[HISTORY: Adopted by the Zoning Board of Appeals of the Town
of LeRoy. Amendments noted where applicable.]
The Board of Zoning Appeals shall be governed by the provisions
of all applicable state statutes, local laws, ordinances and these
rules. As such, the jurisdiction of this Board shall be appellate
only and shall be limited to hearing and deciding appeals from and
reviewing any order, requirement, decision, interpretation, or determination
made by the administrative official charged with the enforcement of
any ordinance or local law adopted pursuant to this chapter.
A.
A Chairman shall be appointed by the Town Board annually.
B.
Secretary. The Town Board shall annually appoint, by majority vote,
a Secretary. The Secretary shall keep all records, conduct all correspondence
of the Board and supervise the clerical work of the Board. The Secretary
shall keep a minute book of the proceedings of each meeting and each
hearing, which shall include the vote of each member on each question
or, if absent or failing to vote, indicating such fact, the names
and addresses of all witnesses, a summary of the facts on which the
decision is based and the decision rendered, and other official actions
of the Board. The Secretary, in his discretion, may employ a stenographer
to record and/or transcribe any testimony or proceeding before the
Board. Such stenographer shall be an employee of the Board and shall
be paid from funds budgeted by the Town Board for use by the Zoning
Board of Appeals.
[Amended 9-11-1989]
A.
Quorum. A quorum shall consist of four voting members of the Board.
B.
Time of meeting.
(1)
Regular meetings shall be held on the fourth Tuesday of each month,
on an as-needed basis, at 7:30 p.m. or at such other hour as the Chairman
may designate. The first regular meeting in April shall constitute
the annual organization meeting of the Board.
(2)
Special meetings may be called by the Chairman at any time, provided
that at least 48 hours' notice shall be given each member before a
special meeting is held. The Chairman shall call a special meeting
within 10 days of receipt of a written request from any two members
of the Board.
C.
Cancellation of meetings. Whenever there are no appeals for special
exceptions or variances or other pertinent business to be considered
at a regular meeting, the Chairman may dispense with such meeting
by so notifying each member at least 48 hours prior to the time set
for such meeting.
E.
Voting and disqualification of members. All matters shall be decided
by roll call vote. Decisions on matters requiring public hearings
and which reverse any order, requirement, decision or determination
made by the Code Enforcement Officer or to decide in favor of the
applicant any matter upon which he is required to determine under
any such an ordinance or to grant any variance from the requirements
of such an ordinance shall require the affirmative vote of four voting
members of the Board present at such hearing; other matters shall
be decided by majority vote. No member of the Board shall sit in hearing
or vote on any matter in which he shall be personally or financially
interested, nor shall be vote on the determination of any appeal unless
he shall have attended the public hearing thereon.
A.
Matters requiring public hearings. A public hearing shall be required
in all matters involving an appeal from any order, requirement, decision
or determination by the Code Enforcement Officer arising from the
enforcement of the Zoning Ordinance;[1] an appeal for a variance from the terms of the Zoning
Ordinance; an appeal for an exception as specified in the Zoning Ordinance;
a question involving the interpretation of the Zoning Ordinance.
B.
Notice of hearings. No appeal shall be decided until after due notice
has been given and a public hearing has been held thereon. Due notice
of a hearing shall be as follows:
(1)
By publication of a notice thereof once in one official paper of
the Town at least 14 days before the date of hearing.
(2)
The Board shall mail notice of the hearing to the appellant or applicant
or his attorney or agent at least 14 days before the date of the hearing.
(3)
The Board shall also, insofar as practicable, mail notices of the
hearing of an appeal to all property owners as appear on the latest
tax roll of the Town, within a two-hundred–fifty-foot radius
of the premises affected by the appeal. Such notices shall be mailed
to the street address of the properties within the two-hundred–fifty-foot
radius regardless of whether or not the owner resides therein, unless
the Board has definite knowledge of other addresses of absentee owners.
Notice of the hearing shall also be sent to the Councilmen of the
district within which the property described in the application is
located. Compliance with this subsection shall not be a condition
precedent to proper legal notice, and no hearing or action taken thereon
shall be deemed invalid or illegal because of any failure to mail
the notice provided for in this subsection.
C.
Conduct of public hearings.
(1)
Any person may appear in person, by agent or attorney at any public
hearing. The order of proceedings in the hearing of each case at a
public hearing shall be as follows:
(2)
The Chairman or any member of the Board may require any witness to
swear or affirm that his or her statements of fact are true.
D.
Rehearings. No request for a reconsideration of a decision shall
be accepted at any time if it appears that no substantial change in
facts, evidence or conditions has occurred in regard to the neighborhood.
Whether or not a change in facts, evidence or conditions has occurred
shall be determined by the Board of Zoning Appeals before the application
is accepted and placed on the calendar.
A.
Time limit for appeals. An appeal must be made within 60 days after
the action of the Code Enforcement Officer which is being appealed
from.
B.
Filing of appeals. The applicant shall file his appeal in duplicate
with the Secretary of the Board on forms available at the office of
the Town Clerk, 48 Main Street, LeRoy, New York, one copy of which
shall be forwarded to the Code Enforcement Officer by the Secretary.
Appeals for exceptions and variances shall be accompanied by an accurate
and intelligible plan, drawn to a suitable scale. A nonreturnable
fee in an amount as determined by the Town Board shall be paid to
the Secretary of the Board upon filing an appeal. (Check or money
orders shall be payable to the Board of Zoning Appeals.) Appeals shall
be signed by property owners or a certified agent.
C.
Calendar. The appeal shall be placed on the calendar of the Board
of Zoning Appeals when the Board has substantial factual information
to hear the case.
D.
Amendments and withdrawals. The applicant may not amend or withdraw
his application after the official notice of the public hearing has
been transmitted to the official paper for publication.
A.
Forms of decisions. All decisions of the Board of Zoning Appeals
shall be by resolution and must be made within 62 days of any public
hearing. The basis for the determination of each appeal and a detailed
summary of the facts upon which the determination is made shall be
recorded in the decision and shall constitute a part of the record
thereof. In the case of variances, the decisions shall state the exceptional
difficulty or unusual hardship upon which the appeal was based and
which the Board found present. The decisions shall also state in detail
what conditions and safeguards are required.
B.
Expiration of permits. Unless otherwise specified, any order or decision
of the Board granting a special exception shall expire if a building
or occupancy permit is not obtained by the applicant within 90 calendar
days from the date the decision becomes final.
C.
Filing of decision. The decision of the Board shall become final
on the date of entry of such order with the Secretary of the Board
of Zoning Appeals and service of a copy of its decision and notice
of filing with the appellant or his attorney or agent. Copies of the
decision shall also be sent to the Code Enforcement Officer, the Town
Assessor's office and the Town Planning Board. The decision must be
filed with the Town Clerk within five business days after the day
such decision is rendered.
