Procedure.
[Ord. No. 6.001 § XXX
Art. IV, 9-10-1979; Ord.
No. 2003-12-08-01 § 1, 12-8-2003; Ord. No. 2004-03-18-01 § 1, 3-18-2004; Ord. No. 2009-02-23-01 § 12, 2-23-2009]
A.
Creation. There is hereby created a Board of Zoning Adjustment for
the City of Greenwood, Missouri.
B.
Membership. The Board of Zoning Adjustment shall consist of five
(5) members who shall be residents. The membership of the first Board
appointed shall serve respectively, one (1) for one (1) year, one
(1) for two (2) years, one (1) for three (3) years, one (1) for four
(4) years and one (1) for five (5) years. All current members shall
hold their respective office until the first of February following
the expiration of their appointment. All members shall be removable
for cause by the appointing authority upon written charges and after
public hearings. Thereafter, on or before the 1st day of February,
the Mayor shall, by and with the consent of the Board of Aldermen,
appoint members who shall hold office for five (5) years or until
a successor is appointed. Vacancies shall be filled for the unexpired
term of any member whose term becomes vacant. The Board of Zoning
Adjustment shall elect its own Chairman and Secretary who shall serve
for one (1) year.
[Ord. No. 2017-2935 § 1, 10-24-2017]
C.
Procedure. The Board of Zoning Adjustment shall adopt its own rules
of procedure not inconsistent with this Chapter. Meetings of the Board
of Zoning Adjustment 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 of Zoning Adjustment
shall be open to the public. The Board of Zoning Adjustment shall
keep minutes of its proceedings showing the vote of each member upon
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 of the City of Greenwood, Missouri, and shall be a public record.
All testimony, objections thereto and rulings thereon shall be taken
down by a reporter employed by the Board of Zoning Adjustment for
that purpose.
[Ord. No. 2017-2935 § 1, 10-24-2017]
[Ord. No. 6.001 § XXXI
Art. V, 9-10-1979; Ord.
No. 2009-02-23-01 § 12, 2-23-2009]
A.
The
Board of Zoning 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 an Administration
Official in the enforcement of these Sections or of any ordinance
adopted pursuant thereto.
2.
To hear and decide all matters referred to it or upon which
it is required to pass under such ordinances.
3.
In passing upon appeals, where there are practical difficulties
or unnecessary hardships in the way of carrying out the strict letter
of such ordinance, to vary or modify the application of any of the
regulations or provisions of such ordinance relating to the construction
or alteration of buildings or structures so that the spirit of the
ordinance shall be observed, public safety and welfare secured and
substantial justice done.
4.
In exercising the above-mentioned powers, such Board may, in
conformity with the provisions of this Chapter, 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 concurring vote of four (4) members of the Board shall be necessary
to reverse any order, requirement, decision or determination of any
such Administrative Official or to decide in favor of the applicant
on any matter upon which it is required to pass under such ordinance
or to effect any variation in such ordinance.
[Ord. No. 6.001 § XXXII
Art. IV, 9-10-1979; Ord.
No. 2009-02-23-01 § 12, 2-23-2009; Ord. No. 2017-2935 § 1, 10-24-2017]
Appeals to the Board of Zoning Adjustment may be taken by any
person aggrieved, 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
Building Inspector. 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 Zoning Adjustment
a notice of appeal specifying the grounds thereof. Said application
or petition shall be accompanied by a filing fee of one hundred dollars
($100.00) payable to the City Clerk of said City. Any unused portion
of the filing fee shall be refunded to the applicant according to
the regulations and rules adopted by the Board of Zoning Adjustment.
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. An appeal stays all proceedings in
furtherance of the action appealed from, unless the officer from whom
the appeal is taken certifies to the Board of Zoning 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 immediate 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 Zoning 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. The Board of Zoning Adjustment shall fix a
reasonable time for the hearing of the appeal, give public notice
thereof, as well as due notice to the parties in interest and decide
the same within a reasonable time. Upon hearing, any party may appear
in person or by agent or by attorney.
[Ord. No. 6.001 § XXXIII
Art. IV, 9-10-1979; Ord.
No. 2009-02-23-01 § 12, 2-23-2009; Ord. No. 2017-2935 § 1, 10-24-2017]
Any person or persons jointly or severally aggrieved by any
decision of the Board of Zoning Adjustment, any neighborhood organization
as defined in Section 32.105, RSMo., representing such person, or
any officer, department, board or bureau of the municipality may present
to the Circuit Court of Jackson County, Missouri, 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 City Clerk. Upon presentation
of such petition the court may allow a writ of certiorari directed
to the Board of Zoning Adjustment to review such decision of the Board
of Zoning Adjustment and shall prescribe therein the time within which
a return thereto must be made and served upon the relator's attorney,
which shall not be less than ten (10) days and may be extended by
the court. The allowance of the writ shall not stay proceedings upon
the decision appealed from, but the court may, on application, on
notice to the Board and on due cause shown, grant a restraining order.
The Board of Zoning Adjustment shall not be required to return the
original papers acted upon, but it shall be sufficient to return certified
or sworn copies thereof or of such portions thereof as may be called
for by such writ. The return shall concisely set forth such other
facts as may be pertinent and material to show the grounds of the
decision appealed from and shall be verified. If, upon the hearing,
it shall appear to the court that testimony is necessary for the proper
disposition of the matter, it may take additional evidence or appoint
a referee to take such evidence as it may direct and report the same
to the court with his/her findings of fact and conclusions of law,
which shall constitute a part of the proceedings upon which a determination
of the court shall be made. The court may reverse or affirm, wholly
or partly, or may modify the decision brought up for review. Costs
shall not be allowed against the Board unless it shall appear to the
court that it acted with gross negligence or in bad faith or with
malice in making the decision appealed from. All issues in any proceedings
under this Article shall have preference over all other civil actions
and proceedings.
