St Paul City Zoning Code
ARTICLE 18
BOARD OF ADJUSTMENT
§ 18-1 Organization and Procedure.
Membership: The Board of Adjustment shall consist of the members of the governing body of the Town of Saint Paul, including the Mayor and five Councilmembers, as authorized by Section 211.008(g) of the Texas Local Government Code. The Town Council may appoint two alternate Board members to serve because of the absence or disqualification of one or more regular members when requested to do so by the Mayor. An alternate member serves for the same period as a regular member.
Meetings: Meetings of the Board shall be held at the call of the Chairman and at such times as the Board may determine.
Hearings: The hearings of the Board of Adjustment shall be public. The Board shall hear all parties in interest. Each case before the Board of Adjustment must be heard by at least 75% of the members of the Board.
Rules and Regulations: The Board shall keep minutes of its proceedings, showing the vote of each member upon each question or, if absent of 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 public record. The Board of Adjustment shall act to grant relief to an applicant only with the concurring vote of 75% of the members of the Board. The Board shall adopt from time to time such additional rules and regulations as it may deem necessary to carry into effect the provisions of this Ordinance, and shall furnish a copy of the same to the Building Official, all of which rules and regulations shall operate uniformly in all cases. All of its resolutions and orders shall be in accordance therewith.
(Ordinance 130D, sec. 18-1, adopted 12/8/14; Ordinance 254-12-13-21 adopted 12/13/21)
§ 18-2 Appeals.
Procedure: Appeals may be taken to and before the Board of Adjustment by any person aggrieved, or by any officer, department, board, or bureau of the Town. Such appeal shall be made by filing with the office of the Board, within 15 days of date the decision was rendered, a notice of appeal and specifying the grounds thereof. The office or department from which the appeal is taken shall forthwith transmit to the Board of Adjustment all of the papers constituting the records upon which the action appealed from was taken.
Stay of Proceedings: An appeal shall stay all proceedings in furtherance of the action appealed from, unless the Building Official shall certify to the Board of Adjustment that, by reason of facts in the certificate, a stay would, in his 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 the Board of Adjustment or by a court of equity, after notices to the office from whom the appeal is taken and on due cause shown.
Notice of Hearing on Appeal: The Board of Adjustments shall fix a reasonable time for the hearing on the appeal or other matter referred to it, and shall mail notices of such hearing to the petitioner and to the owners of property lying within two hundred feet (200’) or less of any point of the lot or portion thereof on which a variation or special exception is desired or to which an appeal refers, and to all other persons deemed by the Board of Adjustment to be affect[ed] thereby, such owners and persons being determined according to the most recently approved municipal tax roll, by depositing such written notice in the United States Mail, postage prepaid, not less than ten days prior to the date set for the hearing by the Board.
Decision by Board of Adjustments: The Board of Adjustments shall decide the appeal or request within a reasonable time. Upon the hearing, any party may appear in person or by agent or attorney. The Board may reverse or affirm wholly or partly or may modify the order, requirements, decision, or determination as in its opinion ought to be made in the premises, and to that end, shall have all powers of the officer or department from whom the appeal is taken.
(Ordinance 130D, sec. 18-2, adopted 12/8/14)
§ 18-3 Powers and Duties of Board.
Subpoena Witnesses, Etc.: The Board of Adjustments shall have the power to subpoena witnesses, administer oaths, and punish for contempt, and may require the production of documents, under such regulations as it may establish.
Appeals Based on Error: The Board of Adjustments shall have the power to hear and decide appeals where it is alleged there is error of law in any order, requirement, decision, or determination made by the Building Official in the enforcement of this Ordinance.
Special Exceptions: The Board of Adjustments shall have the power to hear and decide special exceptions to the terms of this Ordinance upon which the Board is required to pass as follows or elsewhere in this Ordinance:
Permit the erection and use of a building or the use of premises for railroads if such uses are in general conformance with any Master Plan and present no conflict or nuisance to adjacent properties. |
Permit a public utility or public service structure or building in any district with a ground area or of a height at variance with those provided for in the district in which such public utility or public service building is permitted to be located, when found reasonably necessary for the public health, convenience, safety, or general welfare. |
Grant a permit for the extension of a use, height, or area regulation into an adjoining district which divides a lot into a single ownership on the effective date of this Ordinance. |
Permit the reconstruction of a nonconforming building or use which has been damaged by explosion, fire, or act of God to the extent of more than fifty percent (50%) of its fair market value, and where the Board finds some compelling necessity requiring a continuance of the nonconforming use and the primary purpose of continuing the nonconforming use is not to continue a monopoly. |
Waive or reduce the parking and loading requirements in any of the districts, whenever the character or use of the building is such as to make unnecessary the full provision or [of] parking or loading facilities or where such regulations would impose an unreasonable hardship upon the use of the lot, as contrasted with merely granting an advantage or a convenience. |
Determine, in cases of uncertainty, the classification of any use not specifically named in this Ordinance. |
Variances: The Board of Adjustments shall have the power to authorize upon appeal in specific cases such variances from the terms of this Ordinance as will not be contrary to the public interest where, owing to special conditions, a literal enforcement of the provisions of this Ordinance will result in unnecessary hardship, and so that the spirit of this Ordinance shall be observed and substantial justice done, including the following:
Permit a variance in the yard requirements of any district where there are unusual and practical difficulties or unnecessary hardships in the carrying out of these provisions due to an irregular shape of the lot, topographical, architectural consideration[s], or other conditions, provided such variance will not seriously affect any adjoining property or the general welfare. |
Authorize upon appeal, whenever a property owner can show that a strict application of the terms of this Ordinance relating to the construction or alterations of buildings or structures will impose upon him unusual and practical difficulties or particular hardship, such variances from the strict application of the terms of this Ordinance as are in harmony with its general purpose and intent, but only when the Board of Adjustments is satisfied that a granting of such variation 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 Ordinance and, at the same time, the surrounding property will be properly protected. |
In exercising its authority as to a variance request, the Board may consider the following grounds to determine whether compliance with the ordinance as applied to a structure that is the subject of the application would result in unnecessary hardship: |
(1) the financial cost of compliance is greater than 50 percent of the appraised value of the structure as shown on the most recent appraisal roll certified to the assessor for the Town under Section 26.01, Tax Code. |
(2) compliance would result in a loss to the lot on which the structure is located of at least 25 percent of the area on which development may physically occur. |
(3) compliance would result in the structure not being in compliance with a requirement of a Town ordinance, building code, or other requirement. |
(4) compliance would result in the unreasonable encroachment on an adjacent property or easement. [or] |
(5) the Town considers the structure to be a nonconforming structure. |
Changes: The Board of Adjustments shall have no authority to change any provisions of this Ordinance and its jurisdiction is limited to hardship and borderline cases, which may arise from time to time. The Board of Adjustments may not change the district designation of any land either to a more restrictive or less restrictive zone.
(Ordinance 130D, sec. 18-3, adopted 12/8/14; Ordinance 252-11-8-21 adopted 11/8/21)