A.
The Zoning Board of Appeals shall consist of seven members, each
of whom shall be appointed by the Mayor and each of whom shall have
one vote. All members of said Board shall be residents of the City.
It is recommended that every ward in the City be represented on said
Board. The term of office of the successors of such members shall
be three years each.
B.
Legislative body members. No person who is a member of the Common
Council shall be eligible for membership on such Board of Appeals.
C.
Vacancy in office. If a vacancy shall occur otherwise than by expiration
of term, the Mayor shall appoint the new member for the unexpired
term.
D.
Removal of members. The Mayor shall have the power to remove, after
public hearing, any member of the Zoning Board of Appeals for cause.
Any Zoning Board of Appeals member may be removed for noncompliance
with any minimum requirements relating to meeting attendance and training
as established by the legislative body by local law or by the bylaws
of the Board of Appeals.
E.
Compatibility of offices. The municipal officials or employees on
such Board shall not, by reason of membership thereon, forfeit their
right to exercise the powers, perform the duties or receive the compensation
of the municipal office or position held by them during such membership.
No municipal officer or employee shall be appointed to the Zoning
Board of Appeals in the event that such officer or employee cannot
carry out the duties of his or her position without a conflict in
the performance of his or her duties as a member of the Zoning Board
of Appeals.
F.
Chairperson duties. All meetings of the Board of Appeals shall be
held at the call of the Chairperson and at such other times as three
other members of the Board may determine. Such Chairperson or, in
his or her absence, the Acting Chairperson may administer oaths and
compel the attendance of witnesses.
Meetings of the Zoning Board of Appeals shall be open to the
public to the extent provided in Article 7 of the Public Officers
Law. The Zoning Board of Appeals shall keep minutes of its proceedings,
showing the vote of each member upon every question or, if absent
or failing to vote, indicating such fact, and shall also keep records
of its examinations and other official actions.
Every rule, regulation, every amendment or repeal thereof and
every order, requirement, decision or determination of the Board of
Appeals shall be filed in the office of the Clerk/Chamberlain within
five business days after the vote on the same and shall be a public
record.
Such Board shall have the authority to call upon any department,
agency or employee of the City for such assistance as shall be deemed
necessary by the Board. Such department, agency or employee may be
reimbursed for any expenses as a result of such assistance, as authorized
by the Common Council.
Unless otherwise provided by local law or ordinance, the jurisdiction
of the Board of Appeals shall be appellate only and shall be limited
to hearing and deciding appeals from and reviewing any order, requirement,
decision, interpretation or determination made by the administrative
official charged with the enforcement of any ordinance or local law,
or as otherwise conferred by statute. The vote of a majority of the
members of the Board of Appeals shall be necessary to reverse any
order, requirement, decision or determination of any such administrative
official or to grant a use variance or area variance. Such appeal
may be taken by any person aggrieved or by an officer, department,
board or bureau of the City.
Such appeal shall be taken within 60 days after the filing of
any order, requirement, decision, interpretation or determination
of the administrative official charged with the enforcement of such
ordinance or local law by filing with such administrative official
and with the Board of Appeals a notice of appeal, specifying the grounds
thereof and the relief sought. The administrative official from whom
the appeal is taken shall forthwith transmit to the Board of Appeals
all the papers constituting the record upon which the action appealed
from was taken.
An appeal shall stay all proceedings in furtherance of the action
appealed from, unless the administrative official charged with the
enforcement of such ordinance or local law, from whom the appeal is
taken, certified to the Board of Appeals, after the notice of appeal
shall have been filed with the administrative official, that by reason
of facts stated in the certificate a stay would, in his or her opinion,
cause imminent peril to life or property, in which case 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 administrative official from whom the appeal is taken
and on due cause shown.
The Board of Appeals shall fix a reasonable time for the hearing
of the appeal or other matter referred to it and give public notice
of such hearing by publication in a paper of general circulation in
the City of at least five days' prior to the date thereof. The
cost of sending or publishing any notices relating to such appeal,
or a reasonable fee relating thereto, shall be borne by the appealing
party and shall be paid to the Board prior to the hearing of such
appeal. Upon the hearing, any party may appear in person or by agent
or attorney.
The Board of Appeals shall decide upon the appeal within 62
days after the conduct of said hearing. The time within which the
Board of Appeals must render its decision may be extended by mutual
consent of the applicant and the Board.
The decision of the Board of Appeals on the appeal shall be
filed in the office of the Clerk/Chamberlain and the Bureau of Code
Enforcement within five business days after the day such decision
is rendered, and a copy thereof shall be mailed to the applicant.
At least five days before such hearing, the Board of Appeals
shall mail notice to the Oswego County Planning Board, as required
by § 239-m of the General Municipal Law, which notice shall
be accompanied by a full statement of the matter under consideration,
as defined in Subdivision 1 of § 239-m of the General Municipal
Law.
