A.

The city council is hereby authorized to act as a board of adjustment, unless it should by resolution establish a board of adjustment, and until such time as a board of adjustment is established by the city council, all decisions by the city council, while acting as a board of adjustment, shall be final and subject only to judicial review as provided in V.T.C.A., Local Government Code § 211.011.

B.

The board of adjustment when and if appointed by city council shall consist of five members who are property owners in the City of Oak Ridge North, Texas, each to be appointed for term of two years and removable for cause by the city council upon written charges and after public hearing. Vacancies shall be filled for the unexpired term of any member whose term becomes vacant.

C.

The board by majority vote shall adopt rules in accordance with the provisions of this ordinance. Meetings of the board shall be held at the call of the chairman and at such other times as the board or the city manager may determine necessary. Such chairman or in his absence, the acting chairman, may administer oaths and compel the attendance of witnesses. All meetings of the board shall be open to the public in accordance with V.T.C.A., Government Code Chapter 551. The board shall keep minutes of its proceedings, showing the vote of each member upon each question, or if absent or failing to vote, indicating such fact and shall keep records of its examinations and other official actions, all of which shall be immediately filed in the office of the board and shall be a public record. The concurring vote of 75 percent of the members of the board shall be necessary to reverse any order, requirement, decision, or determination of any administrative official, or to decide in favor of the applicant on any matter upon which it is required to pass under any ordinance, or to affect any variation in such ordinance.

D.

Appeals to the board of adjustment may be taken by any person aggrieved or by any officer, department, board or bureau of the City of Oak Ridge North, Texas, affected by any decision of the building inspector. Such appeal shall be taken within a reasonable time, as provided by the rules of the board, by filing with the officer from whom the appeal is taken and with the board of adjustment a notice of appeal specifying the grounds thereof, and by paying a filing fee to the city secretary of the City of Oak Ridge North, Texas, at the time the notice is filed, which shall be credited to the general funds of the City of Oak Ridge North, Texas. The officer from whom the appeal is taken shall forthwith transmit to the board all the papers constituting the record upon which the action appealed from was taken. An appeal stays all proceedings in furtherance of the action appealed from, unless the officer from whom the appeal is taken certifies in writing to the board of adjustment after the notice of appeal shall have been filed with him that by reason of facts stated in the certificate a stay would, in his opinion, cause imminent peril to life or property. In such cases, proceedings shall not be stayed otherwise than by a restraining order which may be granted by the board of adjustment or by a court of record on application or notice to the officer from whom the appeal is taken if due cause is shown.

The board of adjustment shall fix a reasonable time for the hearing of the appeal, giving public notice thereof, as well as due notice to the parties in interest, and decide the same within a reasonable time. Upon the hearing any party may appear in person or by agent or by attorney.

E.

The board of adjustment shall have the following powers:

1.

To hear and decide appeals where it is alleged there is an error in any order, requirement, decision, or determination made by an administrative official in the enforcement or interpretation of the text of this ordinance.

2.

Hear and decide requests for variances from the terms of this ordinance as follows:

a.

Purpose. Variances are deviations from the property development standards for the applicable zoning district where development is proposed that would not be contrary to the public interest and, due to special conditions, a literal enforcement of the provisions of this ordinance would result in unnecessary hardship, and so that the spirit of this ordinance is observed and substantial justice done. A variance cannot be requested for a change in land use.

b.

Authority. The board of adjustment, in accordance with the procedures, standards and limitations of this section, shall approve, approve with conditions, or disapprove an application for a variance permit after receiving a recommendation by the city manager.

c.

Initiation. An application for a variance permit shall be submitted by a qualified applicant.

d.

Procedure.

i.

Submission of application. A complete application for a variance permit shall be submitted to the city secretary, along with a nonrefundable fee that is established from time to time by the city council to defray the actual cost of processing the application. No application shall be processed until the established fee has been paid and the application has been determined completed by the city secretary.

ii.

Review and recommendation by city manager. After determining that the application is complete, the city manager shall review the application and prepare a staff report, which may include a recommendation of approval, approval with conditions or disapproval based upon the criteria in subsection e. A copy of the report shall be mailed to the applicant at least five days prior to the public hearing on the application.

iii.

Public hearing. After due notice, the board of adjustment shall hold a public hearing on an application for a variance permit. At the public hearing the board of adjustment shall consider the application, the staff report, the relevant supporting materials and the public testimony given at the public hearing. After the close of the public hearing, the board of adjustment shall vote to approve, approve with conditions or disapprove the application for a variance permit pursuant to the criteria of subsection e.

iv.

Notice of decision. The city secretary shall provide a copy of the decision to the applicant by mail within ten days of the board's decision.

e.

Criteria. To approve an application for a variance permit, the board of adjustment shall make an affirmative finding that the following criteria are met:

i.

