the reasonable use of the property.)
(3)
Protection of the public interest. Granting a variance must neither harm the public interest nor undermine the purposes of the chapter. The Board's actions should be consistent with the objectives stated in this chapter. The public interest includes the interests of the public at large, not just that of nearby property owners. In granting a variance, the Board may impose special conditions to ensure that the public welfare will not be damaged. The conditions must relate reasonably to the purpose and intent established by this chapter.
K.
Decision. The Zoning Board of Appeals shall decide all appeals and applications within 30 days after the public hearing and shall transmit a signed copy of the Board's decision to the appellant or applicant, Building Inspector, and Marinette Plan Commission.
L.
Conditions may be placed upon any building permit ordered or authorized by this Board.
M.
Variances, substitutions, or use permits granted by the Board shall expire within six months unless substantial work has commenced pursuant to such grant.
N.
Review by a court of record. Any person or persons aggrieved by any decision of the Zoning Board of Appeals may present to the court of record a petition duly verified setting forth that such decision is illegal and specifying the grounds of the illegality. Such petition shall be presented to the court within 30 days after the filing of the decision in the office of the Zoning Board of Appeals.
O.
Fee. Any person filing an application with the Board of Appeals for a variance or interpretation from and of the zoning regulations of the City of Marinette shall pay an application fee as established from time to time by the Common Council.