Shrewsbury City Zoning Code
CHAPTER 430
Board of Adjustment
Section 430.010 Creation and Membership.
[CC 1976 §430.010; Ord. No. 1151 §15.10, 1-23-1974; Ord. No. 1940 §2, 5-10-1994]
A.
A Board of Adjustment is hereby established. The word "Board", when used in this Section, shall be construed to mean the Board of Adjustment. The Board shall consist of five (5) members; all of whom shall be residents appointed by the Mayor and approved by the Board of Aldermen. The term of office of the members of the Board shall be for five (5) years. Vacancies shall be filled for the unexpired term only. Members shall be removable for cause by the Board of Aldermen upon written charges and after hearing. No member of the Board of Adjustment shall be an employee or a member of any other board, agency, department or governing body of the City.
B.
The Board shall elect its own Chairman and Vice-Chairman who shall serve for one (1) year. The Board shall adopt from time to time, such rules and regulations as it may deem necessary to carry into effect the provisions of this title.
Section 430.020 Meetings.
[CC 1976 §430.020; Ord. No. 1151 §15.20, 1-23-1974]
Meetings of the Board shall be held at the call of the Chairman and at such other times as the Board may determine. The Chairman, or in his/her absence the Acting Chairman, 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; all of which shall be immediately filed in the office of the Board and shall be a public record. All testimony, objections thereto, and rulings thereon, shall be taken down by a reporter employed by the Board for that purpose.
Section 430.030 Appeals To The Board.
[CC 1976 §430.030; Ord. No. 1151 §15.30, 1-23-1974; Ord. No. 2329 §1(a), 11-25-2002]
A.
Appeals to the Board may be taken by any person aggrieved or by an officer, department, any board, other than the Board of Adjustment, or bureau of the City of Shrewsbury affected by any decision of the City Engineer, Building Commissioner, or other official or agency relating to zoning or building. Such appeal shall be taken within a reasonable time, as shall be prescribed by the Board by general rule, by filing with the Building Commissioner and with the Board, a notice of appeal specifying the grounds thereof. The Building Commissioner shall forthwith transmit to the Board, all the papers constituting the record upon which the action appealed from is taken.
B.
An appeal stays all proceedings in furtherance of the action appealed from, unless the Building Commissioner certifies to the Board after the notice of appeal shall have been filed with him/her that by reason of facts stated in the certificate, a stay would, in his/her opinion, cause immediate peril to life or property. In such case, 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 or notice to the officer from whom the appeal is taken and on due cause shown.
C.
The Board shall fix a reasonable time for the hearing of the appeal, give not less than five (5) days public notice of the date, time and place thereof in an official newspaper or a newspaper of general circulation in the City, as well as due notice to the parties in interest, and decide the same within a reasonable time. Upon the hearing, any party may appear in person or by agent or by attorney.
D.
The concurring vote of four (4) members of the Board of Adjustment shall be necessary to reverse any order, requirements, decision or the determination of the Zoning Administrator or to decide in favor of the applicant on any matter upon which it is required to pass under this Chapter or to affect any variance. The Board of Adjustment shall give written notice of any decision in any appeal before the Board to each party and to the City's Director of Administration, or his or her designee, within a reasonable period of time after rendering such decision. The Director of Administration, or his or her designee, shall further provide the Mayor and Board of Aldermen with notice of said decision.
[Ord. No. 2964, 6-11-2019]
E.
Charges. At the time of filing of an appeal the appellant shall pay a fee of twenty dollars ($20.00) to the City Clerk. Further, if it appears necessary to the Board that a reporter be employed for the purpose of recording testimony or for other purposes in connection with a hearing, prior to said hearing fifty dollars ($50.00) shall be deposited with the City Clerk by the appellant to cover all costs in connection with such reporter.
Any monies remaining after deduction of said costs from such deposit will be refunded to the appellant. However, should said costs exceed fifty dollars ($50.00), the appellant shall pay to the City Clerk the additional costs involved.
Section 430.040 Powers and Duties.
[CC 1976 §430.040; Ord. No. 1151 §15.40, 1-23-1974]
A.
The Board of Adjustment shall have the following powers and may grant variances only in the following instances and no others:
1.
To hear and decide appeals in which it is alleged there is error in any order, requirement, decision, or determination made by the City Engineer, Building Commissioner, administrative or other official agency in the enforcement of this Title.
2.
To permit the reconstruction within twelve (12) months of a non-conforming building which has been damaged by explosion, fire, act of God, or public enemy, to the extent of more than sixty percent (60%) of its assessed value, where the Board finds some compelling public necessity requiring a continuance of the non-conforming use, and the primary purpose of continuing the non-conforming use is not to continue a monopoly.
3.
