The existing Board of Appeals of seven members
is hereby continued. Their successors shall be appointed in accordance
with the provisions of the Town Law. The Town Board shall designate
the Chairman from the Board of Appeals' membership. The Town Board
may also appoint up to two alternate members who may substitute for
members who are absent or unable to participate.
The Board of Appeals shall have all the powers
and duties prescribed by statute and by this chapter, which are more
particularly specified as follows, provided that none of the following
provisions shall be deemed to limit any power of the Board that is
conferred by law.
A.
Appeals. The Board of Appeals shall hear and decide
appeals from and review any order, requirement, decision or determination
of the Building Inspector or such other official charged with the
enforcement of this chapter or the Community Design Review Committee
acting in its capacity as an architectural review board. The Board
of Appeals shall not hear any appeal from nor review any order, determination,
requirement, decision or revocation of the Building Inspector where
such order, determination, requirement, decision or revocation has
been directed by the Town Board. In addition, the Board of Appeals
may not waive the requirement for site development plan application
as required in any part of this chapter.
B.
Interpretation. On an appeal from any order, requirement,
decision or determination made by an administrative official or by
the Building Inspector to decide any of the following questions:
C.
Variances. On appeal from an order, requirement, decision or determination
made by the Building Inspector, or on referral of an applicant to
the Board by an approving agency acting pursuant to this chapter,
the Board of Appeals is authorized to vary or modify the strict letter
of this chapter as set forth below, except that in no case may a variance
be granted from provisions of the New York State Uniform Fire Prevention
and Building Code and the State Energy Conservation Construction Code:
[Amended 11-10-2016 by L.L. No. 4-2016]
(1)
Area variances.
(a)
The Zoning Board of Appeals shall have the power,
upon an appeal from a decision or determination of an administrative
official charged with the enforcement of this chapter, to grant area
variances from the area or dimensional requirements of such ordinance
or local law.
(b)
In making its determination, the Zoning Board
of Appeals shall take into consideration the benefit to the applicant
if the variance is granted, as weighed against the detriment to the
health, safety and welfare of the neighborhood or community by such
grant. In making such determination, the Board shall also consider:
[1]
Whether an undesirable change will
be produced in the character of the neighborhood or a detriment to
nearby properties will be created by the granting of the area variance;
[2]
Whether the benefit sought by the
applicant can be achieved by some method, feasible for the applicant
to pursue, other than an area variance;
[3]
Whether the requested area variance
is substantial;
[4]
Whether the proposed variance will
have an adverse effect or impact on the physical or environmental
conditions in the neighborhood or district; and
[5]
Whether the alleged difficulty
was self-created, which consideration shall be relevant to the decision
of the Board of Appeals, but shall not necessarily preclude the granting
of the area variance.
(c)
The Board of Appeals, in the granting of area
variances, shall grant the minimum variance that it shall deem necessary
and adequate and at the same time preserve and protect the character
of the neighborhood and the health, safety and welfare of the community.
(2)
Use variances.
(a)
The Board of Appeals, on appeal from the decision
or determination of the administrative official charged with the enforcement
of such ordinance or local law, shall have the power to grant use
variances, authorizing a use of the land which otherwise would not
be allowed or would be prohibited by the terms of this chapter.
(b)
No such use variance shall be granted by a Board
of Appeals without a showing by the applicant that applicable zoning
regulations and restrictions have caused unnecessary hardship the
applicant shall demonstrate to the Board of Appeals that:
[1]
Under applicable zoning regulations
the applicant is deprived of all economic use or benefit from the
property in question, which deprivation must be established by competent
financial evidence;
[2]
That the alleged hardship relating
to the property in question is unique and does not apply to a substantial
portion of the district or neighborhood;
[3]
That the requested use variance,
if granted, will not alter the essential character of the neighborhood;
and
[4]
That the alleged hardship has not
been self-created.
