There is hereby established a Board of Appeals
for the Village of Elm Grove for the purpose of hearing appeals and
applications and granting variances and exceptions to the provisions
of this chapter consistent with the purpose and intent of this chapter.
The Board of Appeals shall consist of five members
appointed by the Village President and approved by the Village Board.
The Village President shall appoint a Village Board Trustee as an
ex officio member of the Board of Appeals for a one-year term. In
addition:
A.
Terms shall be for staggered three-year periods.
B.
Two alternate members may be appointed by the Village
President for terms of three years and shall act only when a regular
member is absent or is unable to vote because of conflict of interest.
The Village Clerk shall attend all meetings for the purpose of providing
technical assistance when requested by the Board of Appeals.
C.
Official oaths shall be taken by all members in accordance
with § 19.01, Wis. Stats., within 10 days of receiving notice
of their appointments.
D.
Vacancies shall be filled for the unexpired term in
the same manner as appointments for a full term.
[Amended 8-22-2006]
The Village Board herein adopts rules for the
conduct of the business of the Board of Appeals in accordance with
the provisions of this chapter. The Board of Appeals may adopt further
rules as necessary.
A.
Meetings shall be held at the call of the Chairperson
and shall be open to the public.
B.
Minutes of the proceedings and a record of all actions
shall be kept by the Board, showing the vote of each member upon each
question, the reasons for the Board’s determination, and its
finding of facts. These records shall be immediately filed in the
office of the Village Board and shall be a public record.
C.
The presence of four members of the Board shall constitute
a quorum. If a quorum is present, a majority vote shall be necessary
to correct an error; grant a variance; make an interpretation; and
permit a temporary, unclassified or substituted use. If there are
less than four members present, the matter must be rescheduled.
The Board of Appeals shall have the following
powers:
A.
Errors. To hear and decide appeals where it is alleged
there is error in any order, requirement, decision or determination
made with respect to this chapter.
B.
Variances. To hear and authorize appeals for variances
where, owing to special conditions, a literal enforcement will result
in practical difficulty or unnecessary hardship. Such variance shall
not be contrary to the public interest and shall be so conditioned
that the spirit and purposes of this chapter shall be observed and
the public safety, welfare and justice secured.
C.
Interpretations. To hear and decide applications for
interpretations of the zoning regulations and the location of the
boundaries of the zoning districts, after the Plan Commission has
made a review and recommendation.
D.
Permits. The Board may reverse, affirm wholly or partly
or modify the order, requirement, decision or determination appealed
from, and may make such order, requirement, decision or determination
as ought to be made.
E.
Assistance. The Board may request assistance from
other Village officers, departments, commissions, committees and boards.
F.
Oaths. The Clerk may administer oaths and compel the
attendance of witnesses.
Appeals to the Board of Appeals may be taken
by any person aggrieved or by any officer, department, board, or bureau
of the Village affected with respect to this Zoning Chapter. Such
appeals shall be filed in the Office of the Village Clerk within 90
days after the date of written notice of the decision or order of
the Village Clerk. Applications may be made by the owner or lessee
of the structure, land or water to be affected at any time and shall
be filed in the Office of the Village Clerk. Such appeals and application
shall include the following:
A.
Name and address of the appellant or applicant and
all abutting and opposite property owners of record.
B.
Plat of survey prepared by a land surveyor registered in the State of Wisconsin or other map drawn to scale and approved by the Zoning Administrator, showing all of the information required under § 335-84 of this chapter for a building permit.
C.
Additional information required by the Zoning Administrator,
the Board of Appeals or the Village Plan Commission.
A.
The Board of Appeals shall fix a reasonable time and
place for the hearing, post a notice for at least 14 days before the
hearing thereof and shall give due notice to the parties in interest,
the Zoning Administrator and the Village Plan Commission. At the hearing
the appellant or applicant may appear in person, by agent or by attorney.
[Amended 4-22-2008]
B.
Notice of all hearings held on appeals, variance applications
or floodland or wetland disputes in a floodland district or in the
shoreland portion of a W-1 Wetland District shall be mailed to the
Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources (DNR) at least 10 days prior
to the hearing. Final action on floodland/shoreland appeals, variances
and boundary disputes shall not be taken for 30 days, or until the
DNR has made its recommendation, whichever comes first. A copy of
all Board of Appeals decisions on floodland/shoreland appeals, variances
and boundary disputes shall be transmitted to the DNR within 10 days
of the effective date of such decision.
No variance to the provisions of this chapter
shall be granted by the Board unless it finds beyond a reasonable
doubt that all the following facts and conditions exist and so indicates
in the minutes of its proceedings:
A.
Preservation of intent. No variance shall be granted
that is not consistent with the purpose and intent of the regulations
for the district in which the development is located. No variance
shall have the effect of permitting a use in any district that is
not a stated permitted use, accessory use or conditional use in that
particular district.
B.
Exceptional circumstances. There must be exceptional,
extraordinary or unusual circumstances or conditions applying to the
lot or parcel, structure, use or intended use that do not apply generally
to other properties or uses in the same district and the granting
of the variance would not be of so general or recurrent nature as
to suggest that the Zoning Chapter should be changed.
C.
Economic hardship and self-imposed hardship not grounds
for variance. No variance shall be granted solely on the basis of
economic gain or loss. Self-imposed hardships shall not be considered
as grounds for the granting of a variance.
D.
Preservation of property rights: that such variance
is necessary for the preservation and enjoyment of substantial property
rights possessed by other properties in the same district and same
vicinity.
E.
Absence of detriment: that the variance will not create
substantial detriment to adjacent property and will not materially
impair or be contrary to the purpose and spirit of this chapter or
the public interest.
The Board of Appeals shall decide all appeals
and applications within 30 days after the final hearing and shall
transmit a signed copy of the Board's decision to the appellant or
applicant and the Zoning Administrator. In addition:
Any person or persons aggrieved by any decision
of the Board of Appeals may present to the court of record a petition,
duly verified, setting forth that such decision is illegal and specifying
the grounds of the illegality. Such petition shall be presented to
the court within 30 days after the filing of the decision in the offices
of the Board.
