The Building Commissioner is hereby designated and authorized to enforce this chapter.

   (A)   Any person, persons, firms or corporations which shall make application for an improvement location permit shall furnish the Building Commissioner with a site plan of the real estate upon which said application for an improvement location permit is made. Said site plan shall be drawn to scale showing the following items:

      (1)   Legal or site description of the real estate involved.

      (2)   Location and size of all buildings and structures.

      (3)   Width and length of all entrances and exits to and from said real estate.

      (4)   All adjacent and adjoining roads or highways.

   (B)   Site plans so furnished to the Building Commissioner shall be filed by the Building Commissioner and shall become a permanent record.

   (C)   The Building Commissioner may require the relocation of any proposed building or structure or exit or entrance shown on said site plan and/or the location of new exits or entrances not shown on said site plan before issuing an improvement location permit when such action is necessary to carry out the purpose and intent of this chapter.

   (D)   The Building Commissioner shall issue an improvement location permit for a special exception only following receipt of notice from the Board that the application therefore has been approved by the Board.

   (E)   The authority provided in an improvement location permit shall expire six months after its issuance, unless 30% of the total work described in the development plan has been completed. If work required by a development plan has substantially stopped for a period of six months, the authority provided in the improvement location permit shall have expired.

   (F)   The holder of an improvement location permit for a special exception development plan may apply to the Board at any time for an alteration, change, amendment or extension of the development plan upon which such permit is based.

      (1)   Upon receipt of such application, the Board shall proceed as in the case of original application for special exceptions .

      (2)   In the event the Board shall approve and order such development plan changed, altered, amended or extended, it shall so notify the Building Commissioner who shall issue an amended improvement location permit accordingly.

   (G)   No land shall be occupied or used and no building hereafter erected, reconstructed or structurally altered shall be occupied or used, in whole or in part, for any purpose whatsoever, until a certificate of occupancy shall have been issued by the Building Commissioner stating that the building and use comply with all of the provisions of this chapter applicable to the building or premises or the use in the district in which it is to be located.

   (H)   No change in use shall be made in any building or part thereof, nor or hereafter erected, reconstructed or structurally altered, without a certificate of occupancy having been issued by the Building Commissioner, and no such permit shall be issued to make such change unless it is in conformity with the provisions of this chapter.

   (I)   A certificate of occupancy shall be applied for coincidentally with the application for an improvement location permit and shall be issued within ten days after the lawful erection, reconstruction or structural alteration of such building shall have been completed.

   (J)   A record of all certificates of occupancy shall be kept on file in the office of the Building Commissioner and copies shall be furnished upon request to any person having a proprietary or tenancy interest in the building or land affected.

   (K)   No improvement location permit shall be issued for excavation for, or the erection, reconstruction or structural alteration of any building before application has been made for a certificate of occupancy.

   (L)   Failure to comply with the provisions of this chapter subsequent to the issuance of a certificate of occupancy shall result in a revocation of such certificate.

(Ord. 480, passed 11-16-1970; Ord. 95-611, passed 10-4-1995) Penalty, see § 154.99

   A Board of Zoning Appeals is hereby established with powers and membership as set forth in I.C. 36-7-4-901 to 36-7-4-907.

   (A)   At the first meeting of each year, the Board shall elect a Chairman and a Vice-Chairman from among its members, and it may appoint and fix the compensation of a secretary and such employees as are necessary for the discharge of its duties, all in conformity to and in compliance with salaries and compensation therefore fixed by the legislative-authority.

   (B)   The Board shall adopt rules and regulations as it may deem necessary to effectuate the provisions of this chapter.

   (C)   All meetings of the Board shall be open to the public. The Board shall keep minutes of its proceedings, keep records of its examinations and other official actions, prepare findings, and record the vote of each member voting upon each question. All minutes and records shall be filed in the office of the Board and shall be a public record.

   (D)   Any decision of the Building Commissioner in the enforcement of this chapter may be appealed to the Board by any person claiming to be adversely affected by such decision.

   (E)   The Board shall have the following powers and shall have the duty to:

      (1)   Hear and determine appeals from and review any order, requirement, decision, or determination made by the Building Commissioner or any other town official or agency, except the Plan Commission, under this chapter.

