Ramapo City Zoning Code
ARTICLE XV
Board of Appeals
§ 376-150 Creation, appointment and organization.
The existing Board of Appeals of seven members is hereby continued. Their successors shall be appointed in accordance with the provisions of the Town Law. The Town Board shall designate the Chairman from the Board of Appeals' membership. The Town Board may also appoint up to two alternate members who may substitute for members who are absent or unable to participate.
§ 376-151 Powers and duties.
The Board of Appeals shall have all the powers and duties prescribed by statute 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 the Board that is conferred by law.
A.
Appeals. The Board of Appeals shall hear and decide appeals from and review any order, requirement, decision or determination of the Building Inspector or such other official charged with the enforcement of this chapter or the Community Design Review Committee acting in its capacity as an architectural review board. The Board of Appeals shall not hear any appeal from nor review any order, determination, requirement, decision or revocation of the Building Inspector where such order, determination, requirement, decision or revocation has been directed by the Town Board. In addition, the Board of Appeals may not waive the requirement for site development plan application as required in any part of this chapter.
B.
Interpretation. On an appeal from any order, requirement, decision or determination made by an administrative official or by the Building Inspector to decide any of the following questions:
C.
Variances. On appeal from an order, requirement, decision or determination made by the Building Inspector, or on referral of an applicant to the Board by an approving agency acting pursuant to this chapter, the Board of Appeals is authorized to vary or modify the strict letter of this chapter as set forth below, except that in no case may a variance be granted from provisions of the New York State Uniform Fire Prevention and Building Code and the State Energy Conservation Construction Code:
[Amended 11-10-2016 by L.L. No. 4-2016]
(1)
Area variances.
(a)
The Zoning Board of Appeals shall have the power, upon an appeal from a decision or determination of an administrative official charged with the enforcement of this chapter, to grant area variances from the area or dimensional requirements of such ordinance or local law.
(b)
In making its determination, the Zoning Board of Appeals shall take into consideration the benefit to the applicant if the variance is granted, as weighed against the detriment to the health, safety and welfare of the neighborhood or community by such grant. In making such determination, the Board shall also consider:
[1]
Whether an undesirable change will be produced in the character of the neighborhood or a detriment to nearby properties will be created by the granting of the area variance;
[2]
Whether the benefit sought by the applicant can be achieved by some method, feasible for the applicant to pursue, other than an area variance;
[3]
Whether the requested area variance is substantial;
[4]
Whether the proposed variance will have an adverse effect or impact on the physical or environmental conditions in the neighborhood or district; and
[5]
Whether the alleged difficulty was self-created, which consideration shall be relevant to the decision of the Board of Appeals, but shall not necessarily preclude the granting of the area variance.
(c)
The Board of Appeals, in the granting of area variances, shall grant the minimum variance that it shall deem necessary and adequate and at the same time preserve and protect the character of the neighborhood and the health, safety and welfare of the community.
(2)
Use variances.
(a)
The Board of Appeals, on appeal from the decision or determination of the administrative official charged with the enforcement of such ordinance or local law, shall have the power to grant use variances, authorizing a use of the land which otherwise would not be allowed or would be prohibited by the terms of this chapter.
(b)
No such use variance shall be granted by a Board of Appeals without a showing by the applicant that applicable zoning regulations and restrictions have caused unnecessary hardship the applicant shall demonstrate to the Board of Appeals that:
[1]
Under applicable zoning regulations the applicant is deprived of all economic use or benefit from the property in question, which deprivation must be established by competent financial evidence;
[2]
That the alleged hardship relating to the property in question is unique and does not apply to a substantial portion of the district or neighborhood;
[3]
That the requested use variance, if granted, will not alter the essential character of the neighborhood; and
[4]
That the alleged hardship has not been self-created.
(c)
The Board of Appeals, in the granting of use variances, shall grant the minimum variance that it shall deem necessary and adequate to address the unnecessary hardship proven by the applicant, and at the same time, preserve and protect the character of the neighborhood and the health, safety and welfare of the community.
D.
Imposition of conditions. The Board of Appeals shall, in the granting of both use variances and area variances, have the authority to impose such reasonable conditions and restrictions as are directly related to and incidental to the proposed use of the property, or the period of time such variance shall be in effect. Such conditions shall be consistent with the spirit and intent of this chapter and shall be imposed for the purpose of minimizing any adverse impact such variance may have on the neighborhood or community.
E.
Extensions across district boundaries. In appropriate cases where a lot lies within two districts, the Board of Appeals may permit the extension of existing or proposed permitted accessory off-street parking space across a district boundary, under such conditions as will safeguard the character of the district into which such use is extended. However, no such extension shall exceed 75 feet, measured at right angles to such district boundary. The power under this subsection shall not permit the moving of the zoning district line but only the extension of the accessory off-street parking space.
F.
The Board of Appeals, after a public hearing, shall have the power to direct the Building Inspector to issue a building permit, certificate of occupancy or certificate of use, as the case may be, subject to other applicable laws, codes, rules and regulations.
§ 376-152 Rules of procedure.
A.
The Board of Appeals may adopt rules and regulations with respect to procedure before it and with respect to any subject matter over which it has jurisdiction, subject to approval of the Town Board. Such regulations shall include provisions for conduct of meetings, notification of parties, form of applications and filing of decisions.
B.
Every decision of the Board of Appeals shall be recorded in accordance with a standard format adopted by the Board, shall fully set forth the circumstances of the case and shall contain a record of the findings on which the decision is based. Every decision of said Board shall be by resolution, and each such resolution shall be filed in the offices of the Town Clerk and Building Inspector by case number.
C.
All appeals and applications made to the Board of Appeals shall be in writing and shall be accompanied by a fee as determined in the Standard Schedule of Fees, as may be adopted from time to time by resolution of the Town Board.
D.
Affidavits.
[Added 4-23-2008 by L.L. No. 4-2008]
(1)
An application for a hearing before the Zoning Board of Appeals shall be accompanied by a list containing the names and addresses of each owner of property within a distance of 500 feet from the property. An affidavit shall be submitted by the applicant declaring that the names and addresses of the property owners are stated as they appear on the latest tax assessment roll of the Town of Ramapo. The applicant shall mail notification of the public hearing via first-class mail to each owner of property within a distance of 500 feet from the property at least 10 days prior to the date of the public hearing. Prior to mailing the requisite notification, the applicant shall be responsible for generating a list setting forth the name and address of each owner of property to be noticed pursuant to this subsection. The applicant shall bring said list to a branch of the United States Post Office together with the envelopes for mailing. The list shall be reviewed by a representative of the United States Post Office, who shall confirm that the names and addresses on said list correspond to the names and addresses on the envelopes for mailing. The representative of the United States Post Office shall also stamp on the list the amount of postage expended for mailing costs. The applicant shall submit an affidavit stating conformance with the notice requirement. The original list setting forth the postage shall be submitted together with the affidavit.
(2)
The applicant shall also state in an additional affidavit that he has completed and placed at least one poster for every 300 feet of road frontage of the property in a visible location; said poster shall be provided to him by the Building, Planning and Zoning Department.
(3)
The affidavits of mailing and posting must be filed in the office of the Building, Planning and Zoning Department at least one day prior to the date of the hearing.
§ 376-153 Appeals from Board of Appeals determinations.
Any person aggrieved by any decision of the Board of Appeals hereunder may, within 30 days of the filing of the decision with the office of the Town Clerk, appeal pursuant to Article 78 of the Civil Practice Laws and Rules.