[Amended 6-6-1994 by Ord.
No. 94-06]
An appeals procedure is established in this article in order
that the objectives of this chapter may be fully and equitably achieved,
that a means shall be provided for competent interpretation of this
chapter, that adequate but controlled flexibility be provided in the
application of this chapter, that the health, safety and welfare of
the public be secured, and that justice be done.
[Amended 6-6-1994 by Ord.
No. 94-06; 1-7-2002 by Ord. No. 02-07]
The Zoning Board of Appeals heretofore established is continued.
(1)
The Board shall consist of five administrative officers appointed
in accordance with Section 4.7 (administrative service) of the City
Charter for indefinite terms serving at the pleasure of the Council,
which shall perform its duties and exercise its powers as provided
in Section 5 of Act No. 207 of the Public Acts of Michigan of 1921
(MCL 125.581 et seq., MSA 5.2931 et seq.), as amended, and in such
a way that the objectives of this chapter shall be observed, public
safety secured and substantial justice done.
(2)
The Zoning Board of Appeals shall annually elect its own chairman,
vice-chairman and secretary. All meetings must have three members
present to enact business.
(3)
All members of the Zoning Board of Appeals shall serve as such without
compensation. The five-person board membership shall not include a
City Councilperson or the mayor. The entire membership shall be comprised
of residents of the City of Corunna.
(4)
Proposed minutes of the Zoning Board of Appeals meetings are to be
submitted to the City Manager within 10 business days following the
Zoning Board of Appeals meeting. Approved minutes are to be submitted
to the City Manager within five days of approval.
(5)
Any board member absent two consecutive meetings or 25% of regular
meetings in a calendar year, without prior written approval by the
City Manager, will be considered for removal from the board. All absences
shall be recorded in the meeting minutes.
(6)
Upon recommendation of the City Manager, the City Council may appoint
one ex officio member to the board. The ex officio members so appointed
by the City Council shall not have a vote at the meetings, but shall
sit only in an advisory capacity.
(7)
All administrative officers shall be responsible to the City Manager
in and for the performance of the duties of their office.
[Amended 6-6-1994 by Ord.
No. 94-06]
(a)
Calling of meetings. All meetings of the Zoning Board of Appeals
shall be held at the call of the chairman and at such times as such
Board may determine.
(b)
Hearings to be public; records. All hearings conducted shall be open
to the public. The Zoning Board of Appeals shall keep minutes of its
proceedings showing the vote of each member in question, or, if absent
or failing to vote, indicating such fact, and shall also keep records
of its hearings and other official actions in the office of the City
Clerk, which shall be a public record.
(c)
Voting. The Zoning Board of Appeals shall not conduct business unless
a majority of the members are present. The concurring vote of a majority
of the full membership of the Board shall be necessary to reverse
an order, requirement, decision or determination of an administrative
official or body, or to decide in favor of the applicant a matter
upon which the Board is required to pass under an ordinance, or to
effect a variation in an ordinance.
(d)
Powers of Board. The Board of Zoning Appeals shall have the power
to subpoena and require the attendance of witnesses, administer oaths,
and compel testimony and the production of books, papers, files and
other evidence pertinent to the matters before it.
[Amended 6-6-1994 by Ord.
No. 94-06]
(a)
Filing of appeal. An appeal may be taken to the Zoning Board of Appeals
by any person, or by any officer, department, board or bureau affected
by a decision of the building inspector. Such appeal shall be taken
within such time as shall be prescribed by the Zoning Board of Appeals
by general rule, by filing with the building inspector a notice of
appeal, specifying the grounds thereof. The building inspector shall
forthwith transmit to the Zoning Board of Appeals all of the papers
constituting the record upon which the action appealed from was taken.
An appeal shall stay all proceedings in furtherance of the action
appealed from unless the building inspector certifies to the Zoning
Board of Appeals, after notice of appeal has been filed with him,
that, by reason of facts stated in the certificate, a stay would,
in his opinion, cause imminent peril to life or property, in which
case the proceedings shall not be stayed otherwise than by a restraining
order, which may be granted by a court of record.
(b)
Notice. The Zoning Board of Appeals shall select a reasonable time
and place for the hearing of the appeal and give due notice of the
appeal to the parties, and to the persons to whom real property within
300 feet of the premises in question is assessed, and to the occupants
of single- and two- family dwellings within 300 feet, the notice to
be delivered personally, or by mail, addressed to the respective owners
and tenants at the address given in the last assessment roll. The
Zoning Board of Appeals shall decide the appeal within a reasonable
time. If the tenant's name is unknown, the term "occupant" may be
used. Public notice of the time, date and place of the hearing shall
also be given in the manner required by Act No. 267 of the Public
Acts of Michigan of 1976 (MCL 15.261 et seq., MSA 4.1800(11) et seq.),
and by insertion in a newspaper of general circulation in the City
15 days prior to the hearing date. Such notice shall contain the address,
if available, and the location of the property for which the ruling
of the Zoning Board of Appeals is sought, as well as a brief description
of the nature of the appeal. Any person may appear and testify at
the hearing, either in person or by duly authorized agent or attorney.
