There is hereby created within and for the City, a Board of Adjustment with the powers and duties as hereinafter set forth.
A. 
The Board of Adjustment shall consist of five (5) members, who shall be residents of the City of Seneca. The membership of the first (1st) Board appointed shall serve respectively, 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.
B. 
The Board shall elect its own Chairman who shall serve for one (1) year.
C. 
All members shall be removable for cause by the appointing authority upon written charges and after public hearing.
D. 
Vacancies shall be filled for the unexpired term of any member whose term becomes vacant.
The Board shall adopt rules in accordance with the provisions of this Chapter. Meetings of the Board shall be held at the call of the Chairman and at such other times as the Board may determine. The 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 City Clerk 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 that purpose. The concurring vote of four (4) members of the Board shall be necessary to reverse any order, requirement, decision, or determination of any Administrative Official, or to decide in favor of the applicant on any matter upon which it is required to pass under any such ordinance, or to effect any variation in such ordinance.
A. 
Appeal from action taken by the Administrative Officer shall be taken in the following manner:
1. 
All appeals shall be taken within sixty (60) days of the date of the action which is appealed.
2. 
Appeals from the enforcement and interpretation of this Chapter, signed by the appellant, shall be addressed to the Board of Adjustment and presented to the Administrative Officer. A fee of twenty dollars ($20.00) shall be paid to the City for each appeal to cover costs of advertising and administrative costs. The appeal shall contain or be accompanied by such legal descriptions, maps, plans, and other information so as to completely describe the decisions or interpretation being appealed and the reasons for such appeal.
3. 
The Administrative Officer shall transmit to the Board of Adjustment the appeal and all papers constituting the record upon which the action appealed was taken. The Chairman of the Board of Adjustment shall schedule a hearing to be held within sixty (60) days from the filing of the appeal. Public notice of the hearing shall be published in a newspaper of general circulation in the town at least once each week for two (2) successive weeks prior to the hearing. The Administrative Officer shall post notice on the property involved for a period of one (1) week prior to the hearing.
4. 
An appeal stays all proceedings in furtherance of the action appealed from unless the Administrative Officer certifies to the Board of Adjustment that by reason of facts in the record a stay would, in his/her opinion, cause imminent peril to life or property, in which case proceedings shall not be stayed otherwise than by a court order.
B. 
Applications for variances to this Chapter shall be processed in the following manner:
1. 
An application for variance from the terms of this Chapter signed by the applicant, shall be addressed to the Board of Adjustment and presented to the Administrative Officer.
2. 
A fee of twenty dollars ($20.00) shall be paid to the City for each application to cover the costs of advertising and administrative costs. The application shall contain or be accompanied by such legal descriptions, maps, plans and other information so as to completely describe the proposed use and existing conditions.
3. 
The Administrative Officer shall review the application and determine that sufficient data is contained to adequately describe the situation to the Board of Adjustment. If the data is not adequate, the Administrative Officer shall return the application to the applicant for additional information. Completed applications shall be forwarded to the Board of Adjustment.
C. 
The Board of Adjustment shall give notice of hearing in the following manner:
1. 
The Chairman of the Board of Adjustment shall schedule a public hearing to be held within sixty (60) days after an application is filed.
2. 
Public notice of the hearing shall be published in a newspaper of general circulation in the City at least once a week for two (2) consecutive weeks prior to the hearing.
3. 
The Administrative Officer shall post notice on the property involved for a period of one (1) week prior to the hearing.
D. 
The Board of Adjustment shall review the uses listed in the specific district regulations as "Uses Permitted on Review". These are so classified because they more intensely dominate the area in which they are located than do other uses permitted in the district; however, the nature of such uses may make it desirable that they be permitted to locate therein. The following procedure is established to integrate properly the uses permitted on review with the other land uses located in the district. These uses shall be reviewed and authorized or rejected under the following procedure:
1. 
An application shall be filed with the Board of Adjustment for review. Said application shall show the location and intended use of the site, the names of all the property owners, and existing land uses within two hundred (200) feet, and any other material pertinent to the request which the Board of Adjustment may require.
2. 
The Board of Adjustment shall hold one (1) or more public hearings thereon.
3. 
The Board of Adjustment, within forty-five (45) days of the date of application, shall study the effect of such proposed building or use upon the character of the neighborhood, traffic conditions, public utilities, and other matters pertaining to the general welfare, and authorize or deny the issuance of a permit for the use of land or buildings as requested.
A. 
The Board of Adjustment shall approve or deny the application for variance following the public hearing. Before any variance is granted, the Board of Adjustment must find that all of the following criteria are met:
1. 
Special circumstances exist which are peculiar to the applicant's land, structure or building and do not generally apply to the neighboring lands, structures or buildings in the same district or vicinity.
2. 
Strict application of the provisions of this Chapter would deprive the applicant of reasonable use of the land, structure or building in a manner equivalent to the use permitted to be made by other owners of their neighboring lands, structures, or buildings in the same district.
3. 
The special circumstances are not the result of action of the applicant taken subsequent to the adoption of this Chapter.
4. 
Relief, if approved, will not cause substantial detriment to the public welfare or impair the purposes and intent of this Chapter.
B. 
The following rules will be considered by the Board Adjustment when approving or denying a variance:
1. 
Financial disadvantages to the property owner shall not constitute conclusive proof of unnecessary hardships within the purpose of zoning.
2. 
The Board does not possess the power to grant a variance permitting a zoned use of land or building that is not permitted as a principal use of structure, accessory use or structure in the district involved.
3. 
In granting a variance, the Board may attach thereto any conditions and safeguards its deems necessary or desirable in furthering the purposes of this Chapter. Violation of any of these conditions or safeguards shall be deemed a violation of this Chapter.
4. 
Unless otherwise specified at the time the variance is granted, the variance applies to the subject property and not to the individual who applied. Consequently, the variance is transferable to any further owner of the subject property, but cannot be transferred by the applicant to a different site.
5. 
A variance shall continue for an indefinite period of time unless otherwise specified at the time the variance is granted, except that when a variance has not been used within one (1) year after the date it was granted, the variance shall be canceled by the Administrative Official and written notices shall be given to the property owner.
Any person or persons jointly or severally aggrieved by any decision of the Board of Adjustment, or any officer, department, board or bureau of the City, may present to the Circuit Court of the County or City in which the property affected is located a petition, duly verified, setting forth that such decision is illegal, in whole or in part, specifying the grounds of the illegality. 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 of Adjustment to review such decision of the Board of Adjustment and shall prescribe therein the time within which a return thereto must be made and served upon the relator's attorney, which shall not be less than ten (10) days and may be extended by the Court. The allowance of the writ shall not stay proceedings upon the decision appealed from, but the Court may, on application, on notice to the Board and on due cause shown, grant a restraining order. The Board of Adjustment shall not be required to return the original papers acted upon by it, but it shall be sufficient to return certified or sworn copies thereof or of such portions thereof as may be called for by such writ. The return shall concisely set forth such other facts as may be pertinent and material to show the grounds of the decision appealed from and shall be verified. If, upon the hearing, it shall appear to the Court that testimony is necessary for the proper disposition of the matter, it may take additional evidence or appoint a referee to take such evidence as it may direct and report the same to the Court with his/her findings of fact and conclusions of law, which shall constitute a part of the proceedings upon which a determination of the Court shall be made. The Court may reverse or affirm, wholly or partly, 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. All issues in any proceedings under Sections 89.080 to 89.110, RSMo., shall have preference over all other civil actions and proceedings.