Pursuant to the Town Law, the Town Board shall appoint a Zoning
Board of Appeals consisting of five members, shall designate its Chairman
and shall provide for such other expenses as may be necessary and
proper. A member of the Board of Appeals shall not at the same time
be a member of the Town Board. The Town Board shall have the power
to remove any member of the Board of Appeals for cause and after public
hearing has first been held thereon.
A.
Of the members of the Board of Appeals first appointed, one shall
hold office for the term of one year, one for the term of two years,
one for the term of three years, one for the term of four years and
one for the term of five years from and after his appointment.
B.
Succeeding members shall be appointed for terms of five years from
and after the expiration of the terms of their predecessors in office.
If a vacancy shall occur otherwise than by expiration of term, it
shall be filled by the Town Board by an appointment for the unexpired
term.
The Board of Appeals may employ such clerical, expert, legal
and other staff assistance as may be necessary and prescribe their
duties. However, it shall not at any time incur expenses beyond the
amount of the appropriations made by the Town Board and then available
for that purpose.
The Board of Appeals shall have the following duties:
The Board of Appeals shall have the power to make, adopt and
promulgate written rules of procedure, bylaws and such forms as it
may deem necessary for the proper execution of its duties and to secure
the intent of this chapter. Such rules, bylaws and forms shall not
be in conflict with nor have the effect of waiving any provisions
of this chapter or any other ordinance or local law of the Town of
Urbana. Such rules, bylaws and forms and any subsequent amendments
or supplements thereto shall be submitted to the Town Board by the
Board of Appeals for approval and filing for public view. The Town
Board shall move to approve, reject or modify such rules, bylaws and
forms within 60 days after submission. Failure of the Town Board to
so move shall be deemed to constitute approval thereof.
A.
Meetings. All meetings of the Board of Appeals shall be held at the
call of the Chairman or at such other times as such Board may determine.
All meetings shall be open to the public. The Chairman or, in his
absence, the Acting Chairman may administer oaths and compel the attendance
of witnesses. All meetings of such Board shall be open to the public
to the extent provided in Article 7 of the Public Officers Law.
B.
This Board will require a quorum to conduct its business. The concurring
vote of a majority of the Board shall be necessary to reverse any
order, requirement, decision or determination of any such administrative
official charged with the enforcement of this chapter or to decide
in favor of the applicant any matter upon which it is required to
pass under this chapter or to effect any variation in this chapter.
An appeal hereunder may be taken by an officer, department or Board
of the Town.
C.
Minutes. The Board of Appeals shall keep minutes of its proceedings
showing the vote of each member on every question. If a member is
absent or fails to vote, the minutes shall indicate such fact. Every
rule, regulation, every amendment or repeal thereof and every order,
requirement, decision or determination by the Board of Appeals shall
be filed in the office of the Town Clerk and shall be public record.
Upon determining the date of any hearing scheduled to be held
in connection with an appeal or application submitted to the Board
of Appeals, said Board shall transmit to the Planning Board a copy
thereof and shall request that the Planning Board submit to the Board
of Appeals its advisory opinion on said appeal or application. In
this regard, the submission requested by the Zoning Board of Appeals
shall afford the Planning Board a period of time not to exceed 10
days within which it may choose to respond, and its advisory opinion,
if any, shall be submitted to the Board of Appeals at least two days
prior to the scheduled hearing date and shall be read into the record
at the public hearing.
Public notice of any required hearing by the Board of Appeals
shall be given in accordance with the Town Law as follows:
A.
By publishing a notice of any appeal or application and the time
and place of the public hearing in the official newspaper of the Town
of Urbana not less than 10 days prior to the date of such hearing.
B.
By giving written notice of the hearing to any appellant or applicant
and any other such notice to property owners in an affected area as
may be required by the Board of Appeals and to the Planning Board
not less than five days prior to such hearing.
C.
By giving written notice of hearing to any required municipal, county,
regional, state or federal agency in the manner prescribed by law.
The Board of Appeals shall hear and decide appeals from and
review any order, requirements, decision or determination made by
the Zoning Enforcement Officer under this chapter in accordance with
the procedure set forth herein:
A.
A notice of appeal shall be filed by appellant with the Zoning Enforcement
Officer and the Secretary to the Board of Appeals within 30 days of
the date of the action appealed from, specifying the grounds thereof.
B.
Upon receiving a notice of appeal, the Zoning Enforcement Officer
shall forthwith transmit to the Board of Appeals all papers constituting
the record upon which the action appealed from was taken.
C.
The Board of Appeals shall set a reasonable date for the hearing
of each appeal. The appellant shall be given notice of the scheduled
hearing date, and at this hearing he shall appear in person or by
an agent or by an attorney.
D.
An appeal stays all proceedings in furtherance of the action appealed
from, unless the Zoning Enforcement Officer certifies to the Board
of Appeals, after a notice of appeal shall have been filed with him,
that, by reason of facts stated, a stay would, in his opinion, cause
imminent peril to life or property, in which case such proceedings
shall not be stayed otherwise than by a restraining order which may
be granted by the Board of Appeals or by a court of record on application,
on notice to the Zoning Enforcement Officer and on due cause shown.
E.
Following public notice and hearing, the Board of Appeals may reverse
or affirm, wholly or partly, or may modify the order, requirements,
decision or determination appealed from and shall make such order,
requirement, decision or determination as, in its opinion, ought to
be made and, to that end, shall have all the power of the Zoning Enforcement
Officer. If the action by the Board of Appeals is to reverse the action
of the Zoning Enforcement Officer in whole, then the filing fee shall
be refunded to the appellant. The Board of Appeals shall decide appeals
within 60 days after final hearing.
