There is hereby established a Board of Appeals for the Village
of Shorewood for the purpose of hearing appeals by any person feeling
aggrieved by any administrative order, decision or determination and,
further, for the purpose of hearing applications and granting variances
and exceptions to the provisions of this chapter in harmony with the
purpose and intent of this chapter.
The Board of Appeals shall organize and adopt rules of procedure
for its own government in accordance with the provisions of this chapter.
A. Meetings shall be held at the call of the Chair and shall be open
to the public, except as provided by law.
B. Minutes of the proceedings and a record of all actions shall be kept
by the Secretary showing the vote of each member upon each question,
the reasons for the Board's determination and its findings of
fact. These records shall be immediately filed in the office of the
Secretary and shall be a public record.
C. If a quorum is present, the Board of Appeals may take action by a
majority vote of the members present.
The Board of Appeals shall fix a reasonable time and place for
the hearing, give public notice thereof as required by law, and shall
give due notice to all abutting property owners within 250 feet of
the subject property at least 10 days before the hearing and the Planning
and Development Department. At the hearing the appellants may appear
in person, by agent, or by attorney.
No variance to the provisions of this chapter shall be granted
by the Board unless it finds that all of the following facts and conditions
exist and so indicates in the minutes of its proceedings:
A. Exceptional circumstances. There must be exceptional, extraordinary
or unusual circumstances or conditions applying to the lot, parcel
or structure that do not apply generally to other properties in the
same district and the granting of the variance would not be of so
general or recurrent nature as to suggest that this chapter should
be changed.
B. Absence of detriment. The variance will not create substantial detriment
to adjacent property and will not materially impair or be contrary
to the purpose and the spirit of this chapter or the public interest.
The Board of Appeals shall decide all appeals and applications
within 30 days after final hearing and shall transmit a signed copy
of the Board's decision to the appellant and the Planning and
Development Department.
A. Conditions may be placed upon any permit ordered or authorized by
this Board.
B. Variances granted by the Board shall expire within six months unless
substantial work has commenced pursuant to such grant.
Any person or persons aggrieved by any decision of the Board
of Appeals may present to a court of record a verified petition setting
forth that such decision is illegal and 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 Secretary.