A Building Board of Appeals is established pursuant to Chapter 9, Article VII.
A. 
The Board shall act as an advisory committee to the City Commission and shall, in addition to the duties prescribed in Chapter 9, have these additional powers and duties:
(1) 
Hear and decide appeals from and review any order, requirement, decision or determination made by officials charged with the enforcement of this chapter, except that the Board shall not have the authority to hear any matter pending in any court, to review decisions to inspect any property, or to review the terms of any certificate of compliance. All decisions of the Board shall be subject to review as provided by law.
(2) 
Where the literal application of specific provisions of this chapter would result in an exceptional practical difficulty to the applicant, the Board shall have the power, in passing upon appeals, to modify a specific provision of this chapter, provided both of the following requirements are satisfied:
(a) 
The performance of the particular part or item of the building or structure with respect to which the variance is granted shall be adequate for its intended use and shall not substantially deviate from performance required by this chapter for the safety and welfare of the people of the City.
(b) 
The specific condition justifying the variance shall be neither so general nor recurrent in nature as to make an amendment of this chapter with respect to the condition reasonably desirable.
(3) 
The Building Board of Appeals may attach in writing any stipulations in connection with granting of a variance that, in its judgment, are necessary to protect public health, safety, and the general welfare of the people of the City. The breach of those stipulations shall automatically invalidate the variance and any certificate granted on the basis of it. In no case shall more than a minimum variance from this chapter be granted than is necessary to alleviate the exceptional practical difficulty.
A. 
Appeals from rulings of any official charged with the enforcement of this chapter may be made to the Board within such time as shall be prescribed by the Board or by this chapter. The appellant shall file, with the official from whose decision the appeal is taken and with the Board, a notice of appeal, specifying the grounds in support of the appeal; an alternate method to achieve the performance required by this chapter; and the mailing address of the appellant, if other than the address of the subject property. The official from whom the appeal is taken shall promptly transmit to the Board a summary report of all previous action taken, and a recommendation as to the adequacy of the proposed alternative.
B. 
The Board shall fix a reasonable time for the hearing of an appeal under this section and give due notice to interested parties. The Board shall render a decision within a reasonable time after the hearing. The Board may reverse, modify or affirm, in whole or in part, the order, requirement, decision or determination which is the basis for the appeal, and to that end shall have all the powers of the official from whom the appeal is taken. The final disposition of such appeal shall be in writing and shall state the specific conditions justifying the variance, along with all conditions imposed in granting the variance. Such disposition shall be filed with the permanent property record and shall be forthwith mailed to the address given as part of the notice of appeal.
Any person may file with the Board requests for the interpretation of the provisions of this chapter as provided by § 17-32A(1), or for the approval of alternate methods or materials, in the same manner as provided by § 17-34.
Any quasi-judicial decision by the Board under § 9-31 or § 17-35 shall be subject to review, as provided by applicable law, in the Kalamazoo County Circuit Court or such other court as may be appropriate.