Oreana City Zoning Code
BOARD OF
APPEALS
§ 155.55 CREATION AND MEMBERSHIP.
(A) A Board of Appeals is hereby established. The word BOARD, when used in this section, shall be construed to mean the Board of Appeals. The Board shall consist of seven members who shall be appointed by the President upon approval by the Board of Trustees. The terms of office of the members of the Board shall be five years; except that, the seven members first appointed shall serve respectively for terms of one, two, three, four, five, six and seven years. Thereafter, as each term expires, the appointment shall be for five years.
(B) Meetings of the Board shall be held at the call of the Chairperson and at such other times as the Board may determine. The Chairperson or, in his or her absence, the acting Chairperson may administer oaths and compel the attendance of witnesses. All meetings of the Board shall be open to the public. 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. The Board may adopt such rules of procedure as are not in conflict with this chapter or the laws of the state.
(Ord. 68, passed - -; Ord. 152, passed - -)
§ 155.56 JURISDICTION.
The Board shall have the power, and shall be charged with, the duty to hear and decide:
(A) Appeals from any order, requirement, decision or determination made by the Building Inspector under this chapter, as set forth in § 155.57 of this chapter;
(B) Requests for variations in the application of the regulations imposed by this chapter, as set forth in § 155.58 of this chapter; and
(C) All matters specifically referred to it under the provisions of this chapter.
(Ord. 68, passed - -; Ord. 152, passed - -)
§ 155.57 APPEALS.
(A) An appeal may be taken to the Board by any person, firm or corporation, or by any officer, department, board or bureau affected by a decision of the Building Inspector relative to this chapter. Such appeal shall be taken within such time as shall be prescribed, by the Board by general rule, by filing with the Building Inspector and with the Board a notice of appeal, specifying the grounds thereof. The Building Inspector shall forthwith transmit to the Board all of the papers constituting the record upon which the action appealed from was taken. The notice of appeal shall be accompanied by a receipt from the Village Treasurer showing the payment of an appeal fee of $35, which is hereby established as the required fee for each appeal taken under the provisions of this section.
(B) An appeal shall stay all proceedings in furtherance of the action appealed from, unless the Building Inspector certifies to the Board after the notice of appeal has been filed with him or her that by reason of facts stated in the certificate a stay would, in his or her opinion, cause imminent peril to life or property, in which case the proceedings shall not be stayed otherwise than by a restraining order, which may be granted by the Board or by a court of record on application and notice to the Building Inspector, and on due cause shown.
(C) The Board shall select a reasonable time and place for the hearing of the appeal and give due notice thereof to the parties and shall render a decision on the appeal without unreasonable delay. Any person may appear and testify at the hearing, either in person or by duly authorized agent or attorney.
(Ord. 68, passed - -; Ord. 152, passed - -)
§ 155.58 VARIATIONS.
(A) When a property owner shows that a strict application of the terms of this chapter relating to the use, construction or alteration of buildings or structures, or to the use of land, imposes upon him or her practical difficulties or particular hardship, then the Board may make such variations of the strict application of the terms of this chapter as are in harmony with its general purpose and intent when the Board is satisfied, under the evidence heard before it, that a granting of such variation will not merely serve as a convenience to the applicant, but is necessary to alleviate some demonstrable hardship or difficulty so great as to warrant a variation in the following instances:
(1) To permit the extension of a district where the boundary line thereof divides a lot held in a single ownership at the time of passage of this chapter;
(2) To interpret the provisions of this chapter in such a way as to carry out the intent and purpose of the plan, as shown upon the district map, where the street layout on the ground varies from the street layout as shown on the district map;
(3) To permit reconstruction of a non-conforming building otherwise prohibited by § 155.43 of this chapter where such action would not constitute continuation of a monopoly;
(4) To permit a variation in the yard regulations where there is an exceptional or unusual physical condition of a lot, which condition is not generally prevalent in the neighborhood and which condition when related to the yard regulations of this chapter would prevent a reasonable or sensible arrangement of buildings on the lot; and
(5) To waive or reduce the off-street parking requirements where it is conclusively shown that the specific use of a building would make unnecessary the parking spaces otherwise required by this chapter.
(B) A request for variation shall be made in writing and shall be filed with the Chairperson of the Board. Each request shall specify the exact nature of the variation requested and shall be accompanied by a receipt from the Village Treasurer showing the payment of a fee of $35, which is hereby established as the required fee for each request for variation filed under the provisions of this section. The Board shall select a reasonable time and place for the hearing on the request for variation and shall render a decision without unreasonable delay. Any person may appear and testify at the hearing, either in person or by duly authorized agent or attorney.
(Ord. 68, passed - -; Ord. 152, passed - -)
§ 155.59 NOTICES.
All hearings of the Board shall comply with all requirements as to notice, publication and procedure set forth in 65 ILCS 5/11-13-14. When five members concur on a decision, the decision is binding and not subject to review.
(Ord. 68, passed - -; Ord. 152, passed - -)
§ 155.60 REVIEW.
The decisions of the Board with regard to appeals from a decision of the Building Inspector and the decisions of the Board of Trustees with regard to variations shall only be subject to review pursuant to the provisions of the state’s Administrative Review Act, 735 ILCS 5/3-101 et seq.
(Ord. 68, passed - -; Ord. 152, passed - -)
§ 155.99 PENALTY.
(A) Any person, firm or corporation who violates, disobeys, omits, neglects or refuses to comply with, or who resists the enforcement of any of the provisions of this chapter shall, upon conviction, be fined not more than $100 for each offense. A separate offense shall be deemed committed on each day a violation occurs or continues.
(B) In case any building or structure is erected, constructed, reconstructed, altered, repaired, converted or maintained, or any building, structure or land is used in violation of this chapter, the village, in addition to other remedies, may institute any proper action or proceedings in the name of the village to prevent such unlawful erection, construction, reconstruction, alteration, repair, conversion, maintenance or use, to restrain, correct or abate such violation, to prevent the occupancy of said building structure or land, or to prevent any illegal act, conduct, business or use in or about the premises.
(Ord. 68, passed - -; Ord. 152, passed - -)