(a)

A board of appeals is hereby established which shall be constituted, perform the duties, and exercise the powers provided for by the MZEA Act, Act 110, Public Acts of 2006, as amended, and this ordinance.

(b)

The board of appeals shall consist of not less than five members, each to be appointed for a term of three years. Initial appointments shall be of one, two, and three years, respectively, so as nearly as possible to subsequently result in the appointment of an equal number of members each year, depending on the number of members; thereafter each member to hold office for the full three-year term. A successor shall be appointed not more than one month after the term of the preceding member has expired. Vacancies for unexpired terms shall be filled for the remainder of the term.

(c)

The city council may appoint not more than two alternate members for the same term as regular members of the board of appeals. An alternate member shall sit as a regular member of the board of appeals in the absence of a regular member. An alternate member may also be called to serve in the place of 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 having been appointed shall have the same voting rights as a regular member of the board of appeals.

(d)

The city council may authorize the remuneration of the members of the board for attendance at each meeting.

(e)

Members of the board of appeals may be removed from office by the city council for misfeasance, malfeasance or nonfeasance in office upon written charges and after a public hearing. A member shall disqualify himself or herself from a vote in which the member has a conflict of interest. Failure to do so constitutes malfeasance in office.

(f)

The board of appeals shall adopt rules necessary to the conduct of its affairs and in keeping with the provisions of this ordinance. Meetings shall be held at the call of the chairman and at such other times as the board may determine. The chairman or, in his absence, the acting chairman may administer oaths and compel the attendance of witnesses. All meetings shall be open to the public. The city clerk shall be responsible for acting as secretary, and for providing secretarial services for the zoning board of appeals. The city attorney shall act as legal counsel for the board and shall be present at meetings upon request of the board.

(g)

The board of appeals 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 official actions, all of which shall be a public record and be immediately filed in the office of the city clerk. A copy of each decision of the board shall be sent promptly to the applicant or appellant involved, the city manager, the chairman of the planning commission, and the mayor.

(h)

The concurring vote of a majority of the members of the board shall be necessary to reverse an order, requirement, decision, or determination of an administrative official or body, or to decide in favor of the applicant a matter upon which they are required to pass under an ordinance, or to affect a variation in an ordinance.

(i)

The board of appeals shall fix a reasonable time for the hearing of the request and give notice in a newspaper of general circulation in the city. For requests for a variance or an interpretation or appeal which involves a specific parcel, notice shall also be given by mail or personal delivery to the owners of property for which approval is being considered, to all persons whom real property is assessed within 300 feet of the boundary of the property in question, and to the occupants of all structures within 300 feet regardless of whether the property or occupant is located in the city. If the name of the occupant is not known, the term "occupant" may be used in making notification. Notification need not be given to more than one occupant of a structure, except that if a structure contains more than one dwelling unit or spatial area owned or leased by different individuals, partnerships, business or organizations, one occupant of each unit or spatial area shall receive notice. In the case of a single structure containing more than four dwelling units or other distinct spatial areas or organization, notice may be given to the manager or owner of the structure who shall be requested to post the notice at the primary entrance to the structure. The notice shall be given not less than 15 days before the request will be considered. An affidavit of mailing or delivery of notices of the hearing shall be filed with the board by delivering the same to the secretary prior to the meeting at which the hearing is to be held. The notice shall:

(1)

Describe the nature of the request.

(2)

Indicate the property, which is the subject of the request. The notice shall include a listing of all existing street addresses within the property.

(3)

State when and where the request will be considered.

(4)

Indicate when and where written comments will be received concerning the request.

(j)

Upon the hearing, a party may appear in person or by agent or by attorney.

(k)

The decision of the board of appeals shall not become final until the expiration of five days from the date of entry of the order, and service of the order upon the applicant or appellant, unless the board shall find the immediate effect of the order is necessary for the preservation of property or personal rights and so certify on the record.

(Ord. No. 2009-07, pt. 5, 3-9-2009)

The board of appeals shall have the following powers and duties:

(1)

Appeals. To hear and decide appeals from and review any order, requirements, decision, or determination made by an administrative official or body charged with the enforcement of the zoning ordinance.

a.

An appeal may be taken by any person aggrieved by an officer, department board, or bureau of the city.

b.

