A Board of Zoning Adjustment is hereby established. It shall consist of five qualified voters of the City of New Iberia appointed by the Mayor with the consent of the New Iberia Board of Trustees. No elected or appointed public official shall be eligible to serve on such board while holding other public office. The board shall also include two alternate members. Regular members shall be appointed for a term of five years each and alternate members for a term of three years with all terms being staggered. Alternate members shall serve only when called upon to form a quorum and, when serving, shall have all the powers and duties of regular members. Vacancies shall be filled for the unexpired term of any member whose term becomes vacant. Members may be removed for cause by the appointing authority, upon written charges and after a public hearing.

(Ord. No. 371, § 2, 7-7-87; Ord. No. 2001-588, § 5, 5-1-01)

The board shall elect its own chairman, and may elect a vice-chairman, who shall serve for one year or until their respective successors have qualified. The Director of the New Iberia Planning Commission shall serve as the secretary of the board but shall not be considered a member. The secretary shall keep a correct record of all proceedings of the board.

The board shall adopt rules in accordance herewith and R.S. 33:4721—33:4729; provided that any rules adopted by a Board of Adjustment, Zoning Administrator or other official or official body appointed by the governing authority shall not be effective until approved in writing by the governing authority.

The board shall keep minutes of its proceedings and records of its examinations and other official actions. The minutes of the board shall show the vote or failure to vote of each member upon each question. All minutes and records shall be filed immediately in the office of the board and shall be public record. Certified copies of all decisions of the board shall be furnished to the Zoning Administrator and the planning commission.

The board shall adopt rules of procedure. Board meetings shall be held at the call of the chairman and at such other times as the board may determine. The chairman, or in his absence the vice-chairman, may administer oaths and compel attendance of witnesses. All board meetings shall be open to the public. All testimony presented at a public hearing, objections thereto and rulings thereon shall be taken down by a recorder. The board may change any decision of the administrator, in whole or in part, and to that end shall have all the powers of the zoning administrator. The concurring vote of a majority of the board shall be necessary to do so, to decide in favor of an applicant on any matter upon which it is required to pass under this ordinance, or to effect any variance of this ordinance.

Appeals to the board may be taken by any party aggrieved, or by an officer or agency of the City of New Iberia affected, by a decision of the administrator. The appeal must be filed within 30 days with the administrator and the board, listing the reasons for the appeal, and [with] payment of a filing fee in the full sum of $100.00. The administrator shall then send to the board all papers constituting the record upon which the action appealed from was taken. An appeal stays all proceedings in the action appealed from unless the administrator concurrently certifies to the board that, for reasons of facts stated in the certificate, a stay would, in his opinion, cause imminent peril to life or property. In such case, the proceedings shall not be stayed unless a restraining order is granted by the board or by a court of record. The board shall fix a reasonable time, not to exceed 30 days, for the hearing of the appeal, give notice thereof to the interested parties and to the public, and decide the appeal within a reasonable time. At the hearing, any party may appear in person, by agent or by attorney.

(Emer. Ord. No. 420, 1-8-91)

The board of zoning adjustment shall have the power and it shall be its duty:

8.601. To hear and decide appeals involving the interpretation of this ordinance or where it is alleged there is error in any determination made by the administrator, in accordance with R.S. 33:4727.

8.602. In hearing and deciding appeals, the board shall have the power to grant exceptions in the following instances:

(1)

Where a district boundary line divides a lot in single or joint ownership of record at the time such line is adopted, permit the less restricted portion of such lot to extend not more than 30 feet into the more restricted portion, provided the lot has frontage on a street in the less restricted district.

(2)

Interpret the provisions of this ordinance in such a way as to carry out the intent and purposes of the plan, as shown upon the zoning district map, where the district boundaries are uncertain, or where the street layout actually on the ground varies from the street layout as shown on the district map.

(3)

Permit the erection and use of a building or the use of land for railroads or public utility purposes.

(4)

Permit unenclosed roadside stands for the sale of products raised on the premises, commercial amusements or recreational developments, for temporary or seasonal periods not to exceed 90 days at a time.

(5)

Permit temporary buildings where necessary for approved construction work in progress.

(6)

Permit the development of airports and the erection of commercial radio and television broadcasting towers in any district except residential districts, and permit the erection of private radio towers in any district.

(7)

To vary yard requirements or height restrictions, and parking or sign regulations in the case of exceptionally irregular, narrow, shallow, or steep lots, or other exceptional physical conditions, where strict application would deprive the owner of the reasonable use of the land in accordance with the use regulations of this ordinance; to waive or reduce parking requirements whenever the use of a building or land is so extraordinary as to make unnecessary the full provision of parking facilities, or whenever it can be shown that provision of required offstreet parking space within 300 feet of the main building is not feasible and would impose an unreasonable hardship as contrasted with merely granting an advantage or a convenience; to approve an application for a business sign or advertising structure which may not conform with the provisions of the district in which it is to be located, where the location, size or addition would not be inconsistent with the character of the area or neighborhood in which such sign or structure is to be located. In granting any variance, the board shall prescribe any conditions that it deems reasonably necessary.

No variance shall be granted by the board of adjustment unless it finds:

(1)

That there are special circumstances or conditions, fully described in the findings, applying to the land or building for which the variance is sought, which circumstances or conditions are peculiar to such land or buildings and do not apply generally to land or buildings in the neighborhood, and that said circumstances or conditions are such that the strict application of the provisions of this article would deprive the applicant of the reasonable use of such land or building.

(2)

That, for reasons fully set forth in the findings, the granting of the variance is necessary for the reasonable use of the land or building and that the variance as granted by the board is the minimum variance that will accomplish this purpose.

(3)

That the granting of the variance will be in harmony with the general purpose and intent of this article and will not be injurious to the neighborhood or otherwise detrimental to the public welfare.

Any party aggrieved by any decision of the board may, within 30 days after the filing of such decision in the office of the board, present to the district court of the Parish of Iberia a petition for a writ of certiorari asking for relief as provided in R.S. 33:4727.