Peekskill City Zoning Code
ARTICLE X
Zoning Board of Appeals
§ 575-53 Creation and appointment.
[Amended 3-26-1979; 11-28-2022 by L.L. No. 10-2022]
There shall be a Zoning Board of Appeals of seven members as provided by law. The Common Council shall have the power and is hereby authorized to appoint up to two additional members to the Zoning Board of Appeals. Such additional members shall be known as "alternate members." Alternate members shall serve terms of one year from the date of their appointment. In the event any member of such body for any reason is unable to participate on any item of business or matter coming before the Zoning Board of Appeals and/or is unable to attend a meeting or part thereof, the chairperson or other presiding officer of the Zoning Board of Appeals may designate an alternate to substitute for such member. When so designated, an alternate member shall possess and shall have the authority to exercise all the powers, authorities and responsibilities of a member of the Zoning Board of Appeals. Any alternate member present and participating shall be counted as a member in attendance for the purpose of satisfying quorum requirements.
§ 575-54 Powers and duties.
The Zoning Board of Appeals shall have all the powers and duties prescribed by law and by this chapter, which are more particularly specified as follows, provided that none of the following provisions shall be deemed to limit any power of said Board that is conferred by law:
A.
Interpretation. Upon appeal from a decision by the Director, to decide any question involving the interpretation of any provision of this chapter, including determination of the exact location of any district boundary if there is uncertainty with respect thereto.
B.
Variances. To grant use variances and area variances in accordance with § 81-b of the General City Law.
[Amended 5-14-2007 by L.L. No. 3-2007]
C.
Where the Board finds the zoning classification of a particular property to be conducive to the deprivation of the reasonable use of the land or building by the owner thereof, and where the Board deems the same condition to apply generally to other properties in the same district, said Board may call this to the attention of the Common Council.
§ 575-55 Procedures.
A.
The powers and duties of the Zoning Board of Appeals shall be exercised in accordance with its own rules of conduct and procedure, which rules shall be consistent with and pursuant to all provisions of law applicable thereto.
B.
A public hearing shall be held by said Board on every appeal and application made to it, except for questions involving an interpretation of any provision of this chapter and not involving an appeal from a decision of the Building Inspector. Application shall be made to the City Clerk at least 45 days prior to the scheduled meeting.
[Amended 3-26-1979; 4-8-1991]
C.
A notice of such hearing, including a short summary of any variance sought, street address of all lots or buildings involved in the appeal or application, shall be given by publication in the official newspaper of the City at least five days before the date of such hearing. A notice of such hearing shall be transmitted to the applicant. The applicant shall be required to notify all property owners within 250 feet of the perimeter of the property as they appear on the last assessment roll. Such notice of public hearing shall be mailed via first-class mail at least 10 days prior to the hearing, and the petitioner shall submit the mailing list of names and addresses and a certificate of mailing stamped by the U.S. Post Office as evidence of such mailing. The expense of publishing and mailing any notice required by this section shall be paid by the applicant or appellant.
[Amended 3-26-1979; 2-8-1999; 5-14-2007 by L.L. No. 3-2007; 11-14-2011 by L.L. No. 10-2011; 9-12-2022 by L.L. No. 7-2022]
D.
In addition, by at least 45 days prior to the scheduled meeting of the Zoning Board of Appeals, the City Clerk shall transmit to the Department of Planning, Development and Code Enforcement a copy of any written appeal or application; where applicable, this application must include a written statement from the Building Inspector stating the reasons for which a building permit has been denied and the type and number of zoning variances needed in order to issue a building permit. The Department of Planning, Development and Code Enforcement will then submit zoning applications to the Planning Commission, which may submit an advisory opinion on said appeal or application at any time prior to the rendering of a decision.
[Amended 3-26-1979; 4-8-1991]
E.
Unless substantial construction is commenced and diligently pursued within one year of the date of the granting of a variance, such variance shall become null and void.
F.
All appeals and applications made to the Zoning Board of Appeals shall be in writing, on forms prescribed by the Board, and shall be accompanied by a fee as designated in the City fee schedule.[1] Every appeal or application shall refer to the specific provision of the chapter involved and shall exactly set forth the interpretation that is claimed or the details of the variance that is applied for and what hardship or practical difficulty is claimed for which that variance should be granted, as the case may be.
G.
Every decision of the Zoning Board of Appeals shall be recorded in accordance with standard forms adopted by the Board, shall fully set forth the circumstances of the case and shall contain a full record of the findings on which the decision is based. Every decision of the Zoning Board of Appeals shall be filed by case number, together with all documents pertaining thereto.
H.
Notice of all decisions shall be forwarded to the Planning Commission as well as to the Building Inspector so that he is prepared to enforce any conditions set forth in such decisions.
I.
All the provisions of this chapter relating to the Zoning Board of Appeals shall be strictly construed. The Board, as a body of limited jurisdiction, shall act in full conformity with all provisions of law and of this chapter and in strict compliance with all limitations contained herein; provided, however, that if the procedural requirements set forth in this chapter have been substantially observed, no applicant or appellant shall be deprived of the right of application or appeal.
J.
Prior to final action, the Zoning Board of Appeals shall refer any matter involving any of the areas specified in Article XII, § 575-58E(1)(a) through (e), to the Westchester County Planning Board in accordance with Section 451 of Article 15 of the Westchester County Administrative Code.[2]
[2]
Editor's Note: See § 277.61 of the Westchester County Administrative Code.
K.
An application to the Zoning Board of Appeals shall be considered to be incomplete, shall not be accepted for review and shall not be entertained if it is in relation to any property:
[Added 1-14-2008 by L.L. No. 1-2008]
(1)
Which, at the time of the application, is in violation of this chapter or the New York State Uniform Fire Prevention and Building Code except in furtherance of curing the violation; or
(2)
Which is in common ownership with any other property in the City of Peekskill which is in violation of this chapter or the New York State Uniform Fire Prevention and Building Code; or
(3)
Which has ever been in common ownership with any other property in the City of Peekskill that:
(a)
Is in violation of this chapter or the New York State Uniform Fire Prevention and Building Code on the date of the application; and
(b)
Has been in violation of this chapter or the New York State Uniform Fire Prevention and Building Code continually from the time that it was in common ownership with the subject property; and
(c)
Which is not owned by an owner who purchased the subject property in an arm's-length transaction, for fair market value and without knowledge of the existing violation on the other once commonly owned property. The burden of proof shall rest with the applicant as to whether he or she is an owner who purchased the subject property in an arm's-length transaction, for fair market value and without knowledge of the existing violation on the other once commonly owned property.