A board of adjustment is hereby established in accordance with the provisions of article 1011g, Revised Civil Statutes of Texas [V.T.C.A., Local Government Code §§ 211.008—211.011], with the powers and duties as provided in said statute and this ordinance.

The board of adjustment shall consist of five members, each to be appointed by the city council of the City of Missouri City, for staggered terms of two years and removable for cause by the appointing authority upon written charges and after public hearing. In addition, there shall be likewise appointed four alternate members of the board of adjustment who shall serve in the absence of one or more regular members when requested to do so by the city manager or the mayor. Alternate members shall be appointed for a term of two years and shall be subject to removal as the regular members. Vacancies shall be filled for the unexpired term of any member, regular or alternate, whose term becomes vacant.

All cases to be heard by the board of adjustment shall be heard by a minimum number of four members.

A.

Hearing appeals.

1.

The board of adjustment shall have the power to hear appeals of a decision by an administrative official in the enforcement of this ordinance that is not related to a specific application, address, or project, provided that such appeal is brought by:

a.

Any person aggrieved by such decision; or

b.

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

2.

The board of adjustment shall have the power to hear appeals of a decision by an administrative official in the enforcement of this ordinance that is related to a specific application, address, or project, provided that such appeal is brought by:

a.

A person who:

(1)

Filed the application that is the subject of such decision;

(2)

Is the owner or representative of the owner of the property that is the subject of such decision; or

(3)

Is aggrieved by such decision and is the owner of real property within 200 feet of the property that is the subject of such decision; or

b.

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

3.

A notice of appeal to the board of adjustment specifying the grounds thereof shall be filed with the officer from whom the appeal is taken and the board of adjustment not later than the 20th day after the date the decision to be appealed is made. The officer from whom the appeal is taken shall transmit to the board all the papers constituting the record upon which the action appealed was taken.

B.

Variances.

1.

The board of adjustment shall have the power to authorize upon appeal in specific cases such variance from the terms of this ordinance as will not be contrary to the public interest, where, owing to special conditions, a literal enforcement of the provisions of this ordinance will result in unnecessary hardship, and so that the spirit of the ordinance shall be observed and substantial justice done. In granting such variance, the board of adjustment may prescribe appropriate conditions and safeguards in conformity with this ordinance. Violation of such conditions and safeguards, when made a part of the terms under which the variance is granted, shall be deemed violation of this ordinance. Under no circumstances shall the board of adjustment grant a variance to allow a use not permissible under the terms of this ordinance in the district involved, or any use, expressly or impliedly, prohibited by the terms of this ordinance in said district.

2.

In exercising its authority under this subsection, the board may consider the following as grounds to determine whether compliance with the ordinance as applied to a struct re that is the subject of the appeal would result in unnecessary hardship:

a.

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 municipality under V.T.C.A., Tax Code § 26.01;

b.

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;

c.

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

d.

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

e.

The municipality considers the structure to be a nonconforming structure.

C.

Special Exceptions. The board of adjustment shall have the power in appropriate cases and subject to appropriate conditions and safeguards to hear and decide special exceptions to the terms of this ordinance when required by this ordinance.

(Ord. No. O-20-08, § 3, 3-16-2020; Ord. No. O-22-01, § 3, 1-3-2022)

A.

The board of adjustment shall fix a reasonable time for the hearing of an appeal, give public notice thereof, as well as due notice to the parties in interest, and decide the same at the next meeting for which notice can be provided following the hearing and not later than the 60 ^th day after the date the appeal is filed. Upon the hearing, any party may appear in person or by agent or by attorney.

B.

In the exercise of the above-mentioned powers, the board of adjustment may reverse and affirm, wholly or partly, or may modify the order, requirement, decision or determination appealed from and make such order, requirement, decision and determination as ought to be made, and to that end shall have all the powers of the officer from whom the appeal is taken.

(Ord. No. O-20-08, § 3, 3-16-2020)

The concurring vote of four members of the board of adjustment shall be necessary to reverse any order, requirement, decision or determination of any administrative official, or to decide in favor of an applicant on any matter upon which it is required to pass under this ordinance, and to affect [effect] any variance of this ordinance.