A Board of Appeals is hereby created. Said Board shall consist of three or five members to serve for three-year terms, to be appointed by the Board of Trustees.
[Amended 4-21-1997 by L.L. No. 1-1997]
There shall be a Chairman and an Acting Chairman of the Board of Appeals. The procedure of said Board and the conduct of its members shall be in conformity with § 7-712 of the Village Law.
Vacancies on the Board of Appeals shall be filled in the same manner as appointments to said Board; provided, however, that an unexpired term shall be filled for such unexpired term only.
The Board of Appeals shall have all the powers and duties prescribed by law and by this chapter.
Upon appeal from a decision by an administrative official, the Board of Appeals shall have the power to decide any question involving the interpretation of any provision of this chapter, including the determination of the exact location of any district boundary if there is uncertainty with respect thereto.
The Board of Appeals shall have the authority to issue special permits for any of the uses for which this chapter requires the obtaining of such permits from the Board of Appeals or for the extension of a building or use as such existed at the time of the passage of the ordinance from which the provisions of this chapter are derived into a contiguous more-restricted district for a distance not exceeding 30 feet, but not for any other use or purpose.
A. 
No special use permit shall be granted by the Board of Appeals unless it finds that the use for which such permit is sought will not, in the circumstances of the particular case and under any condition that the Board considers to be necessary or desirable, be injurious to the neighborhood or otherwise detrimental to the public welfare.
B. 
The Board of Appeals after public notice and hearing and on application, may issue a special permit for any use specified in Article VII of this chapter, provided that such special permit use complies with the general standards set forth as follows:
(1) 
Each special permit use must comply with the regulations of this chapter for the district within which it is to be located.
(2) 
Each special permit use shall be of such character, intensity, size and location that it will be in harmony with the orderly development of the district in which it is to be located.
(3) 
Each special permit use may be located only in the district or districts permitted for such special permit use.
C. 
In issuing a special permit, the Board shall impose any conditions which it deems necessary (e.g., wall fencing and landscaping) to protect the value of adjacent properties and provide for the orderly development of the surrounding area. The Board shall deny application for a special permit which, in its judgment, is not in accordance with the general standards established in this section and which would prove detrimental to adjacent properties.
The Board of Appeals shall have the authority to vary or adapt the strict application of any of the requirements of this chapter, especially in the case of exceptionally irregular, narrow, shallow or steep lots or other exceptional physical conditions whereby strict application would result in practical difficulty or unnecessary hardship that would deprive the owner of the reasonable use of the land or building involved, but in no other case.
No variance in the strict application of any provision of this chapter shall be granted by the Board of Appeals unless it finds that:
A. 
There are special circumstances or conditions, fully described in the findings, applying to the land or building for which the variance is sought, which circumstances or conditions are peculiar to such land or buildings and do not apply generally to land or buildings in the neighborhood, and that said circumstances or conditions are such that the strict application of the provisions of this chapter would deprive the applicant of the reasonable use of such land or building.
B. 
For reasons fully set forth in the findings, the granting of the variance is necessary for the reasonable use of the land or building, and that the variance as granted by the Board is the minimum that will accomplish this purpose.
C. 
The granting of the variance will be in harmony with the general purpose and intent of this chapter and will not be injurious to the neighborhood or otherwise detrimental to the public welfare.
A. 
Generally. The Board of Appeals shall act in strict accordance with the procedure specified by law and by this chapter. All appeals and applications made to the Board shall be in writing, on forms prescribed by the Board. Every appeal or application shall refer to the specific provision of the chapter involved and shall exactly set forth the interpretation that is claimed, the use for which the special permit is sought or the details of the variance that is applied for and the grounds on which it is claimed that the variance shall be granted, as the case may be.
B. 
Advisory opinion of Planning Board. At least 15 days before the date of the hearing required by law on an application to the Board of Appeals, the Secretary of said Board shall transmit to the Planning Board of the Village a copy of said application or appeal, together with a copy of the notice of the aforesaid hearing, and shall request that the Planning Board submit to the Board of Appeals its advisory opinion on said application or appeal, and the Planning Board shall submit a report of such advisory opinion prior to the date of said hearing.
C. 
Decisions; filing; notification. Every decision of the Board of Appeals shall be by resolution, each of which shall contain a full record of the findings of the board in the particular case. Each such resolution shall be filed in the office of the Village Clerk-Treasurer by case number under one or another of the following headings: interpretations; special permits; and variances, together with all documents pertaining thereto. The Board of Appeals shall notify the Board of Trustees and the Village Planning Board of each special permit and each variance granted under the provisions of this chapter.