A.
The Board of Adjustment shall consist of three to
five members who shall be residents of the Town and who shall have
knowledge of the problems of urban and rural development and who,
at the time and throughout the term of office, shall not be candidates
nor members of the Town Council nor employees of the Town.
B.
The Mayor of the Town of Millville shall appoint such
members of the Board of Adjustment, and all such appointments shall
be confirmed by a majority vote of the Town Council. All appointments
shall be for a period of three years, provided that the terms of the
original members shall be established in a manner that the term of
at least one member shall expire each year and the successor shall
be appointed for a term of three years. The Board of Adjustment so
selected shall elect from their own number a Chairman and a Secretary.
C.
Any member of the Board of Adjustment may be removed
from office by the Town Council for cause after a hearing by a majority
vote of all of the elected members of the Town Council. A vacancy
occurring otherwise than by the expiration of a term shall be filled
for the remainder of the unexpired term in the same manner as an original
appointment.
A.
Meetings of the Board of Adjustment shall be held
at the call of the Chairman and at such other times as the Board may
determine. The Chairman, or in his absence, the acting Chairman, may
administer oaths and compel attendance of witnesses. All meetings
shall be open to the public. Minutes shall be kept of all meetings
by the Secretary. These shall show the vote of each member upon each
question, or if absent or failing to vote, indicating such fact. The
Board shall also keep a record 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.
B.
The Board shall adopt such rules and regulations as
may be necessary to carry into effect the provisions and purposes
of this chapter. The Board shall fix a reasonable time for the hearing,
give the public notice thereof as well as due notice to the parties
in interest, and decide the same within a reasonable time. At the
hearing, any party may appear in person or by an agent or attorney.
A.
Any person or persons, jointly or severally aggrieved
by any decision of the Board of Adjustment, or any taxpayer, or any
officer, department, board, or bureau of the Town, may present to
the Superior Court 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
30 days after the filing of the decision in the office of the Board.
B.
Upon presentation of the petition, the Court may allow
a writ of certiorari directed to the Board to review such decision
of the Board and shall prescribe therein the time within which a return
thereto must be made and served upon the attorney, which shall not
be less than 10 days and which 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.
C.
The Court may reverse or affirm, wholly or partly,
or may modify the decision brought up for review.
D.
The duties of the Town Council in connection with
this chapter shall not include hearing and deciding questions of interpretation
and enforcement that may arise. Under this chapter, the Town Council
shall have only the duties of considering and adopting or rejecting
proposed amendments to or the repeal of this chapter, as provided
by law, and of establishing fees and charges.
[1]
Editor’s Note: Former § 155-58, Special exceptions,
was repealed 12-8-2015 by Ord. No. 16-03.
A.
The Board of Adjustment shall authorize upon appeal
in specific cases such variance from the terms of this chapter as
will not be contrary to the public interest where, owing to special
conditions, a literal enforcement of the provisions of this chapter
would result in unnecessary hardship or an exceptional practical difficulty.
A variance from the terms of this chapter shall not be granted by
the Board of Adjustment unless and until:
(1)
A written application for a variance is submitted
demonstrating:
(a)
That there are unique physical circumstances
or conditions, including irregularity, narrowness, or shallowness
of lot size or shape, or exceptional topographical or other physical
conditions peculiar to the particular property, and that the unnecessary
hardship or exceptional practical difficulty is due to such conditions,
and not to circumstances or conditions generally created by the provisions
of this chapter in the neighborhood or district in which the property
is located;
(b)
That because of such physical circumstances
or conditions, there is no possibility that the property can be developed
in strict conformity with the provisions of this chapter and that
the authorization of a variance is therefore necessary to enable the
reasonable use of the property;
(c)
That special conditions and circumstances do
not result from the actions of the applicant; and
(d)
That granting the variance requested will not
confer on the applicant any special privilege that is denied by this
chapter to other lands, structures, or buildings in the same district;
(3)
The public hearing is held. Any party may appear in
person or by an agent or by an attorney. Comments from other interested
parties may be received in written or verbal form, and stated in the
minutes of the public hearing;
B.
No nonconforming use of neighboring lands, structures,
or buildings in the same district, or buildings in other districts,
shall be considered grounds for the issuance of a variance.
C.
In granting any variance, the Board of Adjustment
may prescribe appropriate conditions and safeguards in conformity
with this chapter. Violation of such conditions and safeguards, when
made a part of the terms under which the variance is granted, shall
be deemed a violation of this chapter and punishable.
D.
Under no circumstances shall the Board of Adjustment
grant a variance to allow a use not permissible under the terms of
this chapter in the district involved or any use expressly or by implication
prohibited by the terms of this chapter in said district.
E.
No later than 14 calendar days after the public hearing
was held, the Board of Adjustment shall publish in a local newspaper
and post at Town Hall a notice stating the actions taken at its public
hearing(s) for variances.
A.
In exercising the above-mentioned powers, the Board
of Adjustment may, so long as such action is in conformity with the
terms of this chapter, 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 the powers of the Code Enforcement
Officer from whom the appeal is taken.
B.
The concurring vote of the three to five members of
the Board shall be necessary to reverse any order, requirement or
decision of the Code Enforcement Officer, 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 the application of this
chapter.
After the Board of Adjustment has approved a
special exception or granted a variance, the special exception or
variance so approved or granted shall lapse after the expiration of
one year if no substantial construction or change of use has taken
place in accordance with the plans for which such special exception
or variance was granted, or if the Board does not specify some longer
period than one year for good cause shown, and the provisions of these
regulations shall thereafter govern.
The procedure for amendment of a special exception
or variance already approved, or a request for a change of conditions
attached to an approval, shall be the same as a new application except
that, where the administrative official determines the change to be
minor relative to the original approval, he or she may transmit the
same to the Board with the original record without requiring that
a new application be filed.
[Amended 12-14-2010 by Ord. No. 11-03]
Said applicant shall provide the prescribed
application form provided by the Town, applicable fees and any supportive
application documentation. The Town Council shall establish a schedule
of fees and charges for the Board of Adjustment application.[1] The administrative official may amend the application
requirements, such as number of application copies, application due
dates, etc., as determined by the Board of Adjustment to include information
necessary for decisions.
[1]
Editor's Note: The current fee schedule is on file in the
Town Hall.
