A Zoning Board of Appeals is hereby established in accordance with the provisions of the Village Law applicable thereto. The Board of Appeals shall consist of five members be appointed by the Mayor, subject to the approval of the Board of Trustees. Of the members by the Board first appointed, one shall hold office for a term of one year, one for a term of two years, one for a term of three years, one for a term of four years and one for a term of five years from and after his/her appointment. At the expiration of such terms, all appointments shall be made for a term of five years as herein provided.

Vacancies for the unexpired term of any member shall be filled for such unexpired period only.

No person may be appointed to more than three consecutive full five-year terms.

When any member is absent without notice from three consecutive meetings, the Chairperson shall, in writing, notify the Village Board.

The Zoning Board of Appeals shall hold meetings at the call of the Chairperson or at the request of three or more members.

The presence of three members shall constitute a quorum for the conducting of business before the Board.

A concurring vote of three members of the Board shall be necessary to decide in favor of the appellant for any variance or to decide upon any other matter brought before the Board, unless otherwise stipulated in this chapter.

All votes of the Board of Appeals shall be taken by roll call.

In accordance with General Municipal Law § 809, a member of the Zoning Board of Appeals having a conflict of interest shall abstain from any discussion and voting on that matter.

The Zoning Board of Appeals may request and obtain any advice or opinions on the law relating to any matter before the Board from the Village Attorney and request the Village Attorney to attend its meetings.

The Zoning Board of Appeals may require the Code Administration Officer to attend its meetings to present any facts relating to any matter before the Board.

The Chairperson of the Zoning Board of Appeals shall have the authority to administer oaths and to compel the attendance of witnesses.

All meetings of the Zoning Board of Appeals shall be open to the public in accordance with the New York State Open Meetings Law.[1]

The Clerk of the Zoning Board of Appeals shall keep minutes of all the meetings.

The Clerk of the Zoning Board of Appeals shall make factual record of all the proceedings, including the reading of the case, public hearing, deliberation, voting and decisions of the Board. These factual records shall be taken by stenographic or tape recorder means and shall be accurate, but not necessarily a verbatim transcript, but may be in narrative form.

The Clerk of the Zoning Board of Appeals shall file a copy of the minutes with the Village Board, the Planning Board and the Code Administration Officer.

Appeals to the Zoning Board of Appeals may be made by any person, officer, department, board or bureau of the Village aggrieved by the requirements, decisions, orders or determinations made by the Code Administration Officer.

Appeals shall be made on appropriate forms supplied by the Zoning Board of Appeals and shall include all required information.

Appeals shall be made within 60 days of written notification of the final action or decision by the Code Administration Officer.

After receiving the completed appeals document, the Board shall fix a date for the hearing within a reasonable time, but not to exceed 30 days, or 60 days when the appeal must be referred to the Seneca County Planning Board for review in accordance with General Municipal Law § 239-m.

The Zoning Board of Appeals may request advice or opinions on any matter before the Board from the Village Planning Board, Code Administration Officer, Village Clerk-Treasurer or Village Attorney.

The notice of the hearing shall be published in the official newspaper at least five calendar days prior to the date of the hearing. The notice should include the date, time and place of the hearing, name of the appellant and the relief sought.

The Clerk of the Board, at least seven calendar days prior to the date of the hearing, shall mail a notice of the hearing to the appellant, adjoining property owners, members of the Board and any others designated by the Chairperson.

Personal knowledge of any of the members of the Board may be used in reaching a decision, provided that such knowledge was openly stated at the hearing and became part of the record of the hearing.

On-site inspection by the Board members is encouraged and can be used in making its decisions, provided that the inspection is held prior to the hearing and any comments or observations shall be openly stated and included in the record of the hearing.

The Zoning Board of Appeals, before taking any final action on an appeal, shall comply with Chapter 112, Environmental Quality Review.

The Zoning Board of Appeals shall decide upon the appeal within 62 days after the conduct of said hearing and shall state the reasons for its decision. The time within which the Board must render its decision may be extended by mutual consent of the applicant and the Board.

Under Village Law § 7-712, the Zoning Board of Appeals may grant relief and order the Code Administration Officer to issue a zoning permit to a property owner aggrieved by an Official Map of the Village adopted under Village Law § 7-706. In this case, a notice of public hearing must be published in a newspaper of general circulation in the Village 10 days prior to the public hearing. The property owner must show that the property is not yielding a fair return on its value and demonstrate that his/her request is causing a minimum impact upon the intent of the Official Map.

The Zoning Board of Appeals may grant reasonable exceptions under special circumstances to the prohibitions of Village Law concerning property without access to public streets.

Under General Municipal Law § 239-e, the Zoning Board of Appeals may grant a zoning permit to a property owner aggrieved by an Official Map of the county adopted under General Municipal Law § 239-h. In this case a two-thirds majority vote is required. The property owner must show that the property is not yielding a fair return on its value and that the use will have a minor impact upon the intent of the Official Map.

The Zoning Board of Appeals may vary the requirements for a curb cut permit established by the County Superintendent of Highways in accordance with General Municipal Law § 239-f concerning properties having frontage or access on county roads or lands on a County Official Map. In this case a two-thirds majority vote is required. The property owner must show practical difficulties or unnecessary hardships that would result if the county's requirements were obeyed.

Upon appeal by any aggrieved party from a decision of the Code Administration Officer, the Zoning Board of Appeals may decide any question involving the intent of any provision of this chapter, but not including Article VI (site plan review and subdivision approval), including the determination of the exact location of any district boundary if there is uncertainty with respect thereto.

The Zoning Board of Appeals may review any order, requirement, decision or determination made by the Code Administration Officer.

The Zoning Board of Appeals may grant bulk variances subject to the applicable provisions of Article X in this chapter.

The list of uses by special permit contained in Article III, Article IV, Article V and Article VI are representative, not exclusive. Upon written request of the Code Administration Officer, the Zoning Board of Appeals may, after notice and hearing, determine whether a use other than a use contained in one of such lists, may be allowed by special permit in the Zoning District to which such list applies.