(c)
Review by Planning Commission. No appeal shall be taken to the Zoning
Board of Appeals from a decision of the Planning Commission in connection
with an approved site plan unless such appeal has first been reviewed
by the Planning Commission and a recommendation on the variance is
provided by the Planning Commission.
[Amended 6-6-1994 by Ord.
No. 94-06]
The Zoning Board of Appeals may reverse or affirm, wholly or
partly, or may modify the order, requirement, decision or determination
as in its opinion ought to be made in the premises, and to that end
shall have all the powers of the officer from whom the appeal was
taken and may issue or direct the issuance of a permit. Where there
are practical difficulties or unnecessary hardship in the way of carrying
out the strict letter of this chapter, the Zoning Board of Appeals
shall have the power, in passing upon appeals, to vary or modify any
of its rules, regulations or provisions so that the spirit of this
chapter shall be observed, public safety secured, and substantial
justice done. Nothing contained in this section shall be construed
to give or grant to the Zoning Board of Appeals the authority to make
changes in this chapter or the zoning map acting under the authority
of appeal board. The power and authority to rezone is reserved to
the City Council in the manner provided by Section 4 of Act No. 207
of the Public Acts of Michigan of 1921 (MCL 125.581 et seq., MSA 5.2931
et seq.), as amended.
[Amended 6-6-1994 by Ord.
No. 94-06; 7-20-2015 by Ord. No. 2015-04]
(a)
Generally. The Zoning Board of Appeals shall have the powers and
duties specified in this section.
(b)
Administrative review. To hear and decide appeals where it is alleged
by the appellant that there is an error in any order, requirement,
permit, decision or refusal made by the building inspector or any
other administrative official in carrying out or enforcing any provisions
of this chapter.
(c)
Interpretation. To hear and decide in accordance with the provisions
of this chapter:
(d)
Variances. The Zoning Board of Appeals shall have the power to authorize,
upon appeal, specific variances from such dimensional requirements
as lot area and width regulations, building height and square foot
regulations, yard width and depth regulations, such requirements as
off-street parking and loading space, and sign regulations, and other
similar requirements as specified in this chapter. In reviewing a
request for variance, the Zoning Board of Appeals shall ensure that
the spirit and intent of this chapter is observed, public safety secured
and substantial justice done. To obtain a variance, the applicant
must show practical difficulty, by demonstrating that:
(1)
Strict compliance with area, setbacks, frontage, height, bulk
or density requirements would unreasonably prevent the owner from
using the property for a permitted purpose, or would render the conformity
unnecessarily burdensome;
(2)
A variance would do substantial justice to the applicant, as
well as to other property owners in the district;
(3)
The plight of the owner is due to the unique circumstances of
the property; and
(4)
The problem is in no way self-created.
[Amended 6-6-1994 by Ord.
No. 94-06]
A use variance shall not be permitted, except as described under
§ 86-467(e), pertaining to approval of temporary uses.
[Amended 6-6-1994 by Ord.
No. 94-06]
(a)
The Zoning Board of Appeals may impose conditions upon an affirmative
decision. The conditions may include conditions necessary to ensure
that public services and facilities affected by a proposed land use
or activity will be capable of accommodating increased service and
facility loads caused by the land use or activity, to protect the
natural environment and conserve natural resources and energy, to
ensure compatibility with adjacent uses of land, and to promote the
use of land in a socially and economically desirable manner. Conditions
imposed shall do all of the following:
(1)
Be designed to protect natural resources, and the health, safety
and welfare, as well as the social and economic well-being, of those
who will use the land use or activity under consideration, residents
and landowners immediately adjacent to the proposed land use or activity,
and the community as a whole.
(2)
Be related to the valid exercise of the police power and purposes
which are affected by the proposed use or activity.
(3)
Be necessary to meet the intent and purpose of the zoning regulations,
be related to the standards established in this chapter for the land
use or activity under consideration, and be necessary to ensure compliance
with those standards.
(b)
The conditions imposed shall be recorded in the record of the approval
action and shall remain unchanged except upon the mutual consent of
the approving authority and the landowner. The approving authority
shall maintain a record of changes granted in conditions.
[Amended 6-6-1994 by Ord.
No. 94-06]
The City Council may from time to time prescribe and amend by
resolution a reasonable schedule of fees to be charged to applicants
for appeal proceedings. At the time an application is filed, the fee
shall be paid to the City Clerk.
[Amended 6-6-1994 by Ord.
No. 94-06]
(a)
The decision of the Zoning Board of Appeals shall be final. However,
a person having an interest affected by this chapter may appeal to
the circuit court.
(b)
The Zoning Board of Appeals is without general authority to reconsider
a matter it has decided and from reversing its previous decision unless
the facts and circumstances which actuated the decision have so changed
as to vitiate or materially affect the reason which produced and supported
it, and no vested rights have intervened.
