Sec. 15.0.

A.

[Composition of Board:] The Board of Appeals shall consist of three members: a member of the Township Board of Trustees, a member of the Planning Commission, and one citizen of the Township appointed by the Township Board who shall be representative of the various interests and population distribution of the Township.

B.

Terms of Office:

(1)

The members of the Township Board and Planning Commission shall serve terms concurrent with their term on the Board or Commission.

(2)

The additional member shall serve for a three-year term.

(3)

Should a vacancy occur, the Township Board shall appoint a replacement within 60 days to fill the unexpired term.

C.

[Continuance of Present Board; Appointment of New Board.] The Board of Appeals as constituted on the effective date of this Ordinance shall continue and, upon completion of current terms, appointments by the Township Board shall be based upon the manner and terms heretofore set forth.

Sec. 15.1.

A.

Subject to provisions of this chapter, the Board of Appeals shall have jurisdiction to decide applications for variance filed as hereafter provided:

(1)

Where it is alleged by the appellant that there is an error in any order, requirement, permit, interpretation, decision, or refusal by the Zoning Administrator or other Township official or agency as to enforcement of this Ordinance. The Board of Appeals may affirm, modify, or reverse the order, requirement, permit, interpretation, decision or refusal. The Board shall have the power of the official from whom the appeal was taken. The authority does not include the power to review ordinance amendments or special land use permits.

(2)

Where, by reason of the shape, topography or other extraordinary situation or condition of the land, building or structure, or use or development of property or area immediately abutting the property, the literal enforcement of requirements of this Ordinance would involve practical difficulties in use of the land, building or structure.

B.

The Board of Appeals shall interpret zoning district boundaries as provided in chapter 4 [300.400].

C.

The Board of Appeals shall consider and decide upon applications for expansion of non-conforming uses, buildings or structures.

D.

The Board of Appeals shall hear and decide any other matter referred to it by this Ordinance, the Township Board or Planning Commission.

Sec. 15.2.

A.

The Board of Appeals shall adopt rules and regulations to govern its procedures and shall determine its own officers, except that the member from the Township Board shall not serve as Chairman.

B.

Meetings of the Board of Appeals shall be held at the call of the Chairman and at such other times as the Board may specify in its rules of procedure.

C.

The concurring vote of a majority of the members of the Board of Appeals shall be necessary to revise any order, requirement, decision, or interpretation of the Zoning Administrator or provision of this Ordinance or to decide in favor of an applicant on any matter upon which they are required to pass or effect a variation of this Ordinance.

D.

All meetings shall be open to the public. All minutes shall be filed in the office of the Township Clerk and shall be made available upon request of interested parties.

Sec. 15.3.

A.

Filing of Appeal:

(1)

An appeal shall be filed by any person or firm aggrieved with the Zoning Administrator on a form provided for that purpose.

(2)

A fee, the amount of which shall be set by the Township Board from time to time, shall be paid at the time of filing the appeal.

(3)

The filing of an appeal shall stay all proceedings in furtherance of the action appealed, unless a stay would create imminent peril to life or property.

B.

Public Hearings:

(1)

The Secretary of the Board of Appeals shall fix a reasonable time and date for the public hearing, not to exceed forty-five (45) days from the date of the filing of a complete application with the Zoning Administrator.

(2)

On behalf of the Board of Appeals, the Secretary shall publish and deliver notice of the public hearing in accordance with Section 18.6 of this Ordinance.

(3)

[repealed]

C.

The Zoning Administrator shall provide the Board of Appeals copies of all papers constituting the record upon which the action appealed was taken.

D.

The applicant or his agent shall appear at the public hearing in order for the application to receive consideration. If an applicant or his agent does not appear at the public hearing, the Board of Appeals may table the application to a date certain or deny in whole the application.

(Ord. No. 06-21, § 6, 9-7-2006)

Sec. 15.4.

A.

The Board of Appeals shall have the power to authorize variances from the strict application of requirements contained in this Ordinance.

B.