An appeal under this section shall be taken within 20 days by the filing with the officer or body from whom the appeal was taken and with the board of appeals a notice of appeal specifying the grounds for the appeal. Any appeal shall be in writing on a standard form available from the city clerk and accompanied with a payment of a fee in accordance with the schedule of fees adopted by the city council. The officer or body from whom the appeal is taken shall transmit to the board of appeals all the papers constituting the record upon which the action appealed from was taken.

c.

An appeal stays all proceedings in furtherance of the action appealed from unless the officer or body from whom the appeal is taken certifies to the board of appeals after the notice of appeal is filed, that by reason of fact stated in the certificate, a stay would, in the opinion of the officer or body, cause imminent peril to life or property, in which case the proceedings shall not be stayed other than by a restraining order which may be granted by the board of appeals or by the circuit court.

d.

In exercising the above powers, the board of appeals may so long as such action is in conformity with the terms of this ordinance, reverse or affirm, wholly or partly, or may modify the order, requirement, decision, or determination appealed from and make such order, requirement, decision, or determination as in the board's opinion ought to be made in the premises, and to that end shall have all the powers of the officer or body from whom the appeal is taken.

(2)

Variances. To authorize upon application in specific cases such variance from the terms of this ordinance as will not be contrary to the public interest where, owing to special condition, a literal enforcement of the provisions of this ordinance would result in practical difficulties (e.g., dimensional requirements such as lot area and width regulations, building height regulations and yard width and depth regulations). The application for a variance shall not be construed as an appeal from a decision made by or an alleged error of the administrative official or body.

a.

A written application for a variance shall be submitted demonstrating:

1.

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

2.

That literal interpretation of the provisions of this ordinance would deprive the applicant of rights commonly enjoyed by other properties in the same district under the terms of this ordinance.

3.

That the special conditions and circumstance do not result from the actions of the applicant.

4.

That the request relates only to the property that is under the control of the applicant, e.g., ownership, option, to purchase, long term lease.

5.

That the application states the owner's full name and address and is signed by the owner if the owner is not the applicant.

6.

That an application for the same variance has not been submitted in the previous 12 months unless the applicant can show there has been a change in the existing conditions.

b.

Before granting a variance, the board of appeals shall make findings that: the requirements of subsection (2)a of this section have been met by the applicant for a variance; the reasons set forth in the application justify the granting of the variance; the variance is the minimum variance that will make possible the reasonable use of the land, building, or structure; the granting of the variance will be in harmony with the general purpose and intent of this ordinance and will not be injurious to the neighborhood or otherwise detrimental to the public welfare; and the spirit of this ordinance shall be observed, public safety secured, and substantial justice done.

c.

In granting any variance, the board of appeals may prescribe appropriate conditions and safeguards, which shall be in writing. Violations of such conditions and safeguards, when made a part of the terms under which the variance is granted, shall be deemed a violation of this ordinance and punishable under article 37.

d.

Under no circumstances shall the board of appeals grant a variance to allow a use not permissible under the terms of this ordinance in the district involved, or any use expressly or by implication prohibited by the terms of this ordinance in said district.

(3)

Interpretations. To hear and decide questions that arise out of the administration of this zoning ordinance, including the interpretation of the zoning map. Article 2, subsection 7 empowers the board of appeals to interpret district boundaries where physical or cultural features on the ground are at variance with the zoning map.

(Ord. No. 2009-07, pt. 5, 3-9-2009)

(a)

Any person or persons, or any taxpayer, department, board or bureau of the municipality aggrieved by any decision of the board of appeals may seek review by a court of record of such decision, in the manner provided by the laws of the state and particularly by the MZEA Act, Act 110, Public Acts of 2006, as amended.

(Ord. No. 2009-07, pt. 5, 3-9-2009)

(a)

The business that the board of appeals may perform shall be conducted at a public meeting of the board of appeals held in compliance with Act 267, Public Acts of 1976, being sections 15.261 to 15.275 of the Michigan Compiled Laws. Public notice of the time, date and place of the meetings shall be given in the manner required by the Open Meetings Act, Act 267, Public Acts of 1976.

(b)

All records of the board zoning appeals and city planning commission shall be subject to the provisions of Act 442, Public Acts of 1976, being sections 15.231 to 15.246 of the Michigan Compiled Laws.

(Ord. No. 2009-07, pt. 5, 3-9-2009)