A zoning board of appeals, hereinafter referred to as "board of appeals," is hereby established in accordance with Public Act No. 110 of 2006 (MCL 125.3101 et seq.).

(Ord. of 7-22-2013, § 66.01)

(a)

The board of appeals shall consist of five members appointed by the township board. The first member shall be a member of the township planning commission. The remaining members shall be selected from the electors of the township residing in the unincorporated area of the township. The members selected shall be representative of the population distribution and of the various interests present in the township. One member of the board of appeals shall be a member of the township board. The township board may appoint not more than two alternate members for the same term as regular members to the zoning board of appeals. An alternate member may be called as specified in the zoning ordinance to serve as a regular member for the zoning board of appeals in the absence of a regular member if the regular member is absent from or will be unable to attend two or more consecutive meetings of the zoning board of appeals or is absent from or will be unable to attend meetings for a period of more than 30 consecutive days. An alternate member may also be called to serve as a regular member for the purpose of reaching a decision on a case in which the regular member has abstained for reasons of conflict of interest. The alternate member appointed shall serve in the case until a final decision is made. The alternate member has the same voting rights as a regular member of the zoning board of appeals.

(b)

The term of office of each member shall be for three years, except for members serving because of their membership on the planning commission or township board respectively, and the period stated in the resolution appointing them. A successor shall be appointed not more than one month after the term of the preceding member has expired. All vacancies for unexpired terms shall be filled for the remainder of the term.

(c)

A member shall abstain from voting on any question on which he has a conflict of interest. Failure of a member to abstain in such cases shall constitute misconduct of office.

(Ord. of 7-22-2013, § 66.02)

(a)

Rules. The board of appeals shall adopt rules and regulations to govern its procedures. The board of appeals shall elect a chairperson, vice-chairperson, and secretary from its membership. A chairperson and a secretary shall be elected at the beginning of the first meeting of the new fiscal year.

(b)

Votes. A concurring vote of a majority of the members of the board of appeals shall be necessary for any decision. The board of appeals shall not conduct business unless a majority of its members is present.

(c)

Representation. Any persons may appear on their own behalf at a hearing or may be represented by an agent or attorney.

(d)

Time limit. The board of appeals shall decide upon all matters within a reasonable time, not to exceed 90 days from the filing date. The decision of the board of appeals shall be in the form of a resolution containing a full record of its findings and determinations in each case. The time limit may be extended by written agreement between the applicant or appellant and the board of appeals.

(e)

Meetings. Meetings of the board of appeals shall be held at the call of the chair and at such times as the board, in its rules and regulations, might specify. Minutes shall be kept of each meeting and the board shall record into the minutes all findings, conditions of approval, facts, and other relevant factors, and all its official actions. The vote of each member upon a question, or absence or abstention, shall be recorded into the minutes of the meeting. All meetings and records shall be open to the public. All minutes shall be filed in the office of the township clerk.

(f)

Oaths. The chair of the board of appeals, or, in the chair's absence, the acting chair, may administer oaths and compel the attendance of witnesses.

(Ord. of 7-22-2013, § 66.03)

(a)

The board of appeals shall perform its duties and exercise its powers as provided in Public Act No. 110 of 2006 (MCL 125.3101 et seq.), so that the objectives of this chapter shall be attained, the public health, safety, and welfare served, and substantial justice done. The board of appeals shall hear and decide, as provided herein:

(1)

Appeals of any administrative decision of any official or body on any requirement of this chapter.

(2)

Variances.

(3)

Expansion of nonconforming buildings and structures.

(4)

Substitution of nonconforming uses.

(b)

Notwithstanding the preceding, the board of appeals shall not hear and shall have no authority regarding any issue that involves a conditional use permit or a planned unit development. The board of appeals shall not alter or change the zoning district classification of any property, or make any change in the terms of this chapter, and shall not take any action that would result in making a legislative change.

(Ord. of 7-22-2013, § 66.04)

A schedule of fees of the zoning board of appeals shall be established by resolution of the township board and shall be paid at the time of application.

