There is hereby established a Zoning Board of Appeals, hereinafter
called the "Board," which shall perform its duties and exercise its
powers as provided in Act 110 of the Public Acts of 2006, as amended from time to time, and in such a way that the
objectives of this chapter shall be observed, the public safety and
welfare secured, and substantial justice done.
All meetings of the Board of Appeals shall be held at the call
of the Chairman and at such times as such Board may determine. All
hearings conducted by said 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, indicate
such fact; and shall also keep records of its hearings and other official
action. The Board shall have the power to subpoena and require the
attendance of witnesses, administer oaths, compel testimony and the
production of books, papers, files, and other evidence pertinent to
the matters before it. The Board shall not conduct business unless
a majority of the members of the Board are present.
In exercising the above powers, the Board of Appeals may reverse
or affirm, wholly or partly, or may modify the order, requirement,
decision, or determination appealed from and may take such order,
requirement, decision, or determination as ought to be made, and to
that end shall have all the powers of the Building Department from
whom the appeal is taken. However, in the event that the Planning
Commission representative has already voted on a matter which is now
being appealed to the Board, that member shall abstain from voting
at the ZBA.
Following receipt of a written request concerning a request
for a variance, the Zoning Board of Appeals shall fix a reasonable
time for the hearing of the request and give notice as provided below:
A. The local unit of government shall publish notice of the request
in a newspaper of general circulation in the local unit of government.
B. Notice shall also be sent by mail or personal delivery to the owners
of property for which approval is being considered. Notice shall also
be sent to all persons to whom real property is assessed within 300
feet of the property and to the occupants of all structures within
300 feet of the property, regardless of whether the property or occupant
is located in the zoning jurisdiction.
C. The notice shall be given not less than 15 days before the date the
application will be considered for approval. If the name of the occupant
is not known, the term "occupant" may be used in making notification
under this subsection. The notice shall do all of the following:
(1)
Describe the nature of the request.
(2)
Indicate the property that is the subject of the request. The
notice shall include a listing of all existing street addresses within
the property. Street addresses do not need to be created and listed
if no such addresses currently exist within the property. If there
are no street addresses, other means of identification may be used.
(3)
State when and where the request will be considered.
(4)
Indicate when and where written comments will be received concerning
the request.
D. Upon receipt of a written request seeking an interpretation of the
Zoning Ordinance or an appeal of an administrative decision, a notice
stating the time, date, and place of the public hearing shall be published
in a newspaper of general circulation within the Township and shall
be sent to the person requesting the interpretation not less than
15 days before the public hearing. In addition, if the request for
an interpretation or appeal of an administrative decision involves
a specific parcel, written notice stating the nature of the interpretation
request and the time, date, and place of the public hearing on the
interpretation request shall be sent by first-class mail or personal
delivery to all persons to whom real property is assessed within 300
feet of the boundary of the property in question and to the occupants
of all structures within 300 feet of the boundary of the property
in question. If a tenant's name is not known, the term "occupant"
may be used.