Urbana Town City Zoning Code
ARTICLE VI
Zoning Board of Appeals
§ 105-50 Establishment; Chairman; exclusivity of membership; removal of members.
Pursuant to the Town Law, the Town Board shall appoint a Zoning Board of Appeals consisting of five members, shall designate its Chairman and shall provide for such other expenses as may be necessary and proper. A member of the Board of Appeals shall not at the same time be a member of the Town Board. The Town Board shall have the power to remove any member of the Board of Appeals for cause and after public hearing has first been held thereon.
§ 105-51 Terms of appointment.
A.
Of the members of the Board of Appeals first appointed, one shall hold office for the term of one year, one for the term of two years, one for the term of three years, one for the term of four years and one for the term of five years from and after his appointment.
B.
Succeeding members shall be appointed for terms of five years from and after the expiration of the terms of their predecessors in office. If a vacancy shall occur otherwise than by expiration of term, it shall be filled by the Town Board by an appointment for the unexpired term.
§ 105-52 Staff.
The Board of Appeals may employ such clerical, expert, legal and other staff assistance as may be necessary and prescribe their duties. However, it shall not at any time incur expenses beyond the amount of the appropriations made by the Town Board and then available for that purpose.
§ 105-53 Powers and duties.
The Board of Appeals shall have the following duties:
A.
To decide any appeal from a decision of the Zoning Enforcement Officer (§ 105-58).
B.
To decide upon any application for a variance from the strict application of any requirements of this chapter (§ 105-59).
C.
Such other duties as may be provided for by law.
§ 105-54 Rules of procedure; bylaws and forms.
The Board of Appeals shall have the power to make, adopt and promulgate written rules of procedure, bylaws and such forms as it may deem necessary for the proper execution of its duties and to secure the intent of this chapter. Such rules, bylaws and forms shall not be in conflict with nor have the effect of waiving any provisions of this chapter or any other ordinance or local law of the Town of Urbana. Such rules, bylaws and forms and any subsequent amendments or supplements thereto shall be submitted to the Town Board by the Board of Appeals for approval and filing for public view. The Town Board shall move to approve, reject or modify such rules, bylaws and forms within 60 days after submission. Failure of the Town Board to so move shall be deemed to constitute approval thereof.
§ 105-55 Meetings; voting; minutes.
A.
Meetings. All meetings of the Board of Appeals shall be held at the call of the Chairman or at such other times as such Board may determine. All meetings shall be open to the public. The Chairman or, in his absence, the Acting Chairman may administer oaths and compel the attendance of witnesses. All meetings of such Board shall be open to the public to the extent provided in Article 7 of the Public Officers Law.
B.
This Board will require a quorum to conduct its business. The concurring vote of a majority of the Board shall be necessary to reverse any order, requirement, decision or determination of any such administrative official charged with the enforcement of this chapter or to decide in favor of the applicant any matter upon which it is required to pass under this chapter or to effect any variation in this chapter. An appeal hereunder may be taken by an officer, department or Board of the Town.
C.
Minutes. The Board of Appeals shall keep minutes of its proceedings showing the vote of each member on every question. If a member is absent or fails to vote, the minutes shall indicate such fact. Every rule, regulation, every amendment or repeal thereof and every order, requirement, decision or determination by the Board of Appeals shall be filed in the office of the Town Clerk and shall be public record.
§ 105-56 Advisory opinions of Planning Board.
Upon determining the date of any hearing scheduled to be held in connection with an appeal or application submitted to the Board of Appeals, said Board shall transmit to the Planning Board a copy thereof and shall request that the Planning Board submit to the Board of Appeals its advisory opinion on said appeal or application. In this regard, the submission requested by the Zoning Board of Appeals shall afford the Planning Board a period of time not to exceed 10 days within which it may choose to respond, and its advisory opinion, if any, shall be submitted to the Board of Appeals at least two days prior to the scheduled hearing date and shall be read into the record at the public hearing.
