[Ord. No. 945, 2-11-2002; Ord. No. 2020-1355, 9-8-2020]
A.
Established, Membership. A Board of Adjustment, hereafter called
the Board, is hereby established. Such Board shall consist of five
(5) members, and at least one (1) alternate to be appointed by the
Mayor, subject to the approval of the Town Council.
B.
Qualifications. The members of the Board shall be residents of the
Town, all members of the Planning and Zoning Commission. One (1) member
shall be a member of the Town Council.
C.
Term. Members shall be appointed for a term of five (5) years. Unless
filling a vacancy, a member may only serve two (2) consecutive terms.
After a person has served his/her maximum permitted consecutive terms,
then the person may not be reappointed to the Board until a full board
term has expired.
[Ord. No. 945, 2-11-2002; Ord. No. 2020-1355, 9-8-2020]
A.
Removal. Members of the Board of Adjustment shall be removable by
the appointing authority upon written charges and after a public hearing.
B.
Vacancies. Vacancies on the Board occasioned by removal, resignation,
death or otherwise shall be filled for the unexpired term of the vacating
member in the same manner as original appointments. Any person appointed
to fill a vacancy may, at the expiration of the unexpired term appointment,
be reappointed for up to two (2) consecutive five-year terms, unless
the expired term filled was for one-half (1/2) or more of a term,
in which case the reappointments are limited to one (1) five-year
term. After a person has served his/her maximum permitted consecutive
terms, then the person may not be reappointed to the board until a
full board term has expired.
[Ord. No. 945, 2-11-2002]
The Board of Adjustment shall elect one (1) of its member to
serve as Chairman. Such Chairman shall serve for one (1) year.
[Ord. No. 945, 2-11-2002]
The Board of Adjustment shall adopt rules in accordance with
the provisions of this Chapter. Meetings of the Board shall be held
at the call of the Chairman and at such other times as the Board may
determine. Such Chairman, or in his/her absence the Acting Chairman,
may administer oaths, and compel the attendance of witnesses. All
meetings of the Board shall be open to the public. The Board shall
keep minutes of its proceedings, showing the vote of each member on
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 Board
and shall be a public record. All testimony, objections thereto, and
rulings thereon, shall be taken down by reporter employed by the board
for that purpose.
[Ord. No. 945, 2-11-2002]
Appeals to the Board of Adjustment may be taken by any person
aggrieved, by any neighborhood organization as defined in Section
32.105, RSMo., representing such person, or by any officer, department,
board, or bureau of the municipality affected by any decision of the
Zoning Administrator. Such appeal shall be taken within a reasonable
time as provided by the rules of the Board, by filing with the officer
from whom the appeal is taken and with the Board of Adjustment a notice
of appeal specifying the grounds thereof. The officer from whom the
appeal is taken shall forthwith transmit to the Board all the papers
constituting the record upon which the action appealed from was taken.
[Ord. No. 945, 2-11-2002]
An appeal as provided for in Section 405.1270 stays all proceedings in furtherance of the action appealed from, unless the officer from whom the appeal is taken certifies to the Board of Adjustment after the notice of appeal shall have been filed with him/her that by reason of facts stated in the certificate a stay would, in his/her opinion, cause imminent peril to life or property. In such case proceedings shall not be stayed otherwise than by a restraining order which may be granted by the Board of Adjustment or by a court of record on application or notice to the officer from whom the appeal is taken and on due cause shown.
[Ord. No. 945, 2-11-2002]
The Board of Adjustment shall fix a reasonable time for the hearing of the appeal provided for in Section 405.1270, give public notice thereof, as well as due notice to the parties in interest, and decide the same within a reasonable time. Upon the hearing any party may appear in person or by agent or by attorney.
[Ord. No. 945, 2-11-2002]
A.
The Board of Adjustment shall have the following powers:
1.
To hear and decide appeals where it is alleged there is error
in any order, requirement, decision, or determination made by a Zoning
Administrator in the enforcement of this Chapter.
2.
To hear and decide special exceptions to the terms of this Chapter
upon which such Board is required to pass under this Chapter.
3.
In passing upon appeals, where there are practical difficulties
or unnecessary hardships in the way of carrying out the strict letter
of such provision, to vary or modify the application of any of the
regulations or provisions of this Chapter relating to the use, construction
or alteration of buildings or structures or the use of land so that
the spirit of the provisions shall be observed, public safety and
welfare secured and substantial justice done.
[Ord. No. 945, 2-11-2002]
In exercising the powers prescribed in Section 405.1300, the board of Adjustment 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 officer from whom the appeal is made.
[Ord. No. 945, 2-11-2002]
The concurring vote of four (4) members of the Board of Adjustment
shall be necessary to reverse any order, requirement, decision or
determination of any such administration official, or to decide in
favor of the applicant on any matter upon which it is required to
pass under this Chapter, or to effect any variation in this Chapter.