(Ord. of 7-22-2013, § 66.05)

The board of appeals shall hold a public hearing on each appeal for administrative review, and on each application for expansion of a nonconforming use, conditional use permit, and variance. The chair of the board of appeals shall fix a reasonable time and date for the hearing. The notice shall be provided in accordance with article XXXIII of this chapter. If the notice is delivered by mail, an affidavit of mailing shall be filed with the board of appeals by the township clerk prior to public hearing. Where the hearing, as determined by the board of appeals, concerns matters of general applicability in the township and does not concern only individual lots or parcels, such notice shall be given in a newspaper of general circulation within the township.

(Ord. of 7-22-2013, § 66.06)

The board of appeals shall hear and decide upon applications for expansion of nonconforming structures and substitution of one nonconforming use for another such use in accordance with the provisions of section 36-905. An application for such expansion or substitution shall be filed with the township clerk. The application shall consist of a complete application form and fee, and shall contain adequate information to assist the board of appeals in reaching a decision in accordance with section 36-905. The clerk shall transmit the application and information to each member of the board of appeals within three days of the filing date.

(Ord. of 7-22-2013, § 66.07)

The board of appeals shall hear and decide appeals from any order, requirement, decision, or determination made by the zoning administrator in the interpretation and enforcement of this chapter. The board of appeals shall interpret zoning district boundaries according to the provisions of section 36-50.

(Ord. of 7-22-2013, § 66.08)

All questions concerning the application of the provisions of this chapter shall first be presented to the zoning administrator. Such questions shall be presented to the board of appeals only on appeal, from the decisions of the zoning administrator. Recourse from decisions of the board of appeals shall be to the courts as provided by the law.

(Ord. of 7-22-2013, § 66.09)

(a)

Appeals concerning administrative review may be made within such time as prescribed by the board of appeals by general rule, by filing with the zoning administrator and the board of appeals a notice of appeal specifying the grounds thereof. The zoning administrator shall transmit to the board of appeals copies of all papers constituting the record upon which the action appealed from was taken. The appellant shall submit a clear description of the order, requirement, decision, or determination for which appeal is made, and may be required by the board of appeals to submit additional information to clarify the appeal.

(b)

Appeals may be taken by any person aggrieved by a decision of the zoning administrator.

(c)

The fee shall be paid to the township clerk at the time of the filing the appeal.

(d)

An appeal stays all proceedings in the furtherance of the action appealed from, unless the zoning administrator certifies to the board of appeals after the notice is filed that by reason of facts stated in the certificate, a stay would cause imminent peril to life and property. In such case, proceedings shall not be stayed other than by a restraining order which may be granted by the board of appeals or by a court of record on application, on notice to the zoning administrator from whom the appeal is taken, and on due cause shown.

(e)

The board of appeals may, so long as such action is in conformity with the terms of this chapter, reverse or affirm, wholly or partly, or may modify the order, requirements, decision or determination appealed from and may make such order, requirement, decision or determination as ought to be made. To that end, the board of appeals shall have the powers of the public official from whom the appeal is taken.

(Ord. of 7-22-2013, § 66.10)

(a)

Authority. The board of appeals shall have the authority to provide relief from the provisions of this chapter in specific cases. To this end, the board of appeals may grant a dimensional or non-use variances to provide relief from specific requirements in this chapter relating to area, height, setbacks, or other non-use standards which will not be contrary to the public health, safety and general welfare and where, owing to special conditions, a literal enforcement of the provisions of this chapter would result in a practical difficulty.

(b)

Filing. An application for a variance shall be filed with the township clerk by the record owner of the property in question or by a persons authorized to act on the record owner's behalf. The application shall consist of a completed application form, fee, and the information required in this section. The clerk shall transmit the application and information to each member of the board of appeals and to the zoning administrator within three days of the filing date.

(c)

Information required.An application for a variance shall contain the following information:

(1)

Legal description, address, and tax parcel number of the subject property.

