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Spencer County Unincorporated
City Zoning Code

BOARD OF

ZONING APPEALS

§ 157.165 ORGANIZATION.

   (A)   A Board of Zoning Appeals for the county is hereby established in accordance with Chapter 174, Acts of 1947, General Assembly, State of Indiana, as amended.
   (B)   The Board of Zoning Appeals shall consist of five members who shall be appointed by the Board of Commissioners of the County of Spencer to the following terms: one for a term of one year; one for two years; one for a term of three years; and two for a term of four years. These terms of office shall expire on the first day of January. As these initial terms of office expire, the Board of Commissioners of the County of Spencer shall appoint persons to a term of four years. The Board of Commissioners of the County of Spencer is empowered to fill vacancies on the Board by appointing a member for the duration of the unexpired term. The Board of Zoning Appeals may not take any action unless this action is authorized by a quorum, which is defined as a majority of the members of the Board. The Board of Zoning Appeals is authorized to entertain appeals from any action taken by the zoning enforcement officer to carry out the provisions of the zoning ordinance; permit exceptions to the zone district regulations only as provided for in the zoning ordinance; decide upon special exceptions to the terms of the ordinance in those cases where the Board is specifically asked to act under the terms of the zoning ordinance; and grant upon appeal in certain cases a variance from the terms of the zoning ordinances where such variance will not be contrary to the public interest and where a literal enforcement of the zoning ordinance would result in unnecessary hardship, so long as the intent of the ordinance shall not be violated.
   (C)   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 or her absence, the Acting Chairman, may administer oaths and compel the attendance of witnesses. Petitions addressed to the Board shall, prior to public hearing, be referred to the Commission for written recommendation thereon. If the Commission shall fail to act within 31 days, it shall be deemed to approve such petitions. Prior to decision on such petitions, the Board shall hold a public hearing thereon, notice of which shall be mailed to the petitioner and to the owners of all property deemed by the Board to be affected thereby as they appear in the current records of the County Auditor and also advertised ten days prior to the public hearing in a newspaper of general circulation, published in the county. The cost of notifying affected property owners and the cost of advertising the notice of the public hearing shall be borne by the petitioner by the filing fee.
   (D)   The concurring vote of four members of the Board shall be necessary to reverse any order, requirement, decision, or determination of the enforcement officer or other duly authorized administrative officer, and the concurring vote of three members of the Board shall be required to pass under this chapter or to affect any variation in the application of this chapter.
   (E)   The Board shall cause to be made a detailed report of all its proceedings, setting forth its reasons for its decisions. Such record, immediately following the Board’s decision shall be filed in the offices of the Board and of the Commission, and shall be open to public inspection. Notice of such decision shall be mailed forthwith to each party in interest as aforesaid.
   (F)   Any person or persons, jointly or severally aggrieved by any decision of the Board may proceed in the manner prescribed in Section 82, Chapter 174, Acts of 1947, General Assembly of the State of Indiana.
(Ord. passed 3-14-2000)

§ 157.166 POWERS OF THE BOARD OF ZONING APPEALS.

   The Board of Zoning Appeals shall have the powers provided in Chapter 174 of the Acts of 1947, General Assembly, State of Indiana, as amended. In the exercise of these powers and the responsibilities assigned to it by this chapter, it may impose such conditions regarding the location, character and other features of the proposed building, structure or use as it may deem advisable in furtherance of the purposes of this chapter. It shall not, however, permit any use in conflict with this chapter.
(Ord. passed 3-14-2000)