(a)

There is hereby created a Board of Zoning Adjustment, to be known as "The Board of Zoning Adjustment of the Town of Nederland, Colorado," hereinafter referred to in this Article as "Board."

(b)

The membership of the Board shall consist of five (5) qualified electors of the Town. One (1) member may be a member of the Planning Commission and all shall be residents of the Town. The terms of office shall be for five (5) years, with terms to expire on June 1. To initiate staggered terms, the two (2) terms of the Board which expire June 1, 1995, shall be filled for four- and five-year terms respectively. Two (2) of the terms to expire June 1, 1996, shall be extended to June 1997 and June 1998, respectively. All terms thereafter shall be five-year terms. It is the intent of the Board of Trustees to encourage diversity of participation on the Board of Zoning Adjustment by avoiding overlapping of membership between the Board and other boards and commissions of the Town.

(c)

The concurring vote of four (4) members of the Board shall be necessary to reverse any order, requirement, decision or determination of any such administrative official, or to decide in favor of the applicant any matter upon which it is required to pass under this Chapter, or to affect any variation in this Chapter. Every decision of such Board shall be subject, however, to review by certiorari by the District Court. Such appeal may be taken by any person aggrieved or by an officer, department, board or bureau of the Town.

(Ord. 209 Art. VIII §1, 1981; Ord. 299 §3, 1988; Ord. 386 §1, 1994; Ord. 406 §1, 1995; Ord. 645 §28, 2008; Ord. 725 §13, 2013; Res. 2021-06 §32, 2021)

(a)

The Board shall hear and decide appeals from and review any order, requirement, decision or determination made by any administrative official charged with the enforcement of this Chapter. It shall also hear and decide all matters referred to it and the following matters as required under this Chapter:

(1)

Hear and decide applications for variances where there are practical difficulties or unnecessary hardships in the way of carrying out the strict letter of this Chapter. The Board has the power to vary or modify the application of the regulations or provisions of this Chapter relating to the use, construction or alteration of buildings or structures, or the use of land, so that the spirit of this Chapter is observed, public safety and welfare secured and substantial justice done, provided that the Board finds that all of the following criteria have been satisfied:

a.

That there are unique physical circumstances or conditions, such as irregularity, narrowness, shallowness or size of the lot, or exceptional topographical or other physical conditions peculiar to the affected property;

b.

That, because of such physical circumstances or conditions, the property cannot reasonably be developed in conformity with the provisions of this Chapter;

c.

That such unnecessary hardship has not been created by the applicant;

d.

That the variance, if granted, will not alter the essential character of the neighborhood or district in which the property is located nor substantially or permanently impair the appropriate use or development of adjacent property; and

e.

That the variance, if granted, is the minimum variance that will afford relief and is the least modification possible of this Chapter's provisions which are in question.

(2)

Hear and decide such other matters as the Board of Trustees may by ordinance provide.

(b)

Where feasible, the Board may vary or modify the application of this Chapter for the purpose of considering access to sunlight and wind for renewable energy devices and achieving sustainability criteria adopted by the Board of Trustees.

(c)

Under no circumstances shall the Board grant a variance that would have the effect of increasing the density of use than would otherwise apply to the parcel.

(Ord. 209 Art. VIII §2, 1981; Ord. 435 §1, 1996; Ord. 548 §1, 2001; Ord. 706 §1, 2012)

In addition to any requirements the Board may adopt by rule, the Board shall conduct hearings and make decisions in accordance with the following requirements:

(1)

Applications and notices of appeal to the Board shall be submitted to the Zoning Administrator. Upon receipt of the application or notice of appeal, along with an application fee as set forth in the Town's fee schedule, the Zoning Administrator shall at once transmit to the Board all the papers constituting the basis or record upon which the application or notice of appeal was based. Appeals from decisions of any administrative official charged with the enforcement of this Chapter shall be taken within thirty (30) days of such order, requirement, decision or determination.

(2)

The Board shall set a reasonable hearing date, notify all involved parties (which in the case of a variance application shall include owners of property adjacent to the lot for which a variance is requested) of the hearing date by first class mail, and hear the application. Upon hearing, any party may appear in person or by agent or attorney.

(3)

Within a reasonable time from the hearing, the Board shall render its written decision. The Board may reverse or affirm, wholly or partly, or may modify the order, requirement, decision or determination appealed from and shall make such order, requirement, decision or determination as in its opinion ought to be made in the premises and to that end has all the powers of the officer from whom the appeal is taken.

(4)

An appeal stays all proceedings in furtherance of the action appealed from unless the officer from whom the appeal is taken certifies to the Board after the notice of appeal has been filed with him or her that by reason of facts 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 the Board of Trustees or by the District Court on application, on notice to the officer from whom the appeal is taken, and on due cause shown.

(Ord. 209 Art. VIII §3, 1981; Ord. 645 §29, 2008; Ord. 665 §3, 2008; Res. 2021-06 §33, 2021)

The Board of Trustees may appoint up to three (3) alternate Board of Zoning Adjustment members to sit as a member of the Board only in the event that a permanent member cannot hear an appeal or a variance request because of an absence or conflict of interest. In no event shall the number of Board members and alternates hearing any appeal or variance exceed five (5). The term of an alternate shall be two (2) years. The Board of Trustee liaison to the Board may serve as one (1) of the three (3) alternate members if so designated by the Board of Trustees, in which event his or her term shall coincide with his or her term on the Board of Trustees.

(Ord. 477 §1, 1998; Ord. 697 §1, 2011)

(a)

The purpose and intent of this Section is to detail the requirements and procedure associated with administrative variances for housing-related development on non-conforming or problematic lots platted within the Town. This Article outlines the provision of staff administrative review thresholds to support the expedition of housing projects in the Town. It is not the intent of this Article to preempt the zoning requirements and allowances outlined within this Chapter.

(b)

In general, a variance is the request for a deviation from the rules and regulations that determine how property can be developed as outlined within this Chapter. It is not the purpose of a variance to change laws but grant an exception to certain requirements of the zoning code to support development. It is the purpose of this Section to outline an administrative variance process for proposed housing development projects that are in need of regulatory relief from stated zoning requirements. The requirements of Sections 16-232 and 16-233 shall not apply to applications that may be processed through an administrative variance process as provided for in this Section.

(1)

Allowable administrative variance requests in residential zone districts include:

a.

Development standards:

1.

Yard and bulk requirements as outlined in Section 16-33 with, the exception of height requirements.

b.

Off-street parking and loading requirements as outlined in Article VIII of Chapter 16.

(2)

Administrative variance requests are not allowed for:

a.

Any use of the property that is not otherwise permitted.

b.

Anything strictly prohibited by the Town of Nederland Municipal Code.

(3)

Administrative variance approvals may not exceed a fifteen percent (15%) deviation from the requirements of this Chapter 16. Any request in excess of fifteen percent (15%) must follow the standard variance request procedure as outlined in Sections 16-232 and 16-233.

(4)

Administration and enforcement. It shall be the duty of the Zoning Administrator or designee to administer and enforce the provisions of this Section. The Zoning Administrator reserves the right to determine whether a variance request should be processed as a standard Board of Zoning Review pursuant to Sections 16-232 and 16-233 of Chapter 16.

(5)

If the Zoning Administrator denies an administrative variance request under this Section, the property owner may seek a variance pursuant to Section 16-233 of Chapter 16.

(Ord. 851, §2, 2023)