A.
A Board of Adjustment is hereby created which shall hereafter be
referred to as "Board." The Board shall consist of five members, who
shall be residents of the City of Harrington with knowledge of the
problems of urban and rural development, appointed by the Mayor and
approved by a majority of all the members of the City Council. No
member of the Board of Adjustment at the time of his or her appointment
and throughout his or her term of office shall be a candidate for
Mayor or for the City Council, nor shall any member of the Board of
Adjustment be the Mayor, a member of the City Council, or an employee
of the City.
B.
Each member of the Board of Adjustment shall be appointed for a term
of three years; provided, however, that upon the original appointments,
two members shall be appointed for a term of one year; two members
for a term of two years; and one member for a term of three years.
Any member of the Board of Adjustment may be reappointed for an additional
term of three years.
C.
If any member of the Board of Adjustment fails to attend three consecutive
meetings of the Board of Adjustment, he/she shall be conclusively
deemed to have resigned. Any member of the Board of Adjustment may
be removed from office for cause after a hearing by a majority vote
of all the elected members of the City Council. Any vacancy occurring
other than by expiration of term shall be filled for the remainder
of the unexpired term in the same manner as an original appointment.
D.
The Board shall select a Chair and a Vice Chair from its membership,
shall appoint a secretary, and shall prescribe rules for the conduct
of its affairs. The Chair, or in his or her absence the Vice Chair,
shall have the power to issue subpoenas for the attendance of witnesses
and the production of records and may administer oaths and take testimony.
E.
For the conduct of any hearing, a quorum shall not be less than three
members, and a majority vote of the members of the Board present and
voting shall be required to overrule any decision, ruling, or determination
of the official charged with enforcement of this chapter, or to approve
any variance. All meetings of the Board shall be open to the public.
F.
Prior to the commencement of any hearing before the Board of Adjustment,
each Board member present shall sign an affidavit verifying that 1)
he or she has no personal or private interest which might tend to
impair the independent judgment of an official in the performance
of his or her duties in connection with the application or property
which is the subject of the hearing; and 2) he or she has not had
any ex parte communications with anyone involving the property which
is the subject of the hearing.
The following shall be the procedures of the Board of Adjustment:
A.
Applications for interpretations and variances may be made by any
property owner, tenant, government official, department, board, or
bureau. Such application shall be made to the City Manager in accordance
with rules adopted by the Board of Adjustment. The application and
accompanying maps, plans, or other information shall be transmitted
promptly to the Chair of the Board of Adjustment, who shall place
the matter on the docket and instruct the City Manager to advertise
a public hearing thereon, and give written notice of such hearing
to the parties in interest.
B.
An appeal to the Board of Adjustment may be taken by any person aggrieved
or by any officer, department, board, or bureau of the City affected
by any decision of the City Manager covered under this chapter. Such
appeal shall be taken within 30 days after the decision appealed from
by filing with the City Manager a notice of appeal specifying the
grounds thereof. The City Manager shall forthwith transmit to the
Board of Adjustment all the papers constituting the record upon which
the action appealed from was taken. An appeal stays all proceedings
in furtherance of the action appealed from unless the City Manager
certifies to the Board of Adjustment 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 granted by the Board
of Adjustment or by a court of record, on application and on notice
to the City Manager and on due cause shown.
C.
The Chair shall fix a reasonable time for the hearing of an application
or appeal, give public notice thereof, as well as due notice to the
parties in interest, and decide the same within 30 days following
the hearing. Upon the hearing, any party may appear in person or by
agent or by attorney. In exercising its powers, the Board may reverse
or affirm, wholly or partly, or may modify, the order, requirement,
decision or determination as ought to be made, and to that end shall
have all the powers of the City Manager. Public notice shall be given
at least 15 days prior to the hearing specifying the time, place,
and nature of the hearing and shall consist of:
(1)
Publication in a newspaper of general circulation in the City
of Harrington; and
(2)
Posting conspicuously on the property in accordance with the
rules of the Board; and
(3)
Mailings to property owners of all properties within 200 feet
of the exterior boundary of the property which is involved in the
hearing.
D.
The Board of Adjustment shall keep minutes of its proceedings and
other official actions, showing the vote of each member upon each
question, or if absent or failing to vote, indicating such fact, and
shall keep records of its examinations and other official actions,
all of which shall be filed in the Harrington City Hall and shall
be a public record. All testimony shall be sworn.
The Board of Adjustment 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 an administrative
official in the administration or enforcement of this chapter.
B.
To authorize, in specific cases, such variance from the terms of
this chapter that will not be contrary to the public interest, where,
owing to special conditions or exceptional situations, a literal interpretation
of the chapter will result in unnecessary hardship or exceptional
practical difficulties to the owner of property so that the spirit
of the chapter shall be observed and substantial justice done, provided
that such relief may be granted without substantial detriment to the
public good and without substantially impairing the intent and purpose
of the chapter.
In exercising the powers provided in this chapter, the Board
may, in conformity with this article, reverse or affirm, wholly or
partly, or may modify the order, requirement, decision, or determination
appealed from and may make such order, requirement, decision or determination
as ought to be made, and to that end shall have all the powers of
the officer from whom the appeal is taken.
The Board shall have the power, on appeal from an order, requirement,
decision, or determination made by an administrative official, or
a request by any official, board, commission, or agency of the City,
to decide any of the following questions:
The Board of Adjustment may authorize, in specific cases, such
variance from any zoning ordinance, code, or regulation that will
not be contrary to the public interest, where, owing to special conditions
or exceptional situations, a literal interpretation of the zoning
ordinance, code, or regulation will result in unnecessary hardship
or exceptional practical difficulties to the owner of property so
that the spirit of the ordinance, code, or regulation shall be observed
and substantial justice done, provided that such relief may be granted
without substantial detriment to the public good and without substantially
impairing the intent and purpose of any zoning ordinance, code, regulation,
or map. Variances shall be subject to terms and conditions to be fixed
by the Board; provided, however, that no such variance shall be granted
unless the Board finds:
A.
That there are physical conditions, fully described in the findings
of the Board, applying to the land or buildings for which the variance
is sought, which conditions peculiar to such land or building have
not resulted from any act of the applicant or any predecessor in title.
B.
That, for reasons fully set forth in the findings of the Board, the
aforesaid circumstances or conditions are such that the strict application
of the provisions of this chapter would deprive the applicant of all
reasonable use of such land or buildings, and the variance granted
by the Board is the minimum variance that will accomplish this purpose.
C.
That the granting of the variance under such conditions as the Board
may deem necessary or desirable to apply thereto will be in harmony
with the general purpose and intent of this chapter, will not represent
a radical departure therefrom, will not be injurious to the neighborhood,
will not change the character thereof, and will not be otherwise detrimental
to the public welfare.
After the Board of Adjustment has granted a variance, the variance
so granted shall lapse after the expiration of one year if no substantial
construction, site plan, or subdivision plan approval or change of
use has taken place in accordance with the plans for which such variance
was granted.
The procedure for amendment of a variance already approved,
or a request for a change of conditions attached to an approval, shall
be the same as for a new application; except that where the City Manager
determines the change to be minor relative to the original approval,
he or she may transmit the same to the Board of Adjustment with the
original record without requiring that a new application be filed.
Appeals to courts from a decision of the Board may be filed
in a manner prescribed by law.
