Winthrop Harbor City Zoning Code
LIMITED PRESENT
USE DESIGNATION
§ 154.265 PURPOSE.
The Board of Zoning Appeals shall determine and vary the regulations of this chapter in harmony with their general purpose and intent, only in the specific instances hereinafter set forth, and then only when the Board has made findings of fact based upon the standards hereinafter prescribed supporting the conclusion that the application of the strict letter of the regulations of this chapter will create practical difficulties of particular hardship for the owner, lessee, or occupant of land, buildings, or other structures.
(Ord. passed 2-18-64)
§ 154.266 APPLICATION.
An application for a limited present use designation shall be filed with the office of the Zoning Administrator who shall forward a copy of same to the Chairman or Secretary of the Board of Zoning Appeals without delay. The application shall contain such information as the Board may, from time to time, by rule provide. No more than 60 days after the filing of such application a hearing shall be held on the application. Notice of such hearing shall be published at least once, not more than 30 nor less than 15 days before the hearing, in one or more newspapers published within the village, or if no newspaper is published therein, then in one or more newspapers with a general circulation within the said village. The notice shall contain the date, time, and place of the hearing, the street address or common description of the property involved, and a brief statement of the relief sought. In addition to publication, notice in writing with all particulars as hereinabove set forth shall be mailed return receipt requested to all owners abutting the property for which a limited present use designation is sought. The published notice and the notice of abutting owners may be supplemented by such additional form of notice as the Board by rule may provide.
(Ord., passed 2-18-64)
§ 154.267 STANDARDS.
(A) The Board of Zoning Appeals shall not vary the regulations of this chapter as authorized in § 154.268, unless it shall, in each specific case, make findings of fact, based upon the evidence presented to it, that support one or more of the following conclusions:
(1) A practical difficulty of particular hardship on the owner would result, as distinguished from a mere inconvenience, if a limited present use designation were not granted;
(2) The conditions upon which the petition is based exist because of existing factors not entirely attributable to the owner of the property;
(3) The purpose of the request for a present use designation is not based upon a desire to make more money out of the property;
(4) The granting of a present use designation will not be materially detrimental to the public welfare or injurious to other property or improvements in the neighborhood in which the property is located.
(B) The Board may impose such conditions and restrictions upon the premises benefited by a variation as may be necessary to comply with the standards set out in this section to reduce or minimize the injurious effect of such variation upon other property in the neighborhood, and better to carry out the general intent of this chapter.
(Ord., passed 2-18-64)
§ 154.268 AUTHORIZED LIMITED PRESENT USE DESIGNATIONS.
(A) An authorized limited present use designation resulting in a variation from the regulations of this chapter shall be granted by the Board only in accordance with the standards set out in § 154.267 and may be granted only in accordance with and upon all the following conditions:
(1) A limited present use designation will be granted only to the present owner or owners holding not less than a 50% title interest in the property (or, if a land trust, having not less than a 50% beneficial interest in said trust), provided, that a contract purchaser or purchasers shall be deemed to be an owner having a title interest for purposes of this section, and mortgage liens or other liens encumbering the subject property shall not be subtracted from the value of the title interest of the owners when determining whether the owners have a 50% title interest in the property. Lessees or assignees of the owner shall not be entitled to a limited present use designation;
(2) A limited use will be granted only in instances where the facts giving rise to the request for a special use designation have existed for a period of time not less than two years, and a majority of the abutting property owners have evidenced no written objections to such designations;
(3) A limited present use designation will terminate automatically and immediately at such time as:
(a) The owner has divested himself of substantial ownership interest in said property;
(b) The owner ceases to use the property in the same manner in which said property was used at the time application for a limited present use designation was filed;
(c) The owner's operation volume or use of the property is increased significantly from that set forth at the time a special and limited present use designation was granted;
(d) If the property or area is not continually maintained in a neat and orderly manner;
(e) If parking in the area of the property in question becomes a problem, or is objectionable to a number of abutting property owners.
(B) The concurring vote of the majority of a quorum of the Board shall be necessary in order that the matter voted upon, including findings and recommendation, may be submitted to the Village Board of Trustees for final determination.
(Ord., passed 2-18-64)
§ 154.269 FEES; RECORDING.
(A) Upon receipt of an objection indicating a zoning violation, the Board receiving such objection, or the Village Clerk, shall notify the owner or owners of the property in question of their right to apply for a limited present use designation. The property owner, if it is the owner's intention to apply for said limited use designation, shall be required to pay the requisite fees as set forth in § 154.320.
(B) In those instances where the village grants the special limited present use designation, said action shall be duly recorded by the Clerk and a certified copy thereof recorded with the County Recorder of Deeds, said copy to include the legal description of the property, the subject matter of the petition.
(Ord., passed 2-18-64)