A.
Where there are practical difficulties or unnecessary hardships in
the way of carrying out the strict letter of this chapter, the Board
of Appeals shall have the power, after public notice and hearing,
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 this
chapter shall be observed, public safety and welfare secured and substantial
justice done.
B.
Any variance granted which is not exercised within one year from
the date of issuance is hereby declared to be revoked without further
hearing by the Board of Appeals.
C.
All applications for variances shall be filed by the applicant with
the Secretary of the Board of Appeals and shall be accompanied by
a plot plan, drawn to scale and accurately dimensioned, showing the
location of all existing and proposed buildings and structures on
the lot.
D.
A variance of the provisions of this chapter may be granted by the
Board of Appeals in order to vary or adapt the strict application
of any of the requirements of this chapter in the case of exceptionally
irregular, narrow, shallow or steep lots or other exceptional physical
conditions whereby such strict application would result in practical
difficulty or unnecessary hardship which would deprive the owner of
the reasonable use of the land or building involved, but in no other
case. In no case shall a variance be granted solely for reason of
additional financial gain on the part of the owner of the land or
building involved.
E.
No variance in the strict application of any provision of this chapter
shall be granted by the Board of Appeals except by the adoption of
a resolution fully setting forth the reasons for the following findings:
(1)
There are special circumstances or conditions applying to such land
or buildings and not applying generally to land or buildings in the
vicinity and under identical district classification, and said circumstances
or conditions are such that strict application of the provisions of
this chapter would deprive the applicant of the reasonable use of
such land or buildings or of privileges enjoyed by other properties
in the vicinity and under identical district classification.
(2)
The granting of the variance is necessary for the reasonable use
of the land or building, and the variance as granted by the Board
of Appeals is the minimum variance that will accomplish this purpose.
(3)
The granting of the variance will be in harmony with the general
purpose and intent of this chapter and will not be injurious to properties
in the vicinity or otherwise detrimental to the public welfare.
(4)
The variance granted shall be subject to such conditions as will
assure that the adjustment thereby authorized shall not constitute
a grant of special privilege inconsistent with the limitations upon
other properties in the vicinity and district in which the subject
property is situated.
The Planning Board of the Town of Urbana shall have the power, after public notice and hearing, to grant approval by special use permit for such uses as are specifically allowed by special use permit in the several districts herein. A special use permit shall be granted in accordance with the procedures and the criteria enumerated in Chapter 105 of the Code of the Town of Urbana.
A.
All applications for special use permits shall be filed with the Town Clerk of the Town of Urbana and shall be accompanied by a plan, drawn to scale and accurately dimensioned, showing the locations of all existing and proposed uses, buildings and structures on the lot. Additional information deemed necessary by the Board shall be provided by the applicant. Public hearings shall be as provided for in Chapter 105, § 105-57, of the Code of the Town of Urbana.
B.
The Planning Board shall review the application for compliance with
all provisions of these regulations and, more specifically, it shall
ascertain whether satisfactory provision has been made, where applicable,
with respect to each of the following criteria:
(1)
Proper ingress and egress to the proposed use and structures for
automotive and pedestrian safety and convenience, traffic flow and
control and access in case of fire or catastrophe.
(2)
Adequacy of off-street parking and loading, where required, considering
the effects on the adjoining properties and property generally in
the neighborhood.
(3)
Location and adequacy of refuse handling and service areas and driveway
areas.
(4)
Location and compatibility of utility structures.
(5)
Adequacy of plans for screening and buffers, where needed.
(6)
Signs, including size, location, lighting, glare, traffic safety,
compatibility and harmony with nearby properties.
(7)
Adequacy of yards and open space.
(8)
General compatibility with adjacent property in accordance with general
or specific objectives of the Municipal Comprehensive Plan and these
regulations.
(9)
Harmony of proposed structures, activities and uses with the intended
character of the area, having due regard for potential problems of
noise, vibration, odor, traffic congestion, air pollution, drainage,
aesthetics and other environmental effects.
(10)
Potential damage or loss of natural, scenic or historic features
of importance.
(11)
Traffic-generating characteristics of the proposed use in relation
to the design and capacity of roads or streets serving the area.
C.
Time of decision. The Planning Board shall render its decision within
62 days after the termination of the public hearing. The time within
which the Planning Board must render its decision may be extended
by mutual consent of the applicant and the Board.
D.
Filing of decision. The decision of the Planning Board shall be filed
in the Town Clerk's office within five business days after the day
the decision is rendered, and a copy thereof shall be mailed to the
applicant.
E.
Expiration of special use permit. A special use permit shall be deemed
to authorize only one particular special use and shall expire if the
special use shall cease for more than six months for any reason.
F.
Existing violation. No special use permit shall be issued for a property
where there is an existing violation of these regulations.
A.
Any person or persons jointly or severally aggrieved by any decision
of the Board of Appeals may apply to the Supreme Court for relief
by a proceeding under Article 78 of the Civil Practice Law and Rules
of the State of New York, the provisions of which shall govern such
action, except that:
(1)
It must be instituted, as therein provided, within 30 days after
the filing of a decision in the office of the Town Clerk;
(2)
The Court may take evidence or appoint a referee to take such evidence
as it may direct and report the same with his findings of fact and
conclusions of law, if it shall appear that testimony is necessary
for the proper disposition of the matter; and
(3)
The Court at special term shall itself dispose of the case on the
merits, determining all questions which may be presented for determination.
B.
Costs shall not be allowed against the Board of Appeals unless it
shall appear to the Court that it acted with gross negligence or in
bad faith or with malice in making the decision from which the subject
appeal has been taken.
