Wittenberg Village City Zoning Code
§ 17.29
BOARD OF ZONING APPEALS.
(1)
MEMBERSHIP.
(a)
See sec. 1.06(3) of this Code.
(b)
Officers. The Village President shall designate the Chairperson of the Board. The Clerk-Treasurer or Deputy Clerk-Treasurer shall serve as Secretary to the Board.
(2)
APPEALS TO BOARD.
(a)
Appeals to the Board of Zoning Appeals may be taken by any person aggrieved or by any officer, department, board or bureau of the Village affected by any decision of the administrative officers. Such appeal shall be taken within 30 days from either the date of actual notice of said decision to the person aggrieved or from the date of the mailing of a copy of said decision to him, whichever is earlier, by filing with the officer from whom the appeal is taken and with the Board a notice of appeal specifying the grounds thereof. Filing with the Board shall be accomplished by filing with the Clerk-Treasurer.
(b)
The officer from whom the appeal is taken shall forthwith transmit to the Board all papers constituting the record upon which the action appealed from was taken.
(c)
The Board shall fix a reasonable time for the hearing of the appeal and shall give public notice thereof by publication once in the Village's official newspaper, said publication to be not less than 5 days before said hearing nor more than 15 days before said hearing and shall give notice to the parties in interest and shall decide the same within a reasonable time.
(3)
POWERS OF BOARD. The Board shall have the following powers:
(a)
To hear and decide appeals where it is alleged there is error in any order, requirement, decision or determination made by the administrative official.
(b)
To hear and decide special exceptions to the terms of this chapter upon which the Board is required to consider.
(c)
To authorize, upon appeal in specific cases, such variance from the terms of this chapter as will not be contrary to the public interest where, owing to special conditions, a literal enforcement will result in practical difficulty or unnecessary hardship so that the spirit of this chapter shall be observed, public safety and welfare secured, and substantial justice done.
(d)
Permit the erection and use of a building or premises in any location subject to appropriate conditions and safeguards in harmony with the general purposes of this chapter for such public utility purposes which are reasonably necessary for public convenience and welfare.
(e)
The Board may reverse or affirm, wholly or in part, or may modify any 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 shall have all the powers of the administrative official. The concurring vote of 4 members of the Board shall be necessary to reverse any order, requirement or determination appealed from or to decide in favor of the applicant on any matter on which it is required to pass or to effect any variation in the requirements of this chapter.
(4)
OTHER POWERS. In addition to the foregoing, the Board shall have the following specific powers:
(a)
To grant a permit for a temporary building for commerce or industry in a residential district which is incidental to the residential development, such permit to be issued for a period of not more than 6 months.
(b)
To grant a permit for the extension of a district boundary for a distance of not more than 25 feet where the boundary of a district divides a lot in single ownership at the time of the adoption of this chapter.
(c)
To permit the temporary storage, as defined herein, of an item otherwise prohibited under sec. 17.03 of this chapter.
(d)
To interpret the provisions of this chapter in such a way as to carry out the intent and purpose of the plan as shown on the Official Map accompanying and made a part of this chapter where the street layout actually on the ground varies from the street layout on the aforesaid map.
(e)
The Board shall have the power to call on any other Village department for assistance in the performance of its duties and it shall be the duty of such other department to render such assistance as may be reasonably required.
(5)
POWERS LIMITED. Except as specifically provided, no action of the Board shall have the effect of permitting in any district uses prohibited in such district; nor shall such Board be permitted to take any action which would, in effect, create a buildable lot smaller than the minimum lot size or area otherwise required by the Village.
(6)
VARIANCES.
(a)
Application and Notice of Hearing. An application for a variance shall be filed along with a fee in accordance with the Village Fee Schedule per setback, in writing, with the Clerk-Treasurer. The application shall contain such information as the Board of Zoning Appeals may, by rule, require. Notice of the time and place of such public hearing shall be published at least once in a newspaper of general circulation in the Village, and also by mailing notice thereof to the parties in interest, said publication and mailing to be made at least 10 days prior to the date of hearing. The Board shall thereafter reach its decision within 90 days from the filing of the application.
(b)
Standards for Variances. The Board shall not vary the regulations of this chapter unless it shall make findings based upon the evidence presented to it in each specific case that:
1.
Because of the particular physical surroundings, shape or topographical conditions of the specific property involved, a particular hardship to the owner would result, as distinguished from a mere inconvenience if the strict letter of the regulations were to be carried out.
2.
The conditions upon which a petition for a variation is based are unique to the property for which the variance is sought and are not applicable, generally, to other property within the same zoning classification.
3.
The purpose of the variance is not based exclusively upon a desire to make more money out of the property.
4.
The alleged difficulty or hardship is caused by this chapter and has not been created by any person presently having an interest in the property.
5.
The granting of the variation will not be detrimental to the public welfare or injurious to other property or improvements in the neighborhood in which the property is located.
6.
The proposed variation will not impair an adequate supply of light and air to adjacent property or substantially increase the congestion of the public streets, or increase the danger of fire, or endanger the public safety, or substantially diminish or impair property values within the neighborhood.
7.
The Board may impose such conditions and restrictions upon the premises benefited by a variance as may be necessary to comply with the standards established in this section.
(c)
Authorized Variances. Variances from the regulations of this chapter shall be granted by the Board only in accordance with the standards established in par. (b) above and may be granted only in the following instances and in no others:
1.
To permit any yard or setback less than a yard or a setback required by the applicable regulations.
2.
To permit the use of a lot or lots for a use otherwise prohibited solely because of the insufficient area or width of the lot or lots, but in no event shall the respective area and width of the lot or lots be less than 80% of the required area and width for nonresidential lots.
3.
To permit the same off-street parking facility to qualify as required facilities for 2 or more uses, provided that substantial use of such facility by each user does not take place at approximately the same hours of the same days of the week.
4.
To reduce the applicable off-street parking or loading facilities required by not more than one parking space or 20% of the applicable regulations, whichever number is greater.
5.
To increase by not more than 25% the maximum distance that required parking spaces are permitted to be located from the use served.
6.
To increase by not more than 10% the maximum gross floor area of any use so limited by the applicable regulations.