A variance shall not be granted by the Board of Appeals unless evidence is submitted demonstrating that all of the following standards of approval are met:

(1)

That special conditions and circumstances exist which are peculiar to the land, building or structure involved and which are not applicable to other lands, buildings or structures in the neighborhood or same zoning district.

(2)

The literal interpretation of the provisions of this Ordinance would deprive the applicant of rights commonly enjoyed by other properties in the neighborhood or same zoning district.

(3)

That the special conditions and circumstances do not result from actions of the applicant, financial consideration alone shall not be grounds for granting a variance.

(4)

That granting of a variance will not confer on the applicant any special privilege that is denied by this Ordinance to other land, buildings, or structures in the same zoning district.

(5)

That the granting of the variance will be in harmony with the intent of this Ordinance and will not be injurious to the neighborhood, or otherwise be detrimental to the public interest.

C.

A non-conforming use of land, building or structure, whether legally non-conforming or not, shall not solely constitute grounds for granting of a variance.

D.

The Board of Appeals shall, when granting any variance, determine the variance is the minimum that will make possible the reasonable use of land, building or structure. To this end, the Board of Appeals may grant a lesser variance than that requested by the applicant, provided that the lesser variance also meets the standards of [sub]section[s] 15.4 B.(1)—(5) [300.1504 B.(1)—(5)].

E.

In granting any variance or any other ruling, the Board of Appeals may prescribe reasonable conditions and safeguards necessary to meet the intent of this Ordinance and ensure proper protection of adjoining properties and the neighborhood.

F.

Findings of Fact:

(1)

The minutes of the Board of Appeals shall record all relevant findings of fact, conditions, and other relevant factors, including the vote of each member upon each question.

(2)

To this end, the Board of Appeals shall prepare an official record for all appeals and base its decision on this record. The official record shall include the following items as a minimum:

(a)

The minutes of each meeting.

(b)

The application for appeal or variance.

(c)

Such documents, exhibits, photographs or written reports as may be submitted to the Board of Appeals for consideration.

(d)

A written record of findings of the Board of Appeals, in resolution form, stating the facts of the appeal, the decision, any conditions of the decision and the reasons for reaching the decision, including compliance with standards of [sub]section[s] 15.4 B.(1)—(5) [300.1504 B.(1)—(5)].

G.

The Board of Appeals shall decide upon all matters within a reasonable time, not to exceed 30 days from the close of the public hearing. The Board of Appeals may adjourn any hearing to a specific date, time and place for any reason.

H.

Decisions of the Board of Appeals shall become effective five days after the decision is reached, unless the Board shall find it necessary to give immediate effect to preserve a substantial property right and so certify in the record.

Sec. 15.5.

A.

Whenever actions authorized by a variance are not commenced within one year of the date granted, the variance shall become null and void.

B.

No application for variance which has been denied in whole or in part shall be resubmitted to the Board of Appeals within one year of the date of denial, except on grounds of new evidence or proof of changed conditions.

Sec. 15.6. The decision of the Board of Appeals shall be final. Appeal from decisions of the Board of Appeals shall be to the Muskegon County Circuit Court, as provided by law.

Sec. 15.7.

A.

The Board of Appeals shall not have the power to grant a variance for use of land, building or structure.

B.

The Board of Appeals shall not grant any variance or issue any order which, in effect, results in an amendment to this Ordinance.

Sec. 15.8.

A.

The Zoning Administrator is empowered to consider minor variance applications and approve the same if the standards of Section 15.4B are met. The administrative variance shall be limited to variances in the side or rear yard for principal or accessory structures. The variance granted by the Zoning Administrator shall not exceed ten percent (10%) of the required setback. The Administrator shall publish and deliver notice of the application for administrative variance in accordance with Section 18.6 of this Ordinance. The notice shall state the deadline for the receipt of public comments. The Zoning Administrator shall not make a decision on the administrative variance until the deadline for receipt of public comments has expired.

B.

The authority granted to the Zoning Administrator by this section shall apply only to lawfully established non-conforming lots of record.

(Ord. No. 06-21, § 7, 9-7-2006)