South Glens Falls City Zoning Code
ARTICLE VIII
Zoning Board of Appeals
§ 153-27 Establishment; membership; appointments.
There is hereby established a Zoning Board of Appeals having the powers authorized under the Consolidated Laws of the State of New York. Said Board shall consist of five members nominated in the sound discretion of the Village Mayor and appointed with the approval of the Village Board of Trustees.
§ 153-28 Organization and procedures.
A.
Appointment of officers; meetings. The Board of Trustees shall appoint a Chairman. The Zoning Board shall adopt rules and regulations consistent with law or ordinance. Meetings of the Zoning Board shall be held at the call of the Chairman and at such other times as the Zoning Board may determine. The Chairman or, in his absence, the Acting Chairman may administer oaths and compel the attendance of witnesses.
B.
Meetings, minutes and records. Meetings of such Board of Appeals shall be open to the public to the extent provided in Article 7 of the Public Officers Law. Such Board of Appeals shall keep minutes of its proceedings showing the vote of each member upon every question or, if absent or failing to vote, indicating such fact and shall also keep records of its examinations and other official actions.
C.
Filing requirements. Every rule and regulation, every amendment or repeal thereof and every order, requirement, decision or determination of the Board of Appeals shall immediately be filed in the office of the Village Clerk and shall be a public record.
D.
Assistance to the Board of Appeals. Such Board shall have the authority to call upon any department, agency or employee of the Village for such assistance as shall be deemed necessary and as shall be authorized by the Village.
E.
Hearing appeals. Unless otherwise provided by local law, the jurisdiction of the Board of Appeals shall be appellate only and shall be limited to hearing and deciding from and reviewing any order, requirement, decision, interpretation or determination made by an administrative official charged with the enforcement of any local law, including Chapter 153, Zoning, of the Village Code. Such Board shall have the authority to call upon any department, agency or employee of the Village for such assistance as shall be deemed necessary and as shall be authorized by the Board of Trustees. Such department, agency or employee shall be reimbursed for any expenses incurred as a result of such assistance. The concurring vote of the majority of the members of the Board of Appeals shall be necessary to reverse any order, requirement, decision or determination of any such administrative official or to grant a use variance or area variance. Such appeal may be taken by any person aggrieved or by any officer, department, board or bureau of the Village.
F.
Time of appeal. Such appeal shall be taken within 60 days after the filing of any order, requirement, decision, interpretation or determination of the administrative official charged with the enforcement of such local law by filing with such administrative official and with the Board of Appeals a notice of appeal, specifying the grounds thereof and the relief sought. The administrative official from whom the appeal is taken shall forthwith transmit to the Board of Appeals all the papers constituting the record upon which the action appealed from was taken. The cost of sending or publishing any notices relating to such appeal shall be borne by the appealing party and shall be paid to the Board prior to the hearing of such appeal.
G.
Stay upon appeal. An appeal shall stay all proceedings in furtherance of the action appealed from, unless the administrative official charged with the enforcement of such local law from whom the appeal was taken certifies by the Board of Appeals, after the notice of appeal shall have been filed with the administrative official, that by reason of the fact stated in the certificate a stay would, in his or her opinion, cause imminent peril to life or property, in which case proceedings shall not be stayed otherwise than by a restraining order, which may be granted by a board of appeals or by a court of record on the application, on notice to the administrative official from whom the appeal is taken and on due cause shown.
H.
Hearing on appeal. The Board of Appeals shall fix a reasonable time for the hearing of the appeal or other matter referred to it and give public notice thereof by the publication in a paper of general circulation in the Village of a notice of such hearing, at least five days prior to the date thereof.
I.
Time of decision. The Board of Appeals shall decide upon the appeal within 62 days after the conduct of said hearing. The time within which the Board of Appeals must render its decision may be extended by mutual consent of the applicant and the Board.
J.
Filing of decision and notice. The decision of the Board of Appeals on the appeal shall be filed in the office of the Village Clerk within five business days after the day such decision is rendered, and a copy thereof mailed to the applicant.
K.
Notice to Park Commission or planning agency. At least five days before such hearing, the Board of Appeals shall mail notice thereof to the parties, to the regional State Park Commission having jurisdiction over any state park or parkway within 500 feet of the property affected by such appeal and to the county, metropolitan or regional planning agency as required by § 239-m of the General Municipal Law, which notice shall be accompanied by a full statement of the matter under consideration, as defined in Subdivision 1 of § 239-m of the General Municipal Law.