(c)
The Board of Appeals, in the granting of use
variances, shall grant the minimum variance that it shall deem necessary
and adequate to address the unnecessary hardship proven by the applicant,
and at the same time, preserve and protect the character of the neighborhood
and the health, safety and welfare of the community.
D.
Imposition of conditions. The Board of Appeals shall,
in the granting of both use variances and area variances, have the
authority to impose such reasonable conditions and restrictions as
are directly related to and incidental to the proposed use of the
property, or the period of time such variance shall be in effect.
Such conditions shall be consistent with the spirit and intent of
this chapter and shall be imposed for the purpose of minimizing any
adverse impact such variance may have on the neighborhood or community.
E.
Extensions across district boundaries. In appropriate
cases where a lot lies within two districts, the Board of Appeals
may permit the extension of existing or proposed permitted accessory
off-street parking space across a district boundary, under such conditions
as will safeguard the character of the district into which such use
is extended. However, no such extension shall exceed 75 feet, measured
at right angles to such district boundary. The power under this subsection
shall not permit the moving of the zoning district line but only the
extension of the accessory off-street parking space.
F.
The Board of Appeals, after a public hearing, shall
have the power to direct the Building Inspector to issue a building
permit, certificate of occupancy or certificate of use, as the case
may be, subject to other applicable laws, codes, rules and regulations.
A.
The Board of Appeals may adopt rules and regulations
with respect to procedure before it and with respect to any subject
matter over which it has jurisdiction, subject to approval of the
Town Board. Such regulations shall include provisions for conduct
of meetings, notification of parties, form of applications and filing
of decisions.
B.
Every decision of the Board of Appeals shall be recorded
in accordance with a standard format adopted by the Board, shall fully
set forth the circumstances of the case and shall contain a record
of the findings on which the decision is based. Every decision of
said Board shall be by resolution, and each such resolution shall
be filed in the offices of the Town Clerk and Building Inspector by
case number.
C.
All appeals and applications made to the Board of
Appeals shall be in writing and shall be accompanied by a fee as determined
in the Standard Schedule of Fees, as may be adopted from time to time
by resolution of the Town Board.
D.
Affidavits.
[Added 4-23-2008 by L.L. No. 4-2008]
(1)
An application for a hearing before the Zoning Board of Appeals shall
be accompanied by a list containing the names and addresses of each
owner of property within a distance of 500 feet from the property.
An affidavit shall be submitted by the applicant declaring that the
names and addresses of the property owners are stated as they appear
on the latest tax assessment roll of the Town of Ramapo. The applicant
shall mail notification of the public hearing via first-class mail
to each owner of property within a distance of 500 feet from the property
at least 10 days prior to the date of the public hearing. Prior to
mailing the requisite notification, the applicant shall be responsible
for generating a list setting forth the name and address of each owner
of property to be noticed pursuant to this subsection. The applicant
shall bring said list to a branch of the United States Post Office
together with the envelopes for mailing. The list shall be reviewed
by a representative of the United States Post Office, who shall confirm
that the names and addresses on said list correspond to the names
and addresses on the envelopes for mailing. The representative of
the United States Post Office shall also stamp on the list the amount
of postage expended for mailing costs. The applicant shall submit
an affidavit stating conformance with the notice requirement. The
original list setting forth the postage shall be submitted together
with the affidavit.
(2)
The applicant shall also state in an additional affidavit that he
has completed and placed at least one poster for every 300 feet of
road frontage of the property in a visible location; said poster shall
be provided to him by the Building, Planning and Zoning Department.
(3)
The affidavits of mailing and posting must be filed in the office
of the Building, Planning and Zoning Department at least one day prior
to the date of the hearing.
Any person aggrieved by any decision of the
Board of Appeals hereunder may, within 30 days of the filing of the
decision with the office of the Town Clerk, appeal pursuant to Article
78 of the Civil Practice Laws and Rules.
