City of Pine Lawn, MO Board of Adjustment

[CC 1991 §400.610; Ord. No. 119 Art. XVI §§1 — 6, 4-30-1951]

Establishment — Membership — Term. A Board of Adjustment is hereby established. The word "Board", when used in this Section, shall be construed to mean the Board of Adjustment. The Board shall consist of five (5) members, all of whom shall be residents appointed by the Mayor of the City of Pine Lawn and approved by the Board of Aldermen. The term of office of the members of the Board shall be for five (5) years, excepting that the membership of the first (1st) Board appointed shall serve respectively for terms of 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. Thereafter, members shall be appointed for terms of five (5) years each. Three (3) alternate members may be appointed to serve in the absence of or the disqualification of the regular members. Vacancies shall be filled for the unexpired term only. Members shall be removed for cause by the Board of Aldermen of the City upon written charges and after public hearing.

The Board shall elect its own Chairman and Vice Chairman who shall serve for one (1) year. The Board shall adopt from time to time such rules and regulations as it may deem necessary to carry into effect the provisions of this Chapter.

Meetings. Meetings of the Board 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 shall be open to the public. The Board shall keep minutes of its proceedings, showing the vote of each member upon each 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 Board and shall be a public record. All testimony, objections thereto and rulings thereon shall be taken down by a reporter employed by the Board for the purpose.

Appeals.

Appeals to the Board may be taken by any person aggrieved, by any neighborhood organization as defined in Section 32.105, RSMo., representing such person or by an officer, department, any board, other than the Board of Adjustment, or bureau of the City of Pine Lawn affected by any decision of the Building Commissioner. Such appeal shall be taken within a reasonable time, as shall be prescribed by the Board by general rule, by filing with the Building Commissioner and with the Board a notice of appeal specifying the grounds thereof. The Building Commissioner shall forthwith transmit to the Board all the papers constituting the record upon which the action appealed from is taken.

An appeal stays all proceedings in furtherance of the action appealed from, unless the Building Commissioner certifies to the Board 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 imminent peril of life or property. In such case, proceedings shall not be stayed otherwise than by a restraining order which may be granted by the Board or by a court of record on application or notice to the Building Commissioner on good cause shown.

The Board shall fix a reasonable time for the hearing of the appeal, give not less than fifteen (15) days' public notice thereof in a newspaper of general circulation in the City of Pine Lawn, as well as due notice to the parties in interest, and decide the same within a reasonable time. Upon the hearing, any party may appear in person or by agent or by attorney.

A fee of five hundred dollars ($500.00) shall be paid to the Building Commissioner at the time the notice of appeal is filed, which the Building Commissioner shall forthwith pay over to the City Treasurer to the credit of the General Revenue Fund of the City of Pine Lawn.

Powers And Duties. The Board of Zoning Adjustment shall have the following powers and it shall be its duty:

To hear and decide appeals which it is alleged there is error of law in any order, requirement, decision or determination made by the Building Commissioner in the enforcement of this Chapter.

To permit the extension of a district where the boundary line of a district divides a lot held in a single ownership on April 30, 1951.

To interpret the provisions of this Chapter in such a way as to carry out the intent and purpose of the plan, as shown upon the map fixing the several districts accompanying and made a part of this Chapter, where the street layout actually on the ground varies from the street layout as shown on the map aforesaid.

To permit the erection and use of a building or the use of premises for public utility purposes.

To permit the reconstruction of a non-conforming building which has been damaged by explosion, fire, act of God or public enemy to the extent of less than sixty percent (60%) of its reasonable value, where the Board finds some compelling public necessity requiring a continuance of the non-conforming use, and the primary purpose of continuing the non-conforming use is not to continue a monopoly.

To permit a variation in the yard requirements of any district where there are practical difficulties or unnecessary hardships in the carrying out of these provisions due to an irregular shape of the lot, topographical or other conditions, provided such variation will not seriously affect any adjoining property or the general welfare.

To authorize upon appeal, whenever a property owner can show that a strict application of the terms of this Chapter relating to the use, construction or alteration of buildings or structures or the use of land will impose upon him/her practical difficulties or particular hardship, such variations of the strict application of the terms of this Chapter as are in harmony with its general intent and purpose, but only when the Board is satisfied that a granting of such variation will not merely serve as a convenience to the applicant but will alleviate some demonstrable and unusual hardship or difficulty so great as to warrant a variation from the Comprehensive Plan as established by this Chapter and at the same time the surrounding property will be properly protected.

In exercising the above powers, the Board may 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 Building Commissioner from whom the appeal is taken.

Every variation granted or denied by the Board shall be accompanied by a written finding of fact based on testimony and evidence and specifying the reason for granting or denying the variation.

Any person or persons or any neighborhood organization as defined in Section 32.105, RSMo., representing such person or persons, jointly or severally, aggrieved by any decision of the Board of Zoning Adjustment, or of any officer, department, board or bureau of the City of Pine Lawn may present to the Circuit Court having jurisdiction in St. Louis County a petition, duly verified, stating that such decision is illegal in whole or in part, specifying the grounds of the illegality and asking for relief therefrom. Such petition shall be presented to the court within thirty (30) days after the filing of the decision in the office of the Board.

Upon the presentation of such petition, the court may allow a writ of certiorari directed to the Board for review of the data and records acted upon or it may appoint a referee to take additional evidence in the case. The court may reverse or affirm 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.