(2)

Boundary survey, showing all property lines, dimensions, and bearings of angles correlated with the legal description; all existing and proposed structures and uses on the property; existing zoning of subject and adjacent property; dimensions of structures and their dimensioned locations; lot area calculations necessary to show compliance with the regulations of this chapter. Such drawings shall also include well and septic locations, easements, and significant trees and wetlands if they exist on the site.

(3)

Name and address of the applicant, property owners, interest of the applicant in the property, and signature of the property owner, if other than the applicant, concurring in the submittal of the application.

(4)

Written statement of reasons for the variance request, demonstrating:

a.

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

b.

The special conditions and circumstances on which the variance request is based do not result from the actions of the applicant.

c.

That literal interpretation of this chapter would deprive the applicant of rights commonly enjoyed by other property owners in the same district under the terms of this chapter.

d.

That granting the variance requested will not confer upon the applicant any special privilege that is denied by this chapter to other lands, structures or buildings in the same district.

(d)

Standards of determination. A dimensional variance shall not be granted by the board of appeals unless the board of appeals finds that there is a practical difficulty in the way of carrying out the strict letter of this chapter. In determining whether a practical difficulty exists, the board of appeals must find that the following conditions are met:

(1)

Strict compliance with restrictions governing area, setback, frontage, height, lot coverage, density or other non-use matters will unreasonably prevent the owner from using the property for a permitted purpose or will render conformity with those restrictions unnecessarily burdensome.

(2)

The variance will provide substantial justice to the applicant, as well as other property owners in the district.

(3)

The variance requested is the minimum variance needed to provide substantial relief to the applicant and/or be consistent with justice to other property owners.

(4)

The need for the variance is due to unique circumstances that are peculiar to the land, structure or building involved and not generally applicable in the area or to other properties in the same zoning district.

(5)

The problem and resulting need for the variance has been created by strict compliance with the zoning ordinance, and not by the applicant or applicant's predecessors; it is not self-created.

(6)

The variance will be in harmony with the spirit and intent of this chapter, will not be injurious to the neighborhood, or otherwise detrimental to the public health, safety and welfare.

Further, the existence of nonconforming uses of neighboring lands, structures, or buildings in the same district, any permitted or nonconforming uses of lands, structures or buildings in other districts, and nonconforming structures, shall not be considered grounds for the issuance of a variance.

(Ord. of 7-22-2013, § 66.11; Ord. No. 16-51, §§ 1—3, 7-12-2016)

Each variance granted under the provisions of this chapter shall become null and void unless the construction authorized by such variance has been commenced within 180 days after granting of such variance and pursued diligently to completion, or the occupancy of land or buildings authorized by such variance has taken place within 180 days after the granting of such variance.

(Ord. of 7-22-2013, § 66.12)

An application for a variance which has been denied wholly or in part by the board of appeals shall not be resubmitted for a period of 365 days from the date of denial, except on grounds of new evidence of changed conditions found by the board of appeals to be valid.

(Ord. of 7-22-2013, § 66.13)

If an application or appeal to the board of appeals requires site plan approval by the planning commission, the applicant or appellant shall first apply for preliminary site plan approval as set forth in article XXVIII of this chapter. The planning commission shall review said plan and shall determine the layout and other features required to obtain approval of said plan. The planning commission shall then transmit the plan and the commission's findings thereon to the board of appeals. The board of appeals shall, upon deciding on the application or appeal, return the plan and its decision thereon to the planning commission for commission action on the preliminary site plan.

(Ord. of 7-22-2013, § 66.14)

Any decision of the board of appeals may be appealed through the courts, as provided in Public Act No. 110 of 2006 (MCL 125.3101 et seq.).

(Ord. of 7-22-2013, § 66.15)

The board of appeals may attach conditions to any affirmative decision; provided such conditions are in accordance with the requirements of this ordinance and Public Act No. 110 of 2006 (MCL 125.3101 et seq.). Such conditions shall be consistent with procedures, requirements, standards and policies of the township board, township planning commission and other township agencies, where applicable. Violation of any condition imposed shall be deemed a violation of this chapter and punishable under article XXXI of this chapter.

(Ord. of 7-22-2013, § 66.16)