§ 105-57 Public notice of hearings.
Public notice of any required hearing by the Board of Appeals shall be given in accordance with the Town Law as follows:
A.
By publishing a notice of any appeal or application and the time and place of the public hearing in the official newspaper of the Town of Urbana not less than 10 days prior to the date of such hearing.
B.
By giving written notice of the hearing to any appellant or applicant and any other such notice to property owners in an affected area as may be required by the Board of Appeals and to the Planning Board not less than five days prior to such hearing.
C.
By giving written notice of hearing to any required municipal, county, regional, state or federal agency in the manner prescribed by law.
§ 105-58 Procedure for appeals.
The Board of Appeals shall hear and decide appeals from and review any order, requirements, decision or determination made by the Zoning Enforcement Officer under this chapter in accordance with the procedure set forth herein:
A.
A notice of appeal shall be filed by appellant with the Zoning Enforcement Officer and the Secretary to the Board of Appeals within 30 days of the date of the action appealed from, specifying the grounds thereof.
B.
Upon receiving a notice of appeal, the Zoning Enforcement Officer shall forthwith transmit to the Board of Appeals all papers constituting the record upon which the action appealed from was taken.
C.
The Board of Appeals shall set a reasonable date for the hearing of each appeal. The appellant shall be given notice of the scheduled hearing date, and at this hearing he shall appear in person or by an agent or by an attorney.
D.
An appeal stays all proceedings in furtherance of the action appealed from, unless the Zoning Enforcement Officer certifies to the Board of Appeals, after a notice of appeal shall have been filed with him, that, by reason of facts stated, a stay would, in his opinion, cause imminent peril to life or property, in which case such proceedings shall not be stayed otherwise than by a restraining order which may be granted by the Board of Appeals or by a court of record on application, on notice to the Zoning Enforcement Officer and on due cause shown.
E.
Following public notice and hearing, the Board of Appeals may reverse or affirm, wholly or partly, or may modify the order, requirements, decision or determination appealed from and shall make such order, requirement, decision or determination as, in its opinion, ought to be made and, to that end, shall have all the power of the Zoning Enforcement Officer. If the action by the Board of Appeals is to reverse the action of the Zoning Enforcement Officer in whole, then the filing fee shall be refunded to the appellant. The Board of Appeals shall decide appeals within 60 days after final hearing.
§ 105-59 Variances.
A.
Where there are practical difficulties or unnecessary hardships in the way of carrying out the strict letter of this chapter, the Board of Appeals shall have the power, after public notice and hearing, to vary or modify the application of any 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 shall be observed, public safety and welfare secured and substantial justice done.
B.
Any variance granted which is not exercised within one year from the date of issuance is hereby declared to be revoked without further hearing by the Board of Appeals.
C.
All applications for variances shall be filed by the applicant with the Secretary of the Board of Appeals and shall be accompanied by a plot plan, drawn to scale and accurately dimensioned, showing the location of all existing and proposed buildings and structures on the lot.
D.
A variance of the provisions of this chapter may be granted by the Board of Appeals in order to vary or adapt the strict application of any of the requirements of this chapter in the case of exceptionally irregular, narrow, shallow or steep lots or other exceptional physical conditions whereby such strict application would result in practical difficulty or unnecessary hardship which would deprive the owner of the reasonable use of the land or building involved, but in no other case. In no case shall a variance be granted solely for reason of additional financial gain on the part of the owner of the land or building involved.
E.
No variance in the strict application of any provision of this chapter shall be granted by the Board of Appeals except by the adoption of a resolution fully setting forth the reasons for the following findings:
(1)
There are special circumstances or conditions applying to such land or buildings and not applying generally to land or buildings in the vicinity and under identical district classification, and said circumstances or conditions are such that strict application of the provisions of this chapter would deprive the applicant of the reasonable use of such land or buildings or of privileges enjoyed by other properties in the vicinity and under identical district classification.