To authorize upon appeal, whenever a property owner can show that a strict application of the terms of this Title relating to the construction or alteration of buildings or structures, or the use of land will impose upon him/her practical difficulties or unnecessary hardship, such variances from the strict application of the terms of this Title as are in harmony with its general intent and purpose, but only when the Board is satisfied that a granting of such variance will not merely serve as a convenience to the applicant, but will alleviate some demonstrable and unusual hardship or difficulty so great as to warrant a variance from the comprehensive plan as established by this Title, and at the same time, the surrounding property will be properly protected.
4.
To permit a temporary building for business or industry in any district for a use otherwise excluded from such district, provided the use is incidental to the development of that district; such permit to be for a period of not more than one (1) year.
5.
To permit the enlargement of a building in a Business District or any Industrial District, for a use otherwise excluded from such district, provided such enlargement and use are distinctly incidental and essential to a use permitted in such district, provided such incidental building and its enlargement or use occupy not more than ten percent (10%) of the lot, that not more than ten percent (10%) of the employees of the building or plant are to be engaged therein, and provided that such building or use is not located within fifty (50) feet of any street or Residential District.
6.
To permit the extension of a district where the boundary line of a district divides a lot in single ownership as shown on record prior to the date of passage of this Title.
7.
To permit a front yard, a side yard, or a rear yard, less than that required by this Title.
8.
To permit a building to exceed the height limit by not more than ten percent (10%) of the height limit established by this Title.
9.
To permit the use of a lot less than the area required by this Title.
10.
To permit the use of a lot for a use otherwise prohibited solely because of the insufficient width of the lot.
11.
To reduce the applicable off-street parking or loading facilities required by not more than one (1) parking space or loading berth, or ten percent (10%) of the required number, whichever is greater.
12.
To increase by not more than twenty-five percent (25%) the maximum distance that required parking spaces are permitted to be located from the use served.
13.
To permit the same off-street parking facilities to qualify as a required facility for two (2) or more uses, provided that use of such facility by each user does not take place at the same hours of the same days of the week.
14.
To have all the powers conferred upon the Board of Adjustment by the Revised Statutes of Missouri.
Section 430.050 Scope of Authority.
[CC 1976 §430.050; Ord 1151 §15.50, 1-23-74]
In exercising the above powers, the Board may reverse or affirm, wholly or partly, or may modify the order, requirement, decision or determination appealed from and may make such order, requirement, decision, or determination as ought to be made, and to that end, shall have all the powers of the administrative official from whom the appeal is taken.
Section 430.060 Standards For Variances.
[CC 1976 §430.060; Ord. No. 1151 §15.60, 1-23-1974; Ord. No. 2329 §1(b), 11-25-2002]
A.
The Board of Adjustment shall not grant a variation as authorized in this Section unless it shall, in each case, make specific written findings of fact directly based upon the particular evidence presented to it that support all of the following conclusions:
1.
The variation requested arises from a condition which is unique to the property in question and which is not ordinarily found in the same zoning district and is not created by an action or actions of the property owner or the applicant;
2.
The granting of the variation shall not adversely affect the rights of adjacent property owners or residents;
3.
The strict application of the provisions of this Chapter from which a variation is requested will cause severe practical difficulty or extreme hardship for the property owner represented in the application;
4.
The variation desired will not adversely affect the public health, safety, order, convenience or general welfare of the community;
5.
Granting the variation desired will not violate the general spirit and intent of this Title.
B.
The Board of Adjustment may impose such conditions and restrictions upon the premises benefitted by a variance as may be necessary to prevent injurious effects therefrom upon other property in the neighborhood, and better to carry out the general intent of this Title.
Section 430.065 Review Considerations.
[Ord. No. 2329 §1(c), 11-25-2002]
A.
In determining whether the evidence presented supports all of the conclusions required by Section 430.060, the Board of Adjustment shall consider the extent to which the evidence demonstrates that:
1.
The particular physical surroundings, shape or topographical conditions of the property involved would result in a severe practical difficulty or extreme hardship upon or for the owner, lessee, or occupant, if the provisions of the Chapter were literally enforced;
2.
The request for a variation is not based exclusively upon the desire of the owner, lessee, occupant or applicant to secure a greater financial return from the property;
3.
The granting of the variation will not be materially detrimental or injurious to other property or improvements in the neighborhood in which the property is located;
4.
The proposed variation will not impair an adequate supply of light to adjacent property, substantially increase the congestion in the public streets, increase the danger of fire, endanger the public safety or substantially diminish or impair property values within the neighborhood.
Section 430.070 Appeals From The Board.
[CC 1976 §430.070; Ord. No. 1151 §15.70, 1-23-1974]
A.
Any person or persons jointly or severally aggrieved by any decision of the Board of Adjustment may present to the Circuit Court having jurisdiction in St. Louis County, a petition, duly verified, stating that such decision is illegal in whole or in part specifying the grounds of the illegality and asking for relief therefrom. Such petition shall be presented to the court within thirty (30) days after receipt of notice of the decision of the Board.
B.
Costs shall not be allowed against the Board in any such action unless it shall appear to the court that it acted with gross negligence or in bad faith, or with malice in making the decision appealed from.