The Board of Appeals shall comply with the provisions of the
State Environmental Quality Review Act (SEQRA) under Article 8 of
the Environmental Conservation Law and its implementing regulations.
A motion for the Zoning Board of Appeals to hold a rehearing
to review any order, decision or determination of the Board not previously
reheard may be made by any member of the Board. A unanimous vote of
a majority of the Board then present is required for such rehearing
to occur. Such rehearing is subject to the same notice provisions
as an original hearing. Upon such rehearing, the Board may reverse,
modify or annul its original order, decision or determination upon
the unanimous vote of all members then present, provided that the
Board finds that the rights vested in persons acting in good faith
in reliance upon the reviewed order, decision or determination will
not be prejudiced thereby.
As used in this article, the following terms shall have the
meanings indicated:
The authorization by the Zoning Board of Appeals for the
use of land in a manner which is not allowed by the dimensional or
physical requirements of the applicable zoning regulations.
The authorization by the Zoning Board of Appeals for the
use of land for a purpose which is otherwise not allowed or is prohibited
by the applicable zoning regulations.
The Board of Appeals may reverse or affirm, wholly or partly,
or may modify the order, requirement, decision, interpretation or
determination appealed from and shall make such order, requirement,
decision, interpretation or determination as in its opinion ought
to have been made in the matter by the administrative official charged
with the enforcement of such ordinance or local law and to that end
shall have all the powers of the administrative official from whose
order, requirement, decision, interpretation or determination the
appeal is taken.
A.
The Board of Appeals, on appeal from the decision or determination
of the administrative official charged with the enforcement of such
ordinance or local law, shall have the power to grant use variances,
as defined herein.
B.
No such variance shall be granted by a Board of Appeals without a
showing by the applicant that applicable zoning regulations and restrictions
have caused unnecessary hardship. In order to prove such unnecessary
hardship, the applicant shall demonstrate to the Board of Appeals
that for each and every permitted use under the zoning regulations
for the particular district where the property is located:
(1)
The applicant cannot realize a reasonable return, provided that lack
of return is substantial as demonstrated by competent financial evidence.
(2)
The alleged hardship relating to the property in question is unique
and does not apply to a substantial portion of the district or neighborhood.
(3)
The requested use variance, if granted, will not alter the essential
character of the neighborhood.
(4)
The alleged hardship has not been self-created.
C.
The Board of Appeals, in the granting of use variances, shall grant
the minimum variance that it shall deem necessary and adequate to
address the unnecessary hardship proven by the applicant and at the
same time preserve and protect the character of the neighborhood and
the health, safety and welfare of the community.
A.
The Zoning Board of Appeals shall have the power, upon an appeal
from a decision or determination of the administrative official charged
with the enforcement of such ordinance or local law, to grant area
variances as defined herein.
B.
In making its determination, the Zoning Board of Appeals shall take
into consideration the benefit to the applicant if the variance is
granted, as weighed against the detriment to the health, safety and
welfare of the neighborhood or community by such grant. In making
such determination, the Board shall also consider:
(1)
Whether an undesirable change will be produced in the character of
the neighborhood or a detriment to nearby properties will be created
by the granting of the area variance.
(2)
Whether the benefit sought by the applicant can be achieved by some
method feasible for the applicant to pursue, other than an area variance.
(3)
Whether the requested area variance is substantial.
(4)
Whether the proposed variance will have an adverse effect or impact
on the physical or environmental conditions in the neighborhood or
district.
(5)
Whether the alleged difficulty was self-created, which consideration
shall be relevant to the decision of the Board of Appeals, but shall
not necessarily preclude the granting of the area variance.
C.
The Board of Appeals, in the granting of area variances, shall grant
the minimum variance that it shall deem necessary and adequate and
at the same time preserve and protect the character of the neighborhood
and the health, safety and welfare of the community.
The Board of Appeals shall, in the granting of both use variances
and area variances, have the authority to impose such reasonable conditions
and restrictions as are directly related to and incidental to the
proposed use of the property. Such conditions shall be consistent
with the spirit and intent of this chapter and shall be imposed for
the purpose of minimizing any adverse impact such variance may have
on the neighborhood or community.
Any person or persons, jointly or severally, aggrieved by any
decision of the Board of Appeals or any officer, department, board
or bureau of the City may apply to the Supreme Court of the State
of New York for review by a proceeding under Article 78 of the Civil
Practice Law and Rules. Such proceeding shall be instituted within
30 days after the filing of a decision of the Board in the office
of the Clerk/Chamberlain and the Bureau of Code Enforcement.
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 appealed from.
Nothing in this article shall be deemed to preclude the Zoning
Board of Appeals from adopting bylaws to govern the conduct of its
meetings and its members. Any inconsistency between the content of
now-existing bylaws or future bylaws and the content of this article
shall be resolved in favor of this article.