L.
Compliance with the State Environmental Review Act. The Board of Appeals shall comply with the provisions of the State Environmental Review Act under Article 8 of the Environmental Conservation Law and its implementing regulations as codified in Title 6, Part 617, of the New York Codes, Rules and Regulations.
M.
Quorum; voting. The presence of three members shall constitute a quorum. The Zoning Board shall act by resolution. The concurring vote of a majority of the members of the Zoning Board shall be necessary to reverse any order requirement, decision or determination of the Building Inspector or any administrative official charged with the enforcement of Chapter 153, Zoning, of the Village Code to decide in favor of the applicant any matter upon which it is required to pass under this chapter or to grant any variation from the requirements of this chapter.
§ 153-29 Permitted actions by Board of Appeals.
A.
Interpretations, requirements, decisions and determinations. The Board of Appeals may reverse or affirm, wholly or partially, or may modify the order, requirement, decision, interpretation or determination appealed from and shall make such order, requirement, decision, interpretation or determination as in its opinion ought to have been made in the matter by the administrative official charged with the enforcement of such local law and to that end shall have all the powers of the administrative official from whose order, requirement, decision or determination the appeal is taken, as follows:
(1)
Hold public hearings: to hold public hearings as required and as may be permitted by this chapter.
(2)
Approve special uses: to authorize building permits and to authorize the Building Inspector to issue a building permit for a special use.
(3)
Permit building in bed of mapped streets: after due notice and hearing as provided for in the consolidated laws of the State of New York and in accordance with the provisions set forth therein, to grant a permit for a building in the bed of a mapped street or a highway shown upon the Official Map or Plan of the Village of South Glens Falls, as it may be adopted and from time to time amended.
(4)
Interpret chapter and boundaries: upon appeal from a decision by the Building Inspector to decide any question involving the interpretation of any provision of this chapter and, where uncertainty exists as to the boundary of any zone district, upon written application or upon its own motion, to determine the location of such boundaries of such districts as are established in Article III hereof and as designated on the Zoning Map or 34 supplementary tax maps of the Village of South Glens Falls.
(5)
Authorize temporary uses: to grant, after due notice and hearing, the temporary occupancy and use of a structure in any district for a purpose that does not conform to the district requirements, provided that such occupancy and use are truly of a temporary nature and subject to any reasonable conditions and safeguards which the Zoning Board may impose to minimize any injurious effect upon the neighborhood or to protect contiguous property. The approval of the Zoning Board and any permit based thereon for such temporary occupancy and use shall not be granted for a period of more than 12 months and shall not be renewable more than once, and then for a period of not more than 12 months.
B.
Grant of use variances.
(1)
The Board of Appeals, on appeal from a decision or determination of the administrative officer charged with the enforcement of such 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 the local law.
(2)
No such use variance shall be granted by the Board of Appeals without a showing by the applicant that applicable zoning regulations and restrictions have caused unnecessary hardship. In order to prove such unnecessary hardship, the applicant shall demonstrate to the Board of Appeals for each and every permitted use under the zoning regulations for the particular district where the property is located that:
(a)
The applicant can not realize a reasonable return, provided that lack of return is substantial as demonstrated by competent financial evidence;
(b)
The alleged hardship relating to the property in question is unique and does not apply to a substantial portion of the district or neighborhood;
(c)
The requested use variance, if granted, will not alter the essential character of the neighborhood; and
(d)
The alleged hardship has not been self-created.
(3)
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 proved by the applicant, and at the same time preserve and protect the character of the neighborhood and the health, safety and welfare of the Village.
C.
Grant of area variances.
(1)
The Zoning Board of Appeals shall have the power, upon an appeal from a decision or determination of an administrative official charged with enforcement of such local law, to grant area variances from the area of dimensional requirements of such local law.
(2)
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 whether:
(a)
An undesirable change will be proceeded in the character of the neighborhood or a detriment to nearby properties will be created by the granting of the area variance;
(b)
The benefit sought by the applicant can be achieved by some method, feasible for the applicant to pursue, other than an area variance;
(c)
The requested area variance is substantial;
(d)
The proposed variance will have an adverse effect or impact on the physical or environmental conditions in the neighborhood or district; and
(e)
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.
(3)
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 Village.
(4)
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 Chapter 153, Zoning, and shall be imposed for the purpose of minimizing any adverse impact such variance may have on the neighborhood or village.