10.1.1

Appointment; term; vacancies and organization.

1)

The Board of Adjustment shall consist of five members, who shall be residents in the City of Sunset Hills. The term of office of the members of the Board of Adjustment shall be for five years.

2)

Three alternate members may be appointed to serve in the absence of or the disqualification of the regular members. All members and alternates shall be removable for cause by the Board of Aldermen upon written charges and after public hearing.

3)

The Board of Adjustment shall elect its own chairperson who shall serve as such for one year.

4)

Vacancies on the Board of Adjustment shall be filled for the unexpired term of any member whose term becomes vacant in the same manner as provided for the appointment of such member.

10.1.2

Powers and duties. The Board of Adjustment shall have the following powers and duties:

1)

To hear and decide all matters referred to it or upon which it is required to pass under this Ordinance.

2)

To hear appeals in the manner prescribed in Section 10.2 where it is alleged there is error in any order, requirement, decision, or determination made by the City Engineer in the administration and enforcement of this Ordinance.

3)

To vary or modify in the manner prescribed in Section 10.3 of this Section the application of any of the provisions of this Ordinance where there are practical difficulties or unnecessary hardships in the carrying out the strict letter of this Ordinance, so that the spirit of this Ordinance shall be observed, public safety and welfare secured, and substantial justice done.

10.1.3

Procedures.

1)

Meetings shall be held at the call of the chairperson and at such other times as the Board of Adjustment may determine.

2)

Hearings and rules:

a)

All meetings of the Board of Adjustment shall be open to the public.

b)

The Board of Adjustment shall set a date for any required hearings and public notice of them shall be given to the parties in interest. Notice of the public hearing shall be given in accordance with the requirements of Section 13 of this Ordinance.

c)

All testimony at such hearings shall be given under oath. The chairperson or, in her/his absence the acting chairperson, shall administer the oaths and may compel the attendance of witnesses.

d)

The Board of Adjustment 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 within the office of the Board of Adjustment (office of the City Engineer) and shall be a public record. All testimony, objections thereto and rulings thereon, shall be taken down by a reporter employed by the Board of Adjustment for that purpose.

10.1.4

Vote required. The concurring vote of four members of the Board of Adjustment shall be necessary to reverse any order, requirement, decision, or determination of the City Engineer, or to decide in favor of the applicant on any matter upon which it is required to pass under this Ordinance or to affect any variation in this Ordinance.

10.1.5

Judicial review of decision of the Board of Adjustment. All decisions of the Board of Adjustment shall be subject to judicial review in the manner provided by RSMo 89.110.

10.2.1

Initiation. Appeals to the Board of Adjustment may be taken by any person aggrieved, by any neighborhood organization as defined in RSMo 89.100 representing such person, or by any officer, department, board, or bureau of the City of Sunset Hills affected by any decision of the City Engineer.

10.2.2

Time for appeals. Such appeals shall be taken within a reasonable time, not to exceed 30 days from the time the incident appealed from occurred.

10.2.3

Filing. The aggrieved party shall file his/her appeal, specifying the grounds thereof, with the zoning enforcement office and with the Board of Adjustment including all papers constituting the record upon which the action appealed from was taken. The appeal shall include, but not be limited to:

1)

A copy of the order, requirement, decision, or determination of the City Engineer which the applicant believes to be in error.

2)

A clear and accurate, written description of the proposed use, work, or action to which the appeal is involved and a statement justifying the applicant's position.

3)

Where necessary, a plot plan, drawn to scale, in duplicate showing existing conditions and proposed plans for the area in question.

10.2.4

Stay of proceedings. An appeal stays all proceedings in furtherance of the action appealed from, unless the City Engineer certifies by letter to the Board of Adjustment after the notice of appeal is filed with him, that by reason of specific facts stated in the letter, a stay would, in his/her opinion, cause imminent peril to life and property, in which case proceedings shall not be stayed except by order of the Board of Adjustment or by order of a court of record upon due notice to the City Engineer and on due cause shown.

10.2.5

Decision on appeals. The Board of Adjustment may affirm or reverse, wholly or partly, or modify the order, requirement, decision, or determination as ought to be made and to that end shall have all the powers of the City Engineer. The Board of Adjustment shall render a written decision on the appeal without unreasonable delay after the close of the public hearing.

10.3.1

Application for a variance. An application for variance shall be filed with the City Engineer, who shall forward the application to the Board of Adjustment. The application shall contain the following information as well as such additional information as the Board of Adjustment may be necessary for the Board of Adjustment to make findings and render a decision on the requested variance:

1)

The particular requirements of this Ordinance that prevent the proposed construction;

2)

The unique characteristics of the subject property, which prevent compliance with the requirements of this Ordinance;

3)

The practical difficulty or particular hardship which would result if the particular requirements of this Ordinance were applied to the subject property; and

4)

The reduction or modification of the minimum requirements of this Ordinance that would be necessary to permit the proposed construction.

The burden of proof shall rest with the applicant to clearly establish that the required findings for granting a variance, as established in Section 10.3.2, are satisfied.

10.3.2

Findings. The Board of Adjustment may grant variances from the strict application of this Ordinance when by reason of the strict application of this Ordinance or amendments thereto would result in unusual difficulty or unreasonable hardship upon the owner of said property; provided that such variance can be granted without substantial impairment of the intent, purpose, and integrity of this Ordinance. It is further provided that this provision shall not permit the Board of Adjustment to permit a use of land not authorized by the provisions of this Ordinance for a specific zoning district or to increase the height or volume of a building or structure or to increase the density of development beyond that permitted by this Ordinance for any particular zoning district. Before granting a variance, there must be a finding by the Board of Adjustment that all of the following conditions exist:

1)

That if the owner complied with the provisions of this Ordinance, the owner would not be able to make any reasonable use of the property which is permitted in the district in which the property is located.

2)

That the difficulties or hardships are peculiar to the property in question in contrast with those of other properties in the same district.

3)

That the hardship was not the result of the applicant's own action and is not merely financial or pecuniary.

4)

That the issuance of a variance will not be detrimental to the public welfare or health or injurious to other property.

10.3.3

Non-conforming situations as a basis for variations. The existence of any non-conforming situation anywhere in the City shall not itself be considered grounds for the issuance of a variance to the regulations applicable to other property.

10.3.4

Public hearing. The Board of Adjustment shall hold a public hearing, with notice thereof being provided in accordance with Section 10.3.4 of this Ordinance. This notice shall contain the particular location for which the variation is requested as well as a brief description of the proposed variation.

10.3.5

Decisions on variance applications.

1)

The Board of Adjustment shall render a written decision, including findings of fact on the application for a variation without unreasonable delay. The findings of fact shall specify the reason or reasons for allowing the variation.

2)

Conditions and restrictions:

a)

In granting a variation, the Board of Adjustment may impose such conditions and restrictions upon the property benefited by the variation as may be necessary to reduce or minimize any potentially injurious effect of such variation upon other property in the neighborhood, and to carry out the general purpose and intent of this Ordinance.

b)

A variation may be issued for a specified duration as it applies to the existence of the structure for which the variation was granted.

3)

No variation granted by the Board of Adjustment shall be valid for a period longer than six months from the date on which it grants the variation, unless within such period:

a)

A building permit or other required permit is obtained and the construction, alteration, or moving of the structure is commenced.

b)

If a building or other permit is not required, the construction of the project for which the variation was required is commenced.

4)

The Board of Adjustment may grant extensions not exceeding 180 days each, upon written application, without notice or hearing.

5)

In the event that a variation is denied, no request for the same variation shall be accepted by the City for a period of one year from the time the Board of Adjustment denied the original request.