[Ord. No. 945, 2-11-2002]
Any person or persons jointly or severally aggrieved by any
decision of the Board of Adjustment, any neighborhood organization
as defined in Section 32.105, RSMo., representing such person or persons,
or any taxpayer, or any officer, department, board or bureau of the
municipality may present to a court of record a petition, duly verified,
setting forth that such decision is illegal, in whole or in part,
specifying the grounds of the illegality. Such petition shall be presented
to the court within thirty (30) days after the filing of the decision
in the office of the Board.
[Ord. No. 945, 2-11-2002]
A.
All appeals shall be taken within sixty (60) days of the date of
the action which is appealed.
B.
Appeals from the enforcement and interpretation of this Chapter,
signed by the appellant, shall be addressed to the Board of Adjustment
and presented to the Zoning Administrator. For each appeal, the appellant
will be required to pay for all costs of advertising, postage and
administrative expenses before any application for an appeal will
be processed. The appeal shall contain or be accompanied by such legal
descriptions, maps, plans, and other information so as to completely
describe the decisions or interpretation being appealed and the reasons
for such appeal.
C.
The Zoning Administrator shall transmit to the Board of Adjustment
the appeal and all papers constituting the record upon which the action
appealed was taken. The Chairman of the Board of Adjustment shall
schedule a hearing to be held within sixty (60) days from the filing
of the appeal. Public notice of the hearing shall be published in
a newspaper of general circulation in the Town at least once each
week for two (2) successive weeks prior to the hearing. The Zoning
Administrator shall post notice on the property involved for a period
one (1) week prior to the hearing.
D.
An appeal stays all proceedings in furtherance of the action appealed
from unless the Zoning Administrator certifies to the Board of Adjustment
that by reason of facts in the record a stay would, in his/her opinion,
cause imminent peril to life and property, in which case proceedings
shall not be stayed otherwise than by a court order from a court of
competent jurisdiction.
[Ord. No. 945, 2-11-2002]
A.
An application for a variance from the terms of this Chapter, signed
by the applicant, shall be addressed to the Board of Adjustment and
presented to the Zoning Administrator.
B.
For each application for variances to this Chapter, the applicant
will be required to pay for all advertising cost of public hearings,
postage to notify adjacent property owners, and administrative expenses
before any application for a variance will be processed. The application
shall contain or be accompanied by such legal descriptions, maps,
plans, and other information so as to completely describe the proposed
use and existing conditions.
C.
The Zoning Administrator shall review the application and determine
that sufficient data is contained to adequately describe the situation
to the Board of Adjustment. If the data is not adequate, the Zoning
Administrator shall return the application to the applicant for additional
information. Completed applications shall be forwarded to the Board
of Adjustment.
[Ord. No. 945, 2-11-2002]
A.
The Chairman of the Board of Adjustment shall schedule a public hearing
to be held within sixty (60) days after an application is filed. Public
notice of the hearing shall be published in a newspaper of general
circulation in the Town at least once each week for two (2) successive
weeks prior to the hearing. The Zoning Administrator shall post notice
on the property involved for a period of one (1) week prior to the
hearing.
B.
The Board of Adjustment shall approve or deny the application for
a variance following the public hearing. Before any variance is granted,
the Board of Adjustment must find that all of the following criteria
are met:
1.
Special circumstances exist which are peculiar to the applicant's
land, structure or building and do not generally apply to the neighboring
lands, structure or building in the same district or vicinity.
2.
Strict application of the provisions of this Chapter would deprive
the applicant of reasonable use of the land, structure or building
in a manner equivalent to the uses permitted to be made by other owners
of their neighboring land, structures or buildings in the same district.
3.
The special circumstances are not the result of action of the
applicant taken subsequent to the adoption of this Chapter.
4.
Relief, if approved, will not cause substantial detriment to
the public welfare or impair the purposes and intent of this Chapter.
C.
The following rules will be considered by the Board of Adjustment
when approving or denying a variance:
1.
Financial disadvantages to the property owner shall not constitute
conclusive proof of unnecessary hardships within the purpose of zoning.
2.
The Board does not possess the power to grant a variance permitting
a zoned use of land or building that is not permitted as a principal
use or structure, accessory use or structure in the district involved.
3.
In granting a variance, the Board may attach thereto any conditions
and safeguards it deems necessary or desirable in furthering the purposes
of this Chapter. Violations of any of these conditions or safeguards
shall be deemed a violation of this Chapter.
4.
Unless otherwise specified at the time the variance is granted,
the variance applies to the subject property and not to the individual
who applied. Consequently, the variance is transferable to any further
owner of the subject property, but cannot be transferred by the applicant
to a different site.
5.
A variance shall continue for an indefinite period of time unless
otherwise specified at the time the variance is granted, except that
when a variance has not been used within one (1) year after the date
it was granted, the variance shall be canceled by the Zoning Administrator
and written notices shall be given to the property owner.[1]