      (2)   Hear and approve or deny all applications for special exceptions or other uses from the terms of this chapter as may be allowed under, this chapter and state law.

      (3)   Authorize upon application in specific cases such variances from the terms of this chapter that the Board determines, on the basis of facts presented to it, that satisfy the requirements of this chapter and state law for a variance approvals.

   (F)   In exercising its powers, the Board may reverse or affirm, wholly or partly, or may modify the order, requirement, decision or determination appealed from as in its opinion ought to be done in the premises, and to that end shall have all the powers of the Building Commissioner from whom the appeal is taken.

   (G)   Every decision of the Board shall be subject to review to certiorari.

   (H)   (1)   The Board may approve a variance of use from the terms of this chapter upon making a determination in writing that:

         (a)   The approval will not be injurious to the public health, safety, morals and general welfare of the community;

         (b)   The use and value of the area adjacent to the property included in the variance will not be affected in a substantially adverse manner;

         (c)   The need for the variance arises from some condition peculiar to the property involved;

         (d)   The strict application of the terms of this chapter will constitute an unnecessary hardship if applied to the property for which the variance is sought; and

         (e)   The approval does not interfere substantially with the town’s master plan. The Board may impose reasonable conditions as a part of its approval.

      (2)   The Board may approve a variance from the development standards (such as height, bulk or area) of this chapter upon making a determination in writing that:

         (a)   The approval will not be injurious to the public health, safety, morals and general welfare of the community;

         (b)   The use and value of the area adjacent to the property included in the variance will not be affected in a substantially adverse manner; and

         (c)   The strict application of the terms of this chapter will result in practical difficulties in the use of the property.

      (3)   Any variance approved by the Board shall expire six months from the date of its approval, unless the activity necessitating the variance has commenced on the property or unless an improvement location permit for construction of the structure necessitating the variance has been obtained. If the authority of an improvement location permit for construction of a structure necessitating the variance expires without the substantial completion of the structure as described in the development plan, the variance shall be considered as having expired at the same time as the improvement location permit.

   (I)   (1)   Prior to the determination of an appeal or a decision on a permit for a special exception, the Board shall fix a reasonable time for the hearing. Public notice shall be given at least ten days prior to the date set for the hearing by publishing a notice thereof in a newspaper of general circulation in the county setting forth the time and place of the hearing and by giving due notice to the interested persons in accordance with the rules of the Board.

      (2)   The Board shall require the party taking the appeal or requesting the special exception to assume the cost of public notice and due notice to the interested persons.

(Ord. 480, passed 11-16-1970; Ord. 95-611, passed 10-4-1995)

   All amendments to this chapter shall be in conformance with I.C. 36-7-4-602 to 36-7-4-610.

(Ord. 480, passed 11-16-1970; Ord. 95-611, passed 10-4-1995)

   (A)   Applications and petitions pursuant to the provisions of this chapter shall be filed with the Town Clerk Treasurer and shall be submitted with payment of the following fees:

      (1)   Certificate of occupancy: covered by payment of the improvement location permit fee.

      (2)   Administrative appeal of a decision of the Building Commissioner to the Council: $50.

      (3)   Special exception: $100.

      (4)   Variance from development standards: $100.

      (5)   Use variance: $200.

      (6)   Amendment to the ordinance or to the zone maps: $200.

   (B)   No part of any application or petition filing fee shall be returnable.

(Ord. 480, passed 11-16-1970; Ord. 95-611, passed 10-4-1995)

   (A)   The Commission, Board , Building Commissioner, or any designated enforcement official, or any person or persons, firm or corporation jointly or severally aggrieved, may institute a suit for injunction in the Circuit Court of the county to restrain an individual or a governmental unit from violating the provisions of this chapter.

   (B)   The Commission or the Board may also institute a suit for mandatory injunction directing any individual, a corporation or a governmental unit to remove a structure erected in violation of the provisions of this chapter.

   (C)   Any building, erected, raised, or converted, or land or premises used in violation of any provisions of this chapter or the requirements thereof, is hereby declared to be a common nuisance and as such may be abated in such manner as nuisances are now or may hereafter be abated under existing law.

(Ord. 480, passed 11-16-1970)

Note: These Zoning Maps are available in PDF format, click HERE