Special circumstances exist that are peculiar to the land or structure that are not applicable to other land or structures in the same zoning district and are not merely financial;

ii.

These special circumstances are not the result of the actions of the applicant;

iii.

Literal interpretation and enforcement of the terms and provisions of this ordinance would deprive the applicant of rights commonly enjoyed by other land in the same zoning district, and would cause an unnecessary and undue hardship;

iv.

Granting the variance is the minimum action that will make possible the use of the land or structure which is not contrary to the public interest, and which would carry out the spirit of this ordinance and substantial justice;

v.

Granting the variance will not adversely affect adjacent land in a material way; and

vi.

Granting the variance will be generally consistent with the purposes and intent of this ordinance.

f.

Effect of variance permit.

i.

Generally. Issuance of a variance permit shall authorize only the particular variation which is approved in the variance permit. A variance permit shall run with the land.

ii.

Time limit. Unless otherwise specified in the variance permit, an application to commence construction of the improvements that were the subject of the variance permit request must be applied for and approved within 12 months of the date of the approval of the variance permit, otherwise the variance permit shall automatically become null and void. Permitted time frames do not change with successive owners. Upon written request, only one extension of the 12-month timeframe may be granted by the board of adjustment for a period not to exceed 12 months for good cause shown.

3.

Special exceptions. When, in its judgment, the public convenience and welfare will be substantially or permanently injured, the board of adjustment may in a specific case, after public notice and hearing and subject to appropriate conditions and safeguards, permit special exceptions authorized by the regulations contained herein and as follows:

a.

To permit a transitional use between a business or industrial district and dwelling district where the side of a lot in a single-family district or a two-family district abuts upon a lot zoned for business or industrial purposes as follows: On a lot in a single-family dwelling district, which sides on a lot zoned for business or industrial purposes, the board may permit a two-family dwelling.

b.

Grant in undeveloped sections of the city temporary and conditional permits for not more than two years. The granting or existence of such temporary or conditional permit shall not be reason or cause for extension of such permit.

c.

Permit such modification of yard open space, lot area or lot width regulations as may be necessary to secure an appropriate improvement of a parcel of land if such parcel is separately owned at the time of the original passage of this ordinance or subsequent annexation of the city and is of such restricted area that it cannot be appropriately improved without such modification.

d.

To grant a permit for the extension of a use, height or area regulation into an adjoining district, where the boundary line of the district divided a lot in a single ownership at the time of the adoption of this ordinance.

e.

To permit as an accessory use a parking area for passenger automobiles on a lot or lots in a single-family, duplex, or apartment house district adjoining or across a street of not more than 50 feet in width from any residential district, subject, however, to the following provisions:

i.

The area shall be properly enclosed with a hedge, screen, fence, wall or other suitable enclosure having a height of not less than three feet nor more than six feet. Such fence or enclosure shall conform to the front yard regulations of the district in which it is located.

ii.

The area shall be paved.

iii.

No parking of vehicles shall be permitted within six feet of any adjoining lot on which is located a single-family residence, duplex or multiple dwelling.

iv.

One sign, not exceeding two and one-half square feet in area, may be erected identifying the lot.

v.

No charges may be made for parking and no other business use may be made of the lot.

vi.

Any light used to illuminate said parking area shall be so arranged as to direct the light away from any adjoining lot used for residential purposes.

g.

Permit the reconstruction of a building occupied by a nonconforming use, or permit the extension of a nonconforming use of a building upon the lot occupied by such use or building at the time of the passage of this ordinance.

h.

Permit the location of sexually oriented businesses subject to the standards listed in chapter 18 entitled "Businesses" and notwithstanding any other licensing requirements contained in the Code of Ordinances of the City of Oak Ridge North and imposed by state law.

4.

Reserved.

5.

Any appeal or permit granted by the board of adjustment shall not be valid if construction authorized by said permit is not begun within a period of 60 days.

a.

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

b.

In considering all appeals and all proposed variations to this ordinance, the board shall, before making any finding, in a specific case, first determine that the proposed variation will not constitute any change in the district map and will not impair an adequate supply of light and air to adjacent property, or materially increase the congestion in public streets or increase the public danger of fire and safety, or materially diminish or impair established property values within the surrounding area, or in any other respect impair the public health, safety, comfort, morals and welfare of the City of Oak Ridge North, Texas.

c.

Every variation granted or denied by the board shall be accompanied by a written finding of fact, based on sworn testimony and evidence, specifying the reason for granting or denying the variation.

(Ord. No. 14-2013, § 2, 3-11-13; Ord. No. 16-2014, § 2, 3-10-14; Ord. No. 21-2017, § 2(Exh. A), 12-18-17)

Cross reference— Buildings and building regulations, ch. 14.

State Law reference— Board of adjustment, V.T.C.A., Local Government Code § 211.008 et seq.