Newtown City Zoning Code
§ B70-4.04.1
Emergency suspension of regulations.
The Commission shall have authority to suspend operation of such of these regulations as may be done consistently with the Connecticut General Statutes and only in strict conformity with the following provisions:
A.
[Amended 2-6-2013, effective 2-22-2013; 6-11-2014, effective 6-23-2014]
(1)
Upon an application submitted by the landowner, tenant or other person interested in a specified lot showing extraordinary hardship, substantial interference with an ongoing permitted use occasioned by fire, calamity, natural disaster or other sudden emergency and the proposed remedy, the Zoning Commission may, upon four affirmative votes, temporarily suspend, in whole or in part, the operation and application of such of these regulations as will, in its judgment, alleviate said hardship for a definite period not extending beyond one year from the date of the occurrence.
(2)
Additional applications relating to the same occurrence may be granted by the Commission for additional definite periods not to exceed one year by four affirmative votes and only upon a satisfactory explanation of the reasons why the emergency giving rise to the first and any additional orders of suspension have not been resolved within the time period provided in the first order of suspension, plus additional applications, and a demonstration by the applicant of diligence in commencing and completing permanent repairs or otherwise resolving the hardship in such a manner and to such extent as is intended to continue the previous use of the property in terms of the nature, intensity and extent thereof.
The provisions of this paragraph shall be deemed applicable to any property for which one or more suspension applications have been approved prior to the effective date of the amendment to these regulations providing for previous suspension orders and, provided further, that any application submitted pursuant to this subparagraph is submitted within 30 days after the effective date of this amendment. |
B.
Upon the granting of such an application, the Commission shall state upon the record its findings with respect to the nature and date of the occurrence, the hardship found, the section or sections of these regulations which are affected by its order and the remedy allowed. No such application may be approved without a finding that such suspension will not adversely affect the health, safety or welfare of the people of the Borough off Newtown and will not substantially affect property values.
C.
The filing of such an application shall not suspend the operation or effect of any cease and desist order issued by the Zoning Enforcement Officer.