[Ord. No. 5814 §1(8.1), 4-27-2004]
The establishment of a Board of Adjustment is hereby authorized.
The word "Board", when used in this Article, shall
be construed to mean the Board of Adjustment. Board members and alternate
members shall be appointed by the Mayor and approved by the Board
of Aldermen. Board members and alternate members shall serve without
monetary compensation. Any or all Board members or alternate members
may be removed for just cause by the Board of Aldermen upon substantiated
written charges and after a public hearing conducted by the Board
of Aldermen.
[Ord. No. 5814 §1(8.2), 4-27-2004]
A.
The
Board shall consist of five (5) regular members and three (3) alternate
members, all of whom shall be residents of the City of Clayton and
shall hold no other office or position in the City government. The
term of office of the regular and alternate members of the Board shall
be for five (5) years. The three (3) alternate members shall serve,
at the request of the Chairperson, in the absence of or the disqualification
of the regular members. The Board shall elect its own Chairperson
and Vice Chairperson who shall serve for one (1) or more terms of
one (1) year each.
B.
Vacancies
on the Board shall be filled by the Mayor with the approval of the
Board of Aldermen for the unexpired term of the vacating member.
[Ord. No. 5814 §1(8.3), 4-27-2004]
A.
Meetings
of the Board of Adjustment shall be held at the call of the Chairman
and at such other times as the Board may determine. The Chairman,
or in his/her absence the Acting Chairman, may administer oaths and
compel the attendance of witnesses. The Board of Adjustment shall
keep minutes of all meetings, 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 immediately filed in the office of the City
Clerk and shall be public record. All testimony, objections thereto
and rulings thereon shall be taken down by a reporter employed by
the Board for that purpose.
B.
The
City of Clayton Code of Ordinances, including the Zoning Ordinance
and Zoning District Map, the City's Master Plan which are or may hereafter
be in force, shall automatically be part of the evidence at each hearing
of the Board to the extent applicable without being specifically introduced
at the hearing.
[Ord. No. 5814 §1(8.4), 4-27-2004]
The Board shall hear and decide appeals in which it is alleged
there is an error in any order, requirement, decision or determination
made by the Building Official or an administrative official in the
enforcement of the Zoning Ordinance (that Chapter of the Municipal
Code which governs land use patterns and developments within the City
of Clayton) and/or the State of Missouri Enabling Act, Sections 89.010
et seq., RSMo., as the same may be amended from time to time.
[Ord. No. 5814 §1(8.5), 4-27-2004]
A.
Area
variances are a granting of relief from the requirements of this Chapter
to permit construction in a manner otherwise prohibited by this Chapter
where specific enforcement would result in an extreme hardship or
severe practical difficulty because of the shape of the lot, topography
or other natural situation not the fault of the applicant. In passing
upon appeals, the Board of Adjustment is authorized to grant an area
variance only upon findings that:
1.
There are practical difficulties or unnecessary hardships associated
with the strict application of the Zoning Ordinance due to exceptional
or unique circumstances or conditions such that strict application
would deprive the owner of the reasonable use of the property; and
2.
Granting the variance requested would observe the spirit of the Zoning
Ordinance and secure public safety and welfare; and
3.
The deviation from strict application of the Zoning Ordinance authorized
by the area variance would not constitute a change in the district
map, impair an adequate supply of light and air to adjacent property,
increase congestion in public streets, increase the danger of fire,
materially diminish or impair established property values within the
surrounding area and would not in any other respect impair the public
health, safety, comfort, morals and welfare of the City of Clayton.
B.
If
an appeal for an area variance is granted, the Board shall grant the
minimum variance necessary to allow the applicant reasonable use of
his/her land.
[Ord. No. 5814 §1(8.6), 4-27-2004]
A.
Use
variances are a granting of relief from the requirements of this Chapter
to permit a use in a manner otherwise prohibited by this Chapter where
specific enforcement would result in an extreme hardship because of
the shape of the lot, topography or other natural situation not the
fault of the applicant. The Board of Adjustment is authorized to grant
use variances upon application or appeal in accordance with the State
of Missouri Enabling Act, City of Clayton Code of Ordinances the City's
Zoning Ordinance and the procedures set forth herein only upon findings
that:
1.
The applicant will be deprived of all beneficial use of the property
under any of the permitted uses in the zoning district in which the
property is located, all beneficial use being lost only where the
property is not suitable for any use permitted in the Zoning Ordinance
for that zoning district; and
2.
The applicant has sufficiently demonstrated unnecessary hardship
by expert testimony and/or documentation and not mere conclusionary
or lay opinion that the property in question cannot yield a reasonable
return if used only for a purpose or purposes permitted in the zoning
district in which that property is located; and
3.
The plight of the owner is due to exceptional or unique circumstances
and not due to general conditions in the neighborhood; and
4.
The use to be authorized by the variance would not alter the essential
character of the neighborhood; and
5.
The proposed use to be authorized by the use variance would not constitute
a change in the district map, impair an adequate supply of light and
air to adjacent property, increase congestion in public streets, increase
the danger of fire, materially diminish or impair established property
values within the surrounding area and would not in any other respect
impair the public health, safety, comfort, morals and welfare of the
City.
[Ord. No. 5814 §1(8.7), 4-27-2004]
A.
The
Board may grant variances from parking, loading and unloading regulations
of the Zoning Ordinance, where the character or use of the building
or premises make unnecessary the full provision of parking or loading
or unloading facilities or when such regulations would impose an unreasonable
hardship upon the use of the lot or tract of land, as contrasted with
merely granting an advantage or convenience.
B.
The
Board may permit the extension of a district where the boundary line
of a district divides a lot of record in single ownership.
C.
The
Board may grant an extension of time for the reconstruction of a non-conforming
building which has been damaged by less than sixty percent (60%) of
its replacement value by fire, explosion, flood, winds or other acts
of God or the public enemy or by any other cause unrelated or unattributable
to the owner.
D.
The
Board may interpret the provision of the Zoning Ordinance where the
street layout actually on the ground varies from the street layout
as shown on the official Zoning District Map fixing the districts,
which map shall be on file at the Clayton City Hall and available
for review and inspection.
E.
In
exercising the above-mentioned powers and all other powers authorized
by law, the Board may 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.
[Ord. No. 5814 §1(8.8), 4-27-2004]
An application form for an appeal to the Board of Adjustment
shall be completed and filed with the Building Official or his/her
designee. An appeal to the Board of Adjustment, on any matter over
which the Board is specifically granted jurisdiction, may be taken
by any person aggrieved or affected by any rule, requirement, decision
or determination. The appeal must be filed within thirty (30) days
of the order, requirement, decision or determination. The application
must specify the grounds for appeal.
[Ord. No. 5814 §1(8.9), 4-27-2004]
A.
The
applicant must submit one (1) original and fourteen (14) copies of
the application and all required documentation to the Building Official
or his/her designee.
B.
At
the time that an appeal is filed, the applicant shall pay a fee as
required by the fee schedule approved by the Board of Aldermen. The
fee shall be paid to the City of Clayton to the credit of the General
Revenue Fund of the City.
[Ord. No. 5814 §1(8.10), 4-27-2004]
A.
Upon
receipt of an appeal, the Building Official or his/her designee shall
transmit to the Board all the documentation constituting the record
upon which the appeal is taken.
B.
Notice
of public hearing shall be published at least fifteen (15) days prior
to the hearing on each appeal in a newspaper of general circulation
in the City. The Board shall also give due notice to the appellant
and persons owning adjoining property of the subject of the appeal.
Any interested party may appear at the Board's hearing in person or
by agent or attorney.
[Ord. No. 5814 §1(8.11), 4-27-2004]
A.
An
appeal to the Board stays all proceedings in furtherance of the order,
requirement, decision or determination of the Building Official or
his/her designee appealed from, unless the Building Official or his/her
designee certifies to the Board, after the notice of appeal has been
filed, that by reason of facts stated in the appeal, a stay would,
in his/her opinion, cause imminent peril to life or property. In such
cases, proceedings shall not be stayed except by a restraining order
by a court of competent jurisdiction.
B.
The
Board shall hear and decide appeals within a reasonable time period.
The order, requirement, decision or determination of the Board must
be made a part of any building permit to be issued due to a decision
of the Board.
[Ord. No. 5814 §1(8.12), 4-27-2004]
The concurring vote of four (4) members of the Board shall be
necessary to reverse or modify any order, requirement, decision or
determination of the Building Official or his/her designee or to decide
in favor of the applicant on any matter upon which it is required
to pass under this Chapter.
[Ord. No. 5814 §1(8.13), 4-27-2004]
An appeal may be withdrawn prior to the vote of the Board of
Adjustment upon written notice to the Building Official or his/her
designee.
[Ord. No. 5814 §1(8.14), 4-27-2004]
Applications for building permits, authorized by a decision
of the Board, must be submitted within one (1) year after the decision
of the Board. If no application for a building permit is submitted
within the one (1) year period, the variance is automatically rescinded.
Any variance granted by the Board which does not require an application
for a building permit is automatically rescinded after one (1) year
from the date of the Board's decision if no use of the variance is
made within the one (1) year period.
[Ord. No. 5814 §1(8.15), 4-27-2004]
In the event that the Board denies an application for variance,
no request for hearing upon the same application will be accepted
for a period of at least one (1) year from date of denial by the Board.
[Ord. No. 5814 §1(8.16), 4-27-2004]
Any person or persons or any officer, department, board or bureau
of the City, jointly or severally aggrieved by any decision of the
Board may present to the Circuit Court having jurisdiction in St.
Louis County a petition, duly verified, setting forth that such decision
is illegal, in whole or in part, specifying the grounds of the illegality
and asking for relief therefrom. Such petition must be presented to
the Court within thirty (30) days after the filing of the decision
of the Board of Adjustment.