(2)
The granting of the variance is necessary for the reasonable use of the land or building, and the variance as granted by the Board of Appeals is the minimum variance that will accomplish this purpose.
(3)
The granting of the variance will be in harmony with the general purpose and intent of this chapter and will not be injurious to properties in the vicinity or otherwise detrimental to the public welfare.
(4)
The variance granted shall be subject to such conditions as will assure that the adjustment thereby authorized shall not constitute a grant of special privilege inconsistent with the limitations upon other properties in the vicinity and district in which the subject property is situated.
§ 105-60 Special use permits.
The Planning Board of the Town of Urbana shall have the power, after public notice and hearing, to grant approval by special use permit for such uses as are specifically allowed by special use permit in the several districts herein. A special use permit shall be granted in accordance with the procedures and the criteria enumerated in Chapter 105 of the Code of the Town of Urbana.
A.
All applications for special use permits shall be filed with the Town Clerk of the Town of Urbana and shall be accompanied by a plan, drawn to scale and accurately dimensioned, showing the locations of all existing and proposed uses, buildings and structures on the lot. Additional information deemed necessary by the Board shall be provided by the applicant. Public hearings shall be as provided for in Chapter 105, § 105-57, of the Code of the Town of Urbana.
B.
The Planning Board shall review the application for compliance with all provisions of these regulations and, more specifically, it shall ascertain whether satisfactory provision has been made, where applicable, with respect to each of the following criteria:
(1)
Proper ingress and egress to the proposed use and structures for automotive and pedestrian safety and convenience, traffic flow and control and access in case of fire or catastrophe.
(2)
Adequacy of off-street parking and loading, where required, considering the effects on the adjoining properties and property generally in the neighborhood.
(3)
Location and adequacy of refuse handling and service areas and driveway areas.
(4)
Location and compatibility of utility structures.
(5)
Adequacy of plans for screening and buffers, where needed.
(6)
Signs, including size, location, lighting, glare, traffic safety, compatibility and harmony with nearby properties.
(7)
Adequacy of yards and open space.
(8)
General compatibility with adjacent property in accordance with general or specific objectives of the Municipal Comprehensive Plan and these regulations.
(9)
Harmony of proposed structures, activities and uses with the intended character of the area, having due regard for potential problems of noise, vibration, odor, traffic congestion, air pollution, drainage, aesthetics and other environmental effects.
(10)
Potential damage or loss of natural, scenic or historic features of importance.
(11)
Traffic-generating characteristics of the proposed use in relation to the design and capacity of roads or streets serving the area.
C.
Time of decision. The Planning Board shall render its decision within 62 days after the termination of the public hearing. The time within which the Planning Board must render its decision may be extended by mutual consent of the applicant and the Board.
D.
Filing of decision. The decision of the Planning Board shall be filed in the Town Clerk's office within five business days after the day the decision is rendered, and a copy thereof shall be mailed to the applicant.
E.
Expiration of special use permit. A special use permit shall be deemed to authorize only one particular special use and shall expire if the special use shall cease for more than six months for any reason.
F.
Existing violation. No special use permit shall be issued for a property where there is an existing violation of these regulations.
§ 105-61 Further appeal.
A.
Any person or persons jointly or severally aggrieved by any decision of the Board of Appeals may apply to the Supreme Court for relief by a proceeding under Article 78 of the Civil Practice Law and Rules of the State of New York, the provisions of which shall govern such action, except that:
(1)
It must be instituted, as therein provided, within 30 days after the filing of a decision in the office of the Town Clerk;
(2)
The Court may take evidence or appoint a referee to take such evidence as it may direct and report the same with his findings of fact and conclusions of law, if it shall appear that testimony is necessary for the proper disposition of the matter; and
(3)
The Court at special term shall itself dispose of the case on the merits, determining all questions which may be presented for determination.
B.
Costs shall not be allowed against the Board of Appeals unless it shall appear to the Court that it acted with gross negligence or in bad faith or with malice in making the decision from which the subject